To Certify or not the GIS Practitioners in Kenya

Geospatial technology, data and services encompasses professionals, practitioners and users from all walks of life. The need certification of those in the geospatial industry is a debate that has been ongoing for a long time.

GIS certification has been a contentious issue for many years. Many arguments for it have been advanced, the key one being that certification is the only way through which GIS profession can be defined for the consumer public. Arguments against certification have also been brought forward, an example being that certification will limit the widespread adoption of GIS technology, which is a tool that anybody should be free to use and it will increase the cost of hiring the GIS professionals.

Certification has been applied within many fields, from medicine to surveying. Accreditation is defined as evaluating the educational programs from where the individuals in a certain field received their training and education. Certification is defined as directly evaluating the competency of the individual in a certain field.  Certification defers from licensure in that certification endorses expertise while licensure protects the public from incompetent practice.  In addition, licensure is administered by a governmental body while certification is usually administered by one’s professional peers. A practitioner is someone who engages in an occupation, profession, religion, or way of life. A GIS professional is someone who makes a living through learned professional work that requires advanced knowledge of geographic information systems and related geospatial technologies, data, and methods. GIS certification is defined as a process by which an institution evaluates the level of one’s experience in GIS.
The Geographic Information Systems Certification Institute (GISCI) is the certifying body for all GIS professionals in the US whose applications have been accepted. The program is a point-based system that is self-documented and calculated by the individual seeking certification. It does not include an examination. The certification programme is voluntary and is intended to acknowledge the professional achievements of those people whose primary job responsibility involves the use of geospatial data technology. It is not a program for general users of GIS technology.
In Kenya, professional certification programs in areas such as accounting, engineering and survey are long-standing but GIS certification is yet to be set up. Despite efforts by vendors and academicians to develop and improve training and educational programs in geographic information systems, there are increasing calls for programs to certify GIS professionals. Much of the interest in implementing formal programs is tied to the need for explicit quality control. As of to date there is no widely accepted certification available for GIS professionals in Kenya. This is partly tied to difficulties in identifying desired qualifications of professionals within the multidisciplinary field of GIS.

Arguments for GIS Certification

The URISA (Urban and Regional Information Systems Association) GIS Certification Committee, in the year 2000, while in the process of coming up with the guidelines to setting up of the Geographic Information Systems Certification Institute (GISCI)  came up with a number of important reasons why GIS certification is needed:

• To provide a means for attaining recognition by one’s colleagues and peers that the GIS professional has demonstrated professional competence and integrity in the field;
•  To encourage long-term professional development that will help existing professionals maintain currency in GIS technology and methods;
• To ensure ethical behaviour by members of the profession and provide a basis for judging the validity of allegations or complaints against GIS practitioners;
• To assist prospective employers to assess and hire GIS professionals;
• To ensure that those who produce geographic information have a core competency of knowledge;
• To define and protect professional bodies of knowledge;
• To assist aspiring GIS professionals and professionals outside the GIS profession choose their educational opportunities wisely;
•  To contribute to the development of geographic information science;
• Develop standard GIS job descriptions; and
• To establish and maintain links to GIS education bodies

The committee came up with the GIS Professional Certification Program and the GIS Professional Code of Ethics which contain guidelines for GIS professionals to use when making professional career and ethical choices. The purpose of both programs is to provide professionals who work in the field of geographic information systems with a formal process that will allow them to be recognized by their colleagues and employers as having demonstrated professional competence and integrity in the field by maintaining high stan-dards of professional practice and ethical conduct.

Arguments against GIS Certification

Many of the arguments against GIS certification are based on the fact that GIS embraces so many different professions that it is difficult to get anybody to agree what GIS is and what it is not. Opponents of GIS certification argue that GIS is too broad for a common set of competency standards or that more time is needed for the field to evolve.  Others note that certification will increase the cost of hiring GIS professionals and that professional organizations may initiate certification as a means of generating income. Others explain that not all GIS activities affect public welfare and safety and thus do not require oversight and are against the increased bureaucracy that is necessary for any certification or licensing program. Others base their arguments on historical pattern of GIS use by land managers and others that has been successful without certification.

Implementing GIS Certification

With several organizations taking an interest in promoting GIS, the establishment of rival and competing certification programs could be problematic and would almost certainly create confusion for persons entering the profession, as well as employers and the public. For GIS the greatest barrier to the establishment of certification programs is the broad nature of GIS applications.  Ideally, certification should represent an individual’s commitment to GIS as a profession.  Rather than address proprietary hardware and software packages, it should emphasize GIS fundamentals and principles.  Likewise, instead of being viewed as a pinnacle of achievement, certification should represent experience and competency coupled with a commitment to quality and integrity.   A possible model for certification involves identification of two categories of knowledge and competencies associated with GIS:

• Core knowledge needed by all GIS professionals, and,
• Specialized knowledge and experiences needed by individuals working in more narrowly defined GIS application areas.

GIS Certification will not become widely accepted unless organizations representing the range of GIS professionals agree to participate in establishing certification standards and methods of evaluation.  A solution would be for representatives from existing organizations with substantial interest in GIS to form an umbrella organization for the purpose of administering certification. Additional delegates to this group should include persons from academia and especially government and industry.  For certification to ultimately succeed among the entire spectrum of GIS professionals, these widely different groups must work together to build a cohesive set of standards and general testing criteria that are applicable and acceptable to all constituencies.
 

The first step towards developing a certification program is defining a set of core knowledge and competencies that are considered essential for all GIS professionals.  GIS professions in industry and government must take the lead in this process.  The core set of competencies and standards must be applicable throughout the broad range of GIS applications and professions to lend credibility to the certification process.  If the core competencies are not applicable to all professionals, then various groups may choose to opt out of the program.
 

Representatives from application areas must be willing to assist in identifying experience and competency needed for GIS professionals involved in specialty fields such as natural resources management, surveying, or the analysis of socioeconomic data.  Using guidelines provided by the umbrella certification organization, professional associations should be invited to develop explicit criteria for certification in the form of knowledge, work experience, and professional development.  While the core competencies must address those criteria deemed necessary for all GIS professionals there must also be a system for testing and evaluating knowledge and experience within specific GIS application areas. 
 

An important function of certification is to provide incentives for GIS professionals to continue developing or improving skills and knowledge.  This is critical in a field experiencing rapid change such as GIS.  A program to recertify GIS professions by requiring them to present evidence of professional development and continuing work experience should become a component of an overall plan for implementing certification. GIS Certification must include updating criteria, in that while the applications and development of GIS technology may not be in their infancy any longer, the field continues to experience rapid growth and change.
 

Although most GIS practitioners earn profits honestly, at times all GIS professionals are faced with choices influenced by personal ethics. The nature of GIS means that its results can easily be misconstrued or distorted.  The minority of GIS professionals who are unconcerned with the use of questionable data, the application of inappropriate or poorly applied analyses, or the integrity of interpretations have the potential for damaging the reputation of all persons involved in GIS. Thus professional ethics and behaviour must be a centrepiece within the development of standards for certification and recertification.

The Kenyan situation
A prerequisite for setting up a viable certification program is the presence of a strong professional association that brings together most practitioners from the GIS industry. In Kenya, such a body does not exist and thus needs to be established first, to unify the profession and develop uniform standards for certification. This will go a step ahead and eliminate the issues that arose in the computing industry with the advent of many computer colleges leading several graduates with certificates but incompetent in the field.

GIS application areas cover a wide range of academic and professional preparation fields.  Because GIS professionals come from a wide variety of backgrounds and academic preparation, no one group can claim to represent all approaches and applications within the GIS community.  Also, given the volatile nature of the field, and the rapid change currently underway in software development and application deployment, adequate preparation today does not guarantee competency in the future.  Thus, an overarching program to ensure appropriate professional preparation and competency must be developed by those parties interested in safeguarding the viability of the field and the competency of those claiming professional status. By including a wide range of professional organizations within the certification development process, and working to include the interests of all GIS professionals by developing both a reasonable core set of competencies and appropriate specialized evaluations within the certification process, all groups will benefit from certification.

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Web based mapping

Web mapping is the process of designing, implementing, generating and delivering maps on the World Wide Web and its product. It primarily deals with technological issues, while web cartographyadditionally studies theoretic aspects which include but not limited to the use of web maps, the evaluation and optimization of techniques and workflows, the usability of web maps, and social aspects. Web GIS on the other hand emphasises on analysis, processing of project specific geodataand exploratory aspects. Often the terms web GIS and web mapping are used synonymously, even if they don't mean exactly the same. Web maps are often a presentation media in web GIS and web maps are increasingly gaining analytical capabilities.

Mobile maps, displayed on mobile computing devices, such as mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs and GPS are a special case of web maps; they are regarded as mobile web maps if they are displayed by a mobile web browser or web user agent.

The use of web maps can be regarded as a major new trend in cartography and has opened up new opportunities like real-time maps, cheaper dissemination, more frequent and cheaper updates of data and software, personalized map content, distributed data sources and sharing of geographic information. With web mapping, freely available mapping technologies and geodata potentially allow every skilled person to produce web maps. The cheap and easy transfer of geodata across the internet allows the integration of distributed data sources, opening opportunities that go beyond the possibilities of disjoint data storage. Everyone with minimal knowhow and infrastructure can become a geodata provider; this puts geodata in the hands of untrained people who potentially violate cartographic and geographic principles and introduce flaws during the preparation, analysis and presentation of geographic and cartographic data.

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Fraud

Fraud is a million dollar business and it is increasing every year. Fraud involves one or more persons who intentionally act secretly to deprive another of something of value, for their own benefit. Fraud is as old as humanity itself and can take an unlimited variety of different forms. However, in recent years, the development of new technologies has also provided further ways in which criminals may commit fraud. In addition, business reengineering, reorganization or downsizing may weaken or eliminate control, while new information systems may present additional opportunities to commit fraud.

Traditional ways of data analysis have been in use since a long time as a method of detecting fraud. They require complex and time-consuming investigations that deal with different domains of knowledge like financial, economics, business practices and law. Fraud often consists of many instances or incidents involving repeated transgressions using the same method. Fraud instances can be similar in content and appearance but usually are not identical.

In the technological systems, fraudulent activities have occurred in many areas of daily life such as telecommunication networks, mobile communications, on-line banking, and Ecommerce. Fraud is increasing dramatically with the expansion of modern technology and global communication, resulting in substantial losses to the businesses. Consequentially, fraud detection has become an important issue to be explored.

Fraud detection involves identifying fraud as quickly as possible once it has been perpetrated. Fraud detection methods are continuously developed to defend criminals in adapting to their strategies. The development of new fraud detection methods is made more difficult due to the severe limitation of the exchange of ideas in fraud detection. Data sets are not made available and results are often not disclosed to the public. The fraud cases have to he detected from the available huge data sets such as the logged data and user behaviour. At present, fraud detection has been implemented by a number of methods such as data mining, statistics, and artificial intelligence. Fraud is discovered from anomalies in data and patterns. The objective of fraud detection is to maximize correct predictions and maintain incorrect predictions at an acceptable level.

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The Kenya we Want

A look at the current political elite who are running up and down looking for votes from us, in the pretext that they are good leaders makes many wonder if as Kenyans, we are serious enough to continue allowing them to run this country and continue depleting our resources and our hard-earned wealth. Just the other day, if not a few months ago, everybody was up in arms saying that our legislators pay taxes. What happened to the euphoria in the Kenyan public after the cabinet and the treasury decided to use the public coffers to settle their tax arrears? What of those who had publicly declared that they had paid their arrears, were they refunded now that we were paying for them? For how long are we going to see these small group of people defraud and impoverish us?

At the moment, most of them are going round the country, and instead of telling us and proving how they are going to impact on agenda for this country’s economy, they are busy trading insults and accusations. If possible all the current politicians should not be allowed to run for any political office this coming and any other elections in Kenya. They need to be banned for life from participating or even thinking about holding public offices.

During the Moi era, everyone used to say tribalism was so rife the country was going to split apart due to ethnic hatred. Came in the Narc regime with the promise of amending the mistakes from the past. This has only resulted in tribalism being branded a new title, Merit/Qualification, as if just a few communities have better qualifications that the rest of the country! At least Moi used to try balance out to enhance his divide and rule policies. How can one explain how the financial and security sectors of the republic are headed and controlled by people from the same geographical area? Is it that there is something the leadership is trying to cover up, or is it awarding political and tribal cronies for their unequivocal support to a certain person during his quest to obtain power? This is the worst time in the history of this nation and if not checked, might be a stepping stone for other crazy atrocities that might befall this country.

To me the current crop of politicians that we have a lazy bunch who are so corrupt that they can even sale our country to someone as long as they get a share of the kill. Property prizes in the city have skyrocketed to an extent that the locals are no longer owning most of the buildings in our CBD. If a building does not belong to the government, then it has been purchased by an individual from our neighboring country. Why can’t the government step in and reverse these gains? If we do not do something about it now, the economy of this nation will be in the hands of foreigners. Logic than dictates that whoever controls the economy runs the country, no matter what political powers the leaders and the local populace have.

Are we headed to become a society that is controlled by just a few people willing to impose their religious views and rules to everyone? Yes, we are. Looking to the acquisitions taking place in Nairobi CBD tells all this. Where there was a bar/restaurant but later sold off, there is a new building housing stalls with restrictions to opening up or running bars within. Soon we will only be allowed to go into town if we are dressed in a particular way.

As a people, as much as we believe in diversity and humanitarian assistance, we need to take action now and either come up with laws that will restrict land and property acquisitions by foreigners, or compulsorily repossess what has already been acquired to restore our pride and glory.

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Kenyans!

I believe Kenyans are too much gullible to be able to avoid being defrauded by the much creative inmates in our cells. No matter how much fraud education campaigns and how much is lost, there are still those of us who still believe we will one day hit a jackpot or wake up rich mysteriously.  I fail to understand how a person can social engineer you up to the a level you end up transferring money to a number  only to realize you have been conned. The first person you need to contact in such a case is you: since when did you hear people give out free money in non-existent promotions, or in promotions you haven’t even participated in? Think straight and stop the greed!

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Nyang'ori...

Nyangori was a nickname for the Terik community derived from the Luo community, because the Terik, being pastoralists used to invade the Luo areas for pasture during the drought seasons of yonder. On the way back home, the Terik would bring with them cowpeas, a crop known to the Luo people as “ngor”. Hence the name Nyangori was derived from the word “ngor” literarily meaning the people of the cowpeas.
As at now, the name Nyangóri is synonimous with the Pentecostal Bible College and Nyangóri Boys high school. I schooled in Nyangóri. This school will hold a graeter part of my youthful memory. Nyangóri is located on the Kisumu-Kakamega road, at Kiboswa. Kiboswa is a unique market, it is located in three provinces, Nyanza, Rift Valley and Western. Nyangóri high is on the western part of the market.
The area is located in a place where water scarcity is the norm. The people around the school are used to dry taps, mostly from December to March every year. The water supply of the area comes from a far off place, Sosian, which happens to experience drought during this period and hence lack of the basic commodity both to the local community and the school. As students in this school, we had to learn the art of survival. At times, whe the situation was too extreme for the school to cop, we were allowed to leave the school every evening to go and take a shower and collect some water some few kilometers away. We used to love these trips as they freed us from the school authorities and we had plenty of time to socialize with the villagers and the girls from the neighborhood school, Kapsengér, who were also facing the same situation. Back to school, we carried buckets full of water, but we could only manage to reach our dormitories with have the buckets as the route of passage was hilly and covered with stones all over.
Washing of clothes in school was only done once. There was a 'Supermarket', the cloth-lines, where the older students could literally go over and exchange their dirty shirts with clean ones. This affected the form ones so much as their shirts were still new and presentable, espencially during scholl outings and visits.
Cups and plates were never claned, they were wiped off after every meal by use of tissue paper. The buckets where the water was stored were multipurpose, for washing, bathing and storagem for drinking water.
Free-walks on sundays after every fortynight were the best thing to have happened to us. This was the day for visiting the market and looking for mandazis, omena and fish. Those from around the school were prohibited as they had a tendency to go home yet no one was allowed to visit home at such a time.
Church services were great, especially the ones where we had to go over to the mission's boma church. We would scrum our way out the tiny gate and through the church doors, knoking over the old mwn and women who were just leaving the church after their morning service.
Other than the occasional music on the school cassete payer, entertainment was a boring event; these saturday evenings were characterized with too much naija stuff. Those who felt they could not take this, had the option of either being in class for the evening or goin to the saturday prayer sessions by the christian union. After ten in the evening, the form ones and twos could be physically shown the door outta the entertainment hall, ehich also served as a dining hall, to leave the 'mature' students for the occasional porn movie one had carried over.
Friday evenings were a nioghtmare for the form ones. Each and every form one was to produce a bucket full of water, no matter the season. The dorn captains made sure the water is available for use for cleaning the dorm in readiness for the dorm check up, conducted every saturday, and the results of the top dorm announced at the assembly every monday....
to be ontinued....

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Learning Kikuyu...

I read this from a friend the other day and felt it was too hilarious not to share out:
 Tribalism aside, it goes without saying that everyone in this country likes making fun of Kikuyus especially the stereo-type God-father donning unromantic ones. To be a kikuyu is rather simple; at least language- wise.
 To show you how, first, lets make language simple by ignoring all l’s from now on, ok?
 Good. Next rets try to make hard words easier to pronounce by adding dragging vowers at the end from here on. Now, thingsi are gettingi easier now isnti iti? Wero, the nexti thingi to do isi to try andi add more vowerisi to the middroo of the difficulti wordsi. Like ‘nexti’ is difficulti to pronounci so iti becomesi nexiti.
Very very wero. Now we ara gettingi there sirowry buti surery. Here now comesi the harder parti. Very hardi wordsi shouldi be removedi entirery and replacedi with easier swahiri or Kikuyu onesi.  ‘Haiya’. You see. Thingsi ara much easier now. Excepti the ‘ch’ probrem which we now changingi fromu ‘ch’ to ‘sh’.
After shangingi thati wanu, we removu ’x’ fromu the alphabeti anda repraci iti with ‘th’. And some ofu the s’s too. Good. He he he. Ngai fafa. “Chrithmathi hasi come earry thisi year”. You see.
Nekithiti, we replaci ’c’ withi ’k’. ‘Come’ becomesi ’kome’ buti the ‘o’ there isi a proburemu so we replasi orro o’s thati soundi liki a’s with a’ and orro a’s thati soundi like o’s withi o’s.
Nao, ‘come’ bekams easier to say. “Kamu here”. But here hasi ’re’ ati the endi  thati needsi to be replacedi withi ’a’. “Kamu hea”. Thati isi beta!
Haya. Now “aterere” is ani attenshon casha, so wheni ekthipraining somuthingi, we starti with aterere for the seki ofu kirarity. Aterere isi now inisidi. Asi you cani see, iti isi very easy to bekamu a kikuyu.
Aterere, tero orro your rafikis who ara noti kikuyus to tirae thisi lessoni anda they wirro see kikuyu isi laiki ingirishi.
Am sure all Kikuyus are ‘lol’ by now

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