Crowdsourcing for Coordination: The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Disaster Relief Preparedness and Response

Information and communication technology (ICT) has changed and continues to change almost every aspect of our daily lives. Our personal lives, social interactions, educational systems, business atmosphere, and corporate culture-everything has changed in one way or another due to advances in the field of ICT. The construction industry is no exception. ICT provides an unprecedented opportunity as well as enormous challenges to the construction industry.

The grey side of ICT

Danish parties have adopted new information and communication technologies (ICT) and thereby introduced new online party activities facilitated by these new technologies. However, the application as of 2000–01, the time of the party member survey applied here, is still limited and the online participation of party members is not substantially changing the character of party member participation. However, even though limited the application of ICT does make a difference. Most members who are active online are also active offline. Hence, party members attending traditionally party meetings – in particular officeholders – participate more online than other members. But some otherwise passive party members are mobilised by activities facilitated by ICTs. Hence, the application of ICT has an impact on the amount of party activity. Furthermore, the representativeness of party member activity is affected by the application of ICTs. When compared to voters and party members in general, the age representativeness is ameliorated, whereas the education and gender representativeness are exacerbated. In sum, even though limited, the application of ICT within Danish parties has an impact on the character of party member participation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately and severely affected older adults, namely those living in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). Aside from experiencing high mortality rates, survivors were critically concerned by social isolation and loneliness (SIL). To address this serious public health concern and stay connected with LTCF residents, information and communication technology (ICT) platforms (eg, video calls) were used as an alternative to maintaining social interactions amid the visiting restriction policy. This paper aimed to synthesize the effects of ICT-related communication interventions using SMS text messaging or chat, video, voice mail, or photo to address SIL in LTCF residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, 2793 references published in English and French in 2019 and onward were obtained from 10 relevant databases: PsycINFO-Ovid, Ovid-MEDLINE, CINAHL-EBSCO, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus, DirectScience, Communication & Mass Media Complete, IEEE Xplore, and ACM Digital Library. A 2-person screening approach was used, and the studies were screened independently and blindly. A narrative synthesis was performed to interpret the results of the included studies, and their quality was appraised. In total, 4 studies were included in the review. ICT-related applications were used to ensure connectedness to address SIL. ICT interventions consisted mainly of videoconferencing, intergroup video call sessions between residents, and chatting (SMS text messages and phone calls). Roughly 3 classes of mediating ICT tools were used: video calls using software applications (eg, Skype); robot systems embedding video telephones; and ordinary telecommunication such as telephone, internet, social media platforms, and videoconferencing. This review has included the role of humanoid robots in LTCFs as an innovation avenue because of their multipurpose use (eg, communication tools and remotely operable). Remote social capitalization through ICT applications has become an avenue to reduce SIL among LTCF residents. This review examined a social connection approach that will remain relevant and even be fostered after the COVID-19 pandemic. As families remain the main stakeholders of LTCFs, this study's findings could inform policy makers and frontline managers to better shape programs and initiatives to prevent or reduce SIL in LTCFs. RR2-10.2196/36269.

The study investigates the effect and success of using various information and communication technology (ICT) in the application of knowledge management (KM) in commercial Jordanian banks in Amman. A 35-item questionnaire directed at all executive and supervisory levels was distributed to 34 branches belonging to 12 commercial banks in Amman. A total of 235 questionnaires were distributed; 221 were collected and 14 of these were excluded as inappropriate for analysis. Thus, 208 questionnaires (a response rate of 88.51%) were analysed by SPSS. Respondents indicated high degrees of approval for the use of ICT techniques. Moreover, ICT was found to have a high effect of 54% in applying KM. Different factors were found to affect ICT's application of KM, i.e., age, academic background, job description and years of experience. The study recommends advocating the importance of keeping abreast with technological advancements and providing the proper infrastructure to maintain and utilise ICT. It also recommends that KM be incorporated and disseminated into all administrative levels. Finally, staff should be familiarised, encouraged and motivated to employ KM via incentives and access to information should be made available to all staff through the use of data management systems.

Today’s career and technical education (CTE) teachers and trainers are subjected to a number of challenges caused by work systems and processes that are science and technology-based. Furthermore, the advent of information and communication technologies (ICT) and characteristics of Millennial students has greatly influenced their roles. This chapter examines the impact of ICT and influence of today’s students on the role of the 21st Century CTE teachers and trainers. The chapter describes information and communication technologies, application of ICT in education and training, characteristics of millennium students; contextual challenges and role changes for today’s teachers and trainers, and provides suggestions to integrate ICT with instruction.

This study evaluated the impact of information and communications technology (ICT) on the operations management of cooperatives in Nueva Vizcaya. By evaluating the respondents’ profiles and cooperatives’ profiles, and their relationship to ICT infrastructure and ICT access, the researcher would recommend ICT strategies to improve the operations of the cooperatives. The concept of the study was drawn from the modernization theory, and ICT access in terms of skills, literacy, and attitude toward technology. This study used a descriptive design to determine the respondents’ profiles and the cooperatives’ profile. In addition, the descriptive design was also used to determine the level of ICT access of the cooperative personnel and the extent of ICT infrastructure of the cooperatives. Moreover, this study used the correlational research design to determine the significant relationship between the profile of the personnel and the level of ICT access, the profile of the cooperative, and the extent of ICT infrastructure of the cooperatives. To assess the relationships between variables, two correlation coefficients were employed: Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The study revealed that cooperatives had a “moderate” extent of utilization of ICT infrastructure. Utilization was higher in systems configuration and Internet connectivity compared to organization and management and information technology strategy, while cooperative personnel had the necessary technology skills and literacy to effectively utilize ICT tools and applications in their work. Also, cooperative personnel demonstrated a great extent of positive attitudes toward ICT utilization.

PurposeThere are guidelines for information and communication technology (ICT) applications which are already established in manufacturing. These guidelines include recommendations such as: alignment of ICT applications with strategy, involvement of the full range of stakeholders, and careful planning and monitoring. A recommendation from outside of manufacturing is that information and communication design should be carried out in conjunction with ICT applications. The purpose of the research reported in this paper is to investigate the relevance of information and communication design to applications of advanced ICTs used in the instruction of manual skills.Design/methodology/approachLiterature review, interviews, and five quasi‐experimental studies are used.FindingsThe design of information and its communication is relevant to the instruction of manual skills with ICTs and, in particular, important for instruction with augmented reality (AR).Research limitations/implicationsThere are only 92 participants in the five quasi‐experimental studies.Practical implicationsThis paper provides an overview of information and communication design issues. Examples are provided of how these issues manifest themselves in the application of advanced ICTs, such as virtual reality and AR, which can be used in the instruction of manual skills.Originality/valueThe originality of the research reported in this paper is that it goes beyond further investigation of established guidelines for ICT applications. The value of this paper is that it draws attention to the potential of information and communication design to improve ICTs implementations. It also draws attention to the need for balanced comparisons in the assessment of all ICTs prior to their implementation.

PurposeThis study was conducted to investigate the application of information and communication technologies (ICT) in special libraries in Kerala, India.Design/methodology/approachThe following methods were used to collect data for the study: questionnaire survey of librarians and library users, semi‐structured interviews with librarians, and observational visits in the libraries. This study was confined only to the automated special libraries in Kerala.FindingsThe analyses revealed that though the libraries had hardware, software, and communication facilities to some extent, ICT‐based resources and services were not reaching the users to the expected extent. Library automation in special libraries in Kerala was largely commenced during the period 1990‐2000. CDS/ISIS was used more in the libraries than any other software. The library catalogue found to be the most popular area for automation. The ICT‐based resource used by the largest percentage of the users was the e‐mail. Most of the libraries were hampered by lack of funds, lack of infrastructure, and lack of skilled professionals to embark on automation of all library management activities and application of ICT. A good number of the library users were not satisfied with the application of ICT in their libraries and indicated “inadequate ICT infrastructure” as their major reason for dissatisfaction. They proposed a variety of measures of formal orientation and training on ICT to become more effective users.Originality/valueThe study provides recommendations to enhance library automation and effective and efficient application of ICT.

Background. Life expectancy is an important health status indicator based on average number of years a person at a given age may be expected to live given current mortality rates. Given this significance, it would be necessary to probe into the factors affecting the life expectancy. Ensuring that information and communication technology (ICT) services are properly used could contribute to development and achievement, as it represents an important issue for the countries moving toward knowledge-based and information-based societies. Therefore, this study explored the impact of the information and communication technology on life expectancy. Methods. This study covers annual data from 2008 to 2018 for a group of countries in the Middle East. Data were retrieved from the Annual Reports such as World Bank and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) data sets. The effects of ICT on life expectancy are estimated with the Panel model. We also used the Hausman test to investigate fixed versus random effects. The data were analyzed by Stata 14 software. Results. The core findings of this study confirm the significant impact of ICT on life expectancy in the Middle East. The calculated Coefficient of the regression was 0.551 indicating how much life expectancy changes when ICT variable increases by one unit. Moreover, the rho (intraclass correlation) was found to be 0.975 showing that 97.5% of the variance is due to differences across panels. Conclusion. Considering the effect of ICT on life expectancy, policymakers of the Middle Eastern countries should integrate the use of ICT with the existing programs and systems. Technology is not an end in itself but merely the means to reinforce the existing system and to meet the locally determined goals. It can be used as a tool to attain broader health and development goals. Background Life expectancy is an important health status indicator based on average number of years a person at a given age may be expected to live given current mortality rates. Given this significance, it would be necessary to probe into the factors affecting the life expectancy. Ensuring that information and communication technology (ICT) services are properly used could contribute to development and achievement, as it represents an important issue for the countries moving toward knowledge-based and information-based societies. As ICT affects everyday lives, it also impacts the macroeconomic growth, which in turn further affects everyday lives by allowing improvements in infrastructures and a higher standard of living. ICTs inherently entail the economic development of countries, regions and cities, while also improving social inclusion, well-being and therefore quality of life. Therefore, this study explored the impact of the information and communication technology on life expectancy. Methods This study covers annual data from 2008 to 2018 for a group of countries of in the Middle East. Data were retrieved from the Annual Reports such as World Bank dataset and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) data set. The effects of information and communication technology on life expectancy were estimated through the Panel model. First, stationary tests were performed with the Fisher’s generalized unit root test. In the Fisher test for panel data, the null hypothesis of a unit root was rejected at the 5% level of significance. The cross-section correlation test was performed with the Freeze test. The null hypothesis of no correlation was rejected at the 5% level of significance. We also used the Hausman test to investigate fixed versus random effects. The null hypothesis of no fixed effects was accepted so the random effects model was used. The Hausman test detects endogenous regressors in a regression model. Endogenous variables have values that are determined by other variables in the system. The data were analyzed by Stata 14 software. Results The core findings of this study confirm the significant impact of information and communication technology on life expectancy in the Middle East. The Coefficient of the regression was 0.551 indicating how much life expectancy changes when information technology variable increases by one unit. The coefficient of ICT shows that 1% increase in ICT variable causes 0.551 % incline in life expectancy and this result is significant at 5% level of significance. Regarding control variables, we found that all have expected statistically significant effects on life expectancy. The intra-cluster correlation coefficient (rho) is a measure of the relatedness, or similarity, of clustered data. Values of rho range from 0 to 1 in human studies, and as the rho increases, more individuals within the clusters resemble one another. The rho (intraclass correlation) was found to be 0.975 showing that 97.5% of the variance is due to differences across panels. This research recommends that human development programs need to focus on polices which foster digital inclusion. Conclusion Considering the effect of information and communication technology on life expectancy, policymakers of the Middle Eastern countries should integrate the use of information and communication technology with the existing programs and systems. The digital citizen is happier and values living in regions with technological capacity, investing in research & development, and committed to achieving sustainable growth. ICT use leads to improved assessments of the efficiency and management of the public administration by more technological users, underlining the importance of an understanding between users and public services in the virtual sphere. Technology is not an end in itself but merely an instrument to reinforce the existing system and to meet the locally determined goals. It can be used as a tool to attain broader health and development goals. The findings from this study provide key insights that explain how life expectancy may be enhanced through ICTs. Practical Implications of Research According to the influence of information and communication technology (ICT) on life expectancy, policymakers should provide ICT infrastructures and adopt strategies integrating ICT policies with human life criteria such as education, health and work to improve life expectancy. Ethical Consideration The paper reflects the author’s own research and analysis in a truthful and complete manner. Conflict of Interests This study was an independent research and the author declares no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Acknowledgement I would like to thank Dr Marzieh Ronaghi for her guidance and assistance throughout this research.

As information and communication technology (ICT) has become integral to key processes supporting travel and tourism, it is important for research and development to continue providing innovative approaches and critical reflections for the effective use of ICT in the tourism industry. The papers published in this volume are extended versions of highly selected research papers among the many contribution presented at ENTER2015 eTourism Conference, which took place in Lugano, Switzerland, on February 3–6, 2015, organized by the International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism (IFITT). While far from being inclusive of all research areas in ICT and tourism, the collection of five articles in this special issue provides an excellent selection of the latest research on applications of ICT in travel and tourism. Social media has been one of the prominent areas of research in tourism and ICT since the last decade (Dwivedi et al. 2011; Hvass and Munar 2012; Leung et al. 2013). In tourism literature, the topic is highly associated with the different aspects of tourism marketing (Hays et al. 2013), including consumer behaviour (Munar and Jacobsen 2014; Tham et al. 2013; Xiang and Gretzel 2010) and destination branding (Lim et al. 2012; Munar 2011). The first three articles in this volume discuss how tourism destinations and hospitality businesses make strategic use of social media and user-generated content to communicate and assess destination brands among their consumers. The first article (Huertas and Marine-Roig 2015) explores the effectiveness of destination brand communication via social media by analysing user reactions (i.e., likes, comments, shares, mentions, etc.) to destination brand

Economic development and information and communication technology (ICT) are found to move together in the present day era of globalization. ICT can contribute significantly in economic development of a region by providing adequate information at the minimum of time and cost, thereby enhancing productivity in different sectors of an economy. This fact is substantiated by several studies (Kraemer & Dedrick, 2001; Pohjola, 2001). Some country specific studies like that of Singapore (Wong, 2001) also highlighted similar results. ICT diffusion in the world has been quite rapid since the mid 1990s. While the developed countries have benefited substantially from the ICT growth, the developing countries could not reap similar benefits out of it which has resulted in emergence of a digital divide across the countries (Economist, 2000; Nkrumah, 2000; Norris, 2001). This divide is noticed not only across countries but also within a country and this is more prominent in developing economies like India. ICT diffusion is another area which needs more attention in India as it will lead to ICT access and application of ICT in real sectors to increase productivity and output. During the past one decade India has made rapid advances in ICT growth as reflected in the increase in the number of Internet connections and users. The growth of Internet connections and users in the country is shown in Table 1.

Capacity Development is needed in the Iranian Agricultural System. Integrating Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the agricultural research system is an appropriate capacity development mechanism. The appropriate application of ICTs and information such as a National Agricultural Information System requires a systemically developed strategic plan, based on identifying and recognizing system-wide organizational implications. In this regard, this paper focuses on the implications of integrating ICTs in the Iranian agricultural research system. To this aim, the authors conducted a survey research study using qualitative analysis of interview data from a select sample of agricultural researchers and agricultural faculty members. After designing an interview protocol and doing interviews with the select sample of agricultural researchers and faculty members (n = 29), a qualitative procedure was used to analyze the data, based on conceptual extraction and thematic categorization of statements. Categories included guidelines, expected outcomes, challenges and barriers of appropriate ICTs integration in the Iranian agricultural research system. In addition, different phases of the ICTs integration process were identified in the form of a pathway diagram. Finally, based on related Iranian lessons learned, which are explained in this research, some appropriate mechanisms for integrating ICTs in national agricultural research system were indicated.

The new generation of network information technology has become a significant tool to promote public health. The application of information and communication technology (ICT) in the traditional medical industry has changed the medical service model, improved the public medical service system, and provided diversified medical services to the public. This paper discusses the impact of ICT on residents' health, and analyzes the possible heterogeneity impact in different groups and its impact mechanism using the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data and a fixed-effects model. The ordinary least squares estimation method was adopted to quantitatively identify the impact mechanism of ICT applications on residents' health. Multisource big data were collected, including the CFPS questionnaire (gender, age, marriage status, work status, income level, smoking, sports, and insurance participation), regional economic development, as well as service industry development. The quantitative phase involved conducting in-depth investigation across 25Chinese provinces. Then, a quantitative analyse-based study empirically tested the effects of internet applications on residents' health by matching macro data and micro survey data. After controlling for these identified factors, the data were tested using ordinary least squares and fixed effect models, with the assistance of STATA version 14 to measure and validate the proposed model. The regression results support the conclusion that ICT can significantly improve residents' health (p<0.001). After a series of robustness tests through replacing explanatory variables and choosing appropriate exogenous policy shocks, the results still hold. We analyse the possible heterogeneous effects and conclude that the health-promoting effect of ICT is stronger among middle-aged individuals, high-income groups, women, urban residents, unmarried individual, those who engage in sports and non-smokers. Our study confirms a significant association between ICT applications and residents' health and reveals substantial heterogeneity in this effect. It also provides insights into how to apply internet information to better realise disease surveillance and prevention goals.

The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in construction companies has been growing steadily during the last decade. However, few studies inquire into either perceptions of the impact of actual ICT use or perceptions among different occupational groups in construction companies. The aim of the paper is to explore users’ general perceptions of ICT impacts in the post-adoption stage and analyse the implications for construction management practice. A mixed methods approach was used. Quantitative data were collected using a web-based survey both in a major construction company and among medium-sized companies in Sweden. Data from 294 returned completed questionnaires were analysed with t-tests and multiple regression analysis. In addition, participant observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted within the major construction company in order to strengthen the analysis. It can be concluded that respondents are generally fairly satisfied with the ICT. Differences in perceptions among occupational groups can be explained by the nature of work tasks and the original intentions for using ICT as a means of control and calculation. Even if respondents perceive that a further development of ICT could improve competitiveness, they do not want to increase their use of it in their workplaces. They basically think that ‘it is fine, just as it is’. This indicates that a challenge in construction management is to investigate how prevailing and new ICT applications can be used to develop the industry.