Uwanda (nyanda) - 1 open space. 2 plain,
plateau. 3 research field.
Uwanja (nyanja) - 1 court, field; plot. 2
field of study.
Gawa - 1 share, distribute, allot. 2 divide,
deal. From Proto-Bantu *-gàba.
The
term open source, commonly in software engineering, refers to something (maybe
a computer code) people can inspect, modify, enhance and share because its
design and tools are publicly accessible. The purpose of making these codes
publicly available is to harness the talents and/or data of oblivious, unpaid
public who have zero interest or stake in the technology and consequently won’t
profit from its use once deployed fully. A recent example is the thousands of Kenyans
scammed into giving away their data to an American biometrics project for
cryptocurrency development in a very shameful spectacle of haggling crowds of
people scrambling to be first to give away their data. It’s even worse that
their government has zero interest and zero stake in that project.
Once
all aspects of the technology (uwanja) are intact and viable, then the source
code is modified rendering the previous one unprofitable, and exclusive control
is then established by the party that conducted the project. This party becomes
able to distribute/divide/deal (gawa) by determining who does what and
who gets what as well as who is marginalized.
Analogy
of land demarcation
Before
an open land is demarcated and delineated, several studies in regard to the
characteristics of that land have to be conducted. Characteristics include such
things as slope, soil types, soil depth, vegetation, inherent or adjacent
resources like water, wind direction, sun path, and so forth. All these
determine optimal location for different people with their varied interests. By
foreseeing what one intends to do with a piece of that land, a person will seek
the best spot for it. Those who lack foresight end up in the unwanted
wastelands if at all there’s any left.
After
the study, the general areas of interest are identified but still remains fuzzy
because of areas of overlap as well as underestimation. It is then that tools
of demarcation are deployed so as to allocate definite measurable areas to
every interest party. A common tool of land demarcation is the Standard Grid
Square which is deployed as follows:
A
Primary Area Partition is demarcated by 40 minutes of latitude and 1 degree of
longitude; an area of about 6,400km2, on a regional map of scale 1:200,000.
The Secondary Area Partition is demarcated by dividing a Primary Area Partition
into 64 (8 by 8) equal parts vertically and horizontally, and the Basic Grid
Square (Third Area Partition) is demarcated by dividing a Secondary Area
Partition into 100 (10 by 10) equal parts vertically and horizontally. From the
basic grid squares, land can then be allocated in all regular and irregular shapes
as necessary. The purpose of cascading from the primary area partition to the
smaller scales is to have more control over geographical coordinate positioning.
Once
the demarcation and allocation is completed and means of access laid out, the previous
rules of access are dissolved and new ones established and the new owners
settle and begin to develop the lots.
Analogy
of forensics
Apart
from the now common use of fingerprints, documentation, facial profiles, as
well as DNA profiles, iris scanning as identifiers for forensics, there were
used measurements of the outer ear as biometric identifier. It is documented
to have been used in the late 19 century by the French criminologist Alphonse
Bertillon, using eleven anthropometric measurements for his manual system
of identifying individuals. Later also used by Iannarelli in 1964 who studied thousands
of ears along his career and created The Iannarelli system of ear
identification. Alphonse Bertillon used a system of
11 measurements for ear biometrics which was considered infallible, but later
substituted by fingerprints. Alfred Victor Iannarelli classified about seven
thousand ears using photographs. His system was based on a meticulous approach
to ear photographs, enlarging and measuring a 12-point system scale, published as
“The Iannarelli system of ear identification” in 1964.
The external ear has its unique
characteristics just as fingerprints have its arches, and despite cellular
evolution the pattern of the ear is a lasting, immutable and individually
unique as fingerprints. Apart from growing in size, its proportions remain
constant throughout life until decomposition. The ear is mainly composed of
skin and elastic cartilage with minimal amounts of water and fat, which may
delay decomposition rate.
Compared to fingerprints, the
recognition of the ear can be performed without the subject's cooperation or
consent as long as a proper photograph is obtained. Furthermore, technology and
social media gives easy access to a great deal of personal information
facilitating the process of recognition or identification. Therefore, ear
biometrics is an open-source code for identification because a majority of
people are empowered to use it for surveillance and identification on anybody. All
one needs is comparison with an existing database, like a previous picture of the subject.
It cannot be placed under control of few because no compulsion is necessary. This is unlike fingerprints, dna
profiling, iris scanning that require compulsion and cooperation thus more
amenable to exclusive control backed by armed states. The open-source code of
ear identification that produced tools of measurement and data was replaced with
another code of fingerprints because fingerprints allowed exclusive control,
and the plot was completed.
References
Beliene-Molander, S. and Olsen,
C.K. (2018). The external ear as a biometric identifier. Project assignment at
department/faculty University of Oslo
TUKI (2001), Kamusi Ya
Kiswahili-Kiingereza; Swahili-English Dictionary. Published by Taasisi ya
Uchunguzi wa Kiswahili (TUKI), Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Comments
Post a Comment