Access To Information Technology Research Articles

Improving Reading Interest of Net Generation Cadets Through the Development of Innovative Library Facilities and Infrastructure

This study explores boosting the reading interest of net generation cadets through innovative library facility and infrastructure development. The independent variable is library facility and infrastructure development, while the dependent variable is next generation cadets' reading interest. Quantitative research employing the Likert scale gathered data from Indonesian Flight Academy cadets in Banyuwangi. Descriptive analysis reveals a positive impact of library facility and infrastructure development on cadets' reading interest, supported by high mean and median values. Inferential statistical analysis further confirms a significant relationship between these factors. These findings significantly contribute to understanding factors influencing net generation cadets' reading interest. Practical implications advocate increased investment in innovative library facility and infrastructure, including relevant book additions, technology for information access, and comfortable reading spaces. Identifying additional influencing factors and promoting literacy programs and reading habit development are recommended. In conclusion, innovative library facility and infrastructure development critically enhance net generation cadets' reading interest. Regular evaluation and updates of implemented facilities, programs, and policies are essential, requiring collaboration among educational institutions, libraries, government, and the community for optimal results in improving reading interest. in one or two sentences.

The Involvement of School Administrative Staff in Harnessing Information Technology: A Systematic Literature Review

This research aims to elucidate the challenges confronted by school administrative staff in the execution of their responsibilities and to identify avenues for enhancing their performance through the application of information technology. The chosen research methodology is a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) designed to recognize, evaluate, and interpret prior research findings. Out of 465 articles initially screened, 43 were meticulously reviewed for their relevance to the study's scope, with 18 articles ultimately included in this systematic literature review. The research findings underscore the pivotal role of information technology in providing student services by school administrative staff. Nevertheless, several issues surfaced post-implementation, including increased workloads, challenges related to coordination and communication, adaptations to policies and regulations, the utilization of technology and information systems, and issues concerning service quality and user satisfaction. Resolving these challenges necessitates identifying the staff's needs and competencies, offering suitable training and development opportunities, instituting a performance assessment system, enhancing accessibility and utilization of information technology, and sustaining ongoing monitoring and support.

Patient experience of telehealth appointments in head and neck cancer services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in rapid changes to head and neck cancer (HNC) services. Multidisciplinary team (MDT) face-to-face appointments were converted to telehealth appointments (telephone and video-call) to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. The literature exploring HNC patient experience of these appointment types is limited. To explore patient experience of telehealth appointments at one UK centre during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the variables that may influence patient preference for virtual or face-to-face appointments. A survey-based study design was used, with closed questions and open text options to capture the views of the participants. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Open text data was used to add depth to the findings. A total of 23 participant surveys were returned. Six categories were identified: Usability; Information receiving & giving; Satisfaction; Emotions and comfort; Rapport; and Travel time and cost. Overall, participants gave positive responses to each category and indicated that telehealth appointments met their needs. Areas for clinical consideration are highlighted. Variables such as age, travel distance from hospital site, fear of COVID-19 and information technology (IT) access did not appear to influence patient preference for appointment type. Going forward, telehealth may be considered for use in combination with face-to-face appointments in the HNC pathway. Areas for further development include a 'telehealth screening tool' that may help to identify those patients most appropriate for these appointment types, or who require support to access them. What is already known on this subject The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in major disruption to HNC centres across the world. Services adapted to meet the needs of patients with many implementing telehealth into pathways. Studies exploring telehealth in speech and language therapy (SLT) services with the HNC population indicate positive results. It is clear telehealth has a role in modern healthcare and should not be viewed as a temporary solution to the pandemic. It is, however, recognized that embedding telehealth into pathways is not straightforward and requires ongoing review and evaluation, which includes patient and clinician perceptions. What this study adds to the existing knowledge The service evaluation gives insight into HNC patient experience of telehealth appointments for MDT clinics (led by SLT, dietician and clinical nurse specialist) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, patients report a positive experience of telehealth in the HNC pathway and are willing to accept this platform into their healthcare. Areas for clinical consideration are highlighted. What are the actual and clinical implications of this work? This findings of this service evaluation can be used to support the co-design of HNC pathways which embed telehealth as an option for patients. Areas that were important to the participants are highlighted; this includes the timing of telehealth appointments in the pathway, the need to meet the MDT face to face and the positive benefit of cost savings. The authors suggest a telehealth appointment screening tool as an area for future development.

Pengaruh Aksesibilitas, Sistem Pengendalian Internal Pemerintah, Transparansi, Pemanfaatan Teknologi Informasi Terhadap Akuntabilitas Pengelolaan Dana Desa

AbstractPurpose – This purpose of this study is to examine the accountability of village fund management in terms of accessibility, government internal control system, transparency and use of information technology.Design/methodology/approach – This study used a survey method through the distribution of questionnaires conducted in 49 villages spread across 6 sub-districts in Lebong regency, with a total of 49 village treasurer respondents. The relationship between variables was analyzed using SPSS.Findings – The results of multiple regression analysis shows that 1) Accessibility has a negative influence on the accountability of des fund management. 2) The government's internal control system has a positive influence on accountability of village fund management. 3) Transparency has a positive influence on the accountability of village fund management. 4) Utilization information technology has a positive influence on the accountability of village fund management.Originality/value – This research is aimed at village governments regarding village financial management. This was done to see more clearly the form of accountability of village governments in managing village funds, where there are still many village governments that cannot be accountable for village funds, especially Lebong district. As well as explaining how the government's internal control system, accessibility, transparency and use of information technology explain the accountability of village fund managementResearch limitations/implications – The limitation of this research is that the statements in the accessibility questionnaire are still inaccurate in explaining the accessibility variables. The implication of this research is to prove that agency theory in line with the variables of accessibility, internal control system, transparency and use of information technology related to accountability village fund management. According to the results of this research, it is hoped that it can provide benefits for the village government as a reference or material for consideration in making decisions regarding the importance of responsible management village funds and as a consideration in making policies for increasing accountability of village funds.Keywords: Accessibility, accountability of village fund management, government internal control system, transparency, utilization of information technology.Article Type: Research Paper

SELF-EMPLOYMENT AS A MEANS OF ENSURING THE WELL-BEING OF THE POPULATION IN UZBEKISTAN

A set of direct factors for the well-being of the population is the level of income, labor productivity, ensuring employment of the population, fair distribution of income, the level of accessibility of healthcare, education, and information technology.

Identifying the Risk Regions of Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) Incidents in China.

The objectives of this study were to identify the risk regions of wild boar incidents in China and to draw a risk map. Risk maps can be used to plan the prioritization of preventive measures, increasing management effectiveness from both a short- and a long-term perspective. We used a web crawler (web information access technology) to obtain reports of wild boar incidents from China's largest search engine (Baidu) and obtained 196 valid geographic locations of wild boar incidents from the reports. Subsequently, a system of environmental variables-with climate, topography, landscape, and human disturbance as the main variable types-was constructed, based on human-land-system thinking. Finally, the Maxent model was applied to predict the risk space of wild boar incidents in China by integrating the geographic location information for wild boar incidents with the environmental variables. We observed that the types of environmental variables that contributed to wild boar incidents were in the descending order of climate (40.5%) > human disturbance (25.2%) > landscape (24.4%) > topography (9.8%). Among the 14 environmental variables, annual precipitation, the GDP index, and the mean annual temperature were the main environmental variables. The distance from woodland, distance from cultivated land, and elevation were the secondary environmental variables. The response curves of the environmental variables demonstrated that the highest probability of wild boar incidents occurred when the annual average temperature was 16 °C, the annual precipitation was 800 mm, and the altitudes were 150 m and 1800 m. The probability of wild boar incidents decreased with an increase in the distance from cultivated and forested land, and increased sharply and then levelled off with an increase in the GDP index. Approximately 12.18% of China was identified as being at a high risk of wild boar incidents, mainly on the eastern side of the Huhuanyong Line.

Information and communications technology access for people in prison: strategies to maximise the benefits and minimise the harms of communication with families and program workers

ABSTRACT COVID-19 lockdowns accelerated the take up of video calls and other digital communication between people in prison and the outside world. This has altered relationships with families and practice within rehabilitative and reintegration services. Little work has discussed the significance of these changes or articulated a normative agenda for shaping changes in future. This article aims to identify strategies that might help reintegration services and justice system agencies maximise the benefits and minimise the harms from information communication technology (ICT) use between people in prison and their families and services. Drawing from empirical literature, practical insights from service delivery and theoretical insights from assemblage theory and carceral geography, this article proposes three strategies: design spatial, scheduling and security measures to minimise stigma and disruption; actively support ICT users to equitably access the potential of ICT systems; and develop program practices in parallel with the evolutions of the technology they employ. Each of these strategies is set out with sub-components and suggestions for further research.

Dynamic Load Balancing for Improved Resource Allocation in Cloud Environments

Cloud computing has emerged as a revolutionary paradigm in information technology, offering scalable and on-demand access to computing resources. Efficient resource allocation is a crucial aspect in ensuring optimal performance and cost-effectiveness of cloud environments. Load balancing algorithms play a vital role in distributing workloads across available resources, preventing resource overutilization and underutilization. This research focuses on optimizing resource allocation in cloud computing through the application of advanced load balancing algorithms. The primary objective is to enhance resource utilization, minimize response time, and improve overall system performance. Traditional load balancing techniques often fall short in addressing the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of cloud environments. Therefore, this study investigates novel algorithms that leverage real-time resource monitoring, predictive analytics, and adaptive decision-making to intelligently allocate workloads. The research involves the design, implementation, and evaluation of multiple load balancing algorithms. Comparative analysis is conducted to assess the efficiency of the proposed algorithms against existing methods. Performance metrics such as response time, throughput, resource utilization, and scalability are used to gauge the effectiveness of the algorithms under various workload scenarios. this research explores the impact of load balancing strategies on energy consumption and environmental sustainability. Energy-efficient load balancing algorithms are developed to align resource allocation with energy consumption patterns, contributing to the overall green computing initiative.

Does Informatization Cause the Relative Substitution Bias of Agricultural Machinery Inputs for Labor Inputs? Evidence from Apple Farmers in China

The change of information scenario may change the market transaction cost of different factors, thus changing the relative price of factors and inducing the substitution of production factors, but there is no research to prove this. Therefore, this study takes labor-saving technology (mechanical substitution of labor) as an example, evaluates informatization from three aspects of information technology access, information technology application and information literacy comprehensively, and uses the probit model and CMP method to analyze whether informatization causes the substitution of agricultural machinery inputs for labor inputs and its heterogeneity. The results show that informatization has a significant negative impact on farmers' choice of labor-saving technology, and the result is robust at the regional level, but the negative impact of informatization on farmers' choice of labor-saving technology in the eastern region is smaller than that in the western region. The level of information literacy has the largest negative impact on farmers' choice of labor-saving technology, followed by the level of access to information technology, and the level of application of information technology has the smallest impact. The study concludes that informatization has not led to the significant substitution of labor by machinery in apple production. Thus, the results are important for enriching the theory of induced change in agricultural technology in the context of informatization.

The study of Information and Communication Technology Knowledge of Teacher Professional Students Phetchabun Rajabhat University

This study intends to examine the five areas in which teacher professional students at Phetchabun Rajabhat University are knowledgeable about information and communication technologies. However, the target group used in this research was purposive sampling. In this research being an applies research, the research model to be used is quantitative research. The tools used in the study are the knowledge of information and communication technology. The statistics used in data analysis are mean (x̅), standard deviation (S.D). According to the findings, the sample group possessed solid information technology competence. In any event, the findings of a study on the technological literacy of Phetchabun Rajabhat University students majoring in teaching indicated that these students had generally strong information technology access abilities. It was discovered that pupils of instructors had the best technological understanding after classifying knowledge of access to technology into five categories, there is little utilization of creative and technological managerial abilities. From the foregoing results, it demonstrates that the information technology literacy of teaching professional students has other elements that make the skills in the very excellent and least, such as the environment of the technology users, etc.

A Study of Education Administrators’ Exertion of Authority Phitsanulok Primary Educational Service Area Office 1

The objectives of this study were 1) to study education administrators’ exertion of authority 2) to compare education administrators’ exertion of authority under Phitsanulok Primary Educational Service Area Office 1. The variables were divided by the administrators’ experiences and the sizes of the institutions. The population in this study was 1,161 education administrators and teachers. The number of the samples was 291 determined using Krejcie and Morgan Table, stratified random sample of the sizes of the institutions, and simple random sampling. The study used a 5-point rating scale questionnaire for item-objective congruence ranged between 0.80-1.00 and the reliability was at 0.962. Data analysis statistics were mean, standard deviation, t-test statistic, one-way ANOVA test, and pair difference test by Scheffe’s method. The results were found as follows. 
 
 1) In general, the level of education administrators’ exertion of authority was high. The aspect with the highest mean was the authority of information technology access (x  = 4.17), while that with the lowest mean was the authority of punishment (x  = 3.56). 
 
 2) There was no difference, in general, in the comparison of education administrators’ exertion of authority divided by work experience. However, when each aspect was considered, there were statistically significant differences in the authority of punishment and the sizes of the institutions at statistically significant level of .05.

The impact of an improvement in the quality and reliability of rural residential electricity supply on clean cooking fuel adoption: Evidence from six energy poor Indian states

We present the first evidence of the causal effect of the quality and reliability of residential electricity supply on clean cooking fuel adoption and use in rural areas of six energy poor Indian states using household-level panel data from 2015 and 2018. Quality and reliability of electricity are measured using the number of hours of electricity supply in a day, the number of days of low voltage and the number of complete power outage days experienced in a month. We used the village-level variation in the coverage of a nationwide government program, (i.e., the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY)), that aimed to improve the quality and reliability of rural residential electricity supply, as an instrument. Our results show a positive effect of an improvement in the quality and reliability of electricity on liquefied petroleum gas adoption and use; and disadoption of traditional cooking fuel. The effects were significant for both poor and non-poor, and lower-caste households’ transition to clean cooking fuel. We find that the improvements in economic wellbeing, adoption of time-saving technologies, information access, and energy-efficient technology adoption played important mediating roles. These findings, for the first time, reveal the complementary role of electricity quality and reliability improvement with the adoption of clean energy sources, and thus supporting the achievement of important developmental outcomes. The findings thus underscore the need to invest in seamless and reliable electricity as a pathway to achieve the target of universal access to clean cooking fuels by 2030.

A Study on the Application of Online Speaking Class in Remote Areas: Is the Implementation of the Principle of Education for All Achieved?

Studies on blended and online learning have mostly focused on information and communication technology accessibility. This study investigated aspects other than ICT when students joined the Speaking Class blended and online from remote areas during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This study employed a mixed-method case study. The purposive sampling technique was used to choose two groups of students who enrolled in Speaking Classes at the English Department in the 2020/2021 academic year as the study's sample. The first group (Group A), which included eighteen (18) students, attended fourteen online speaking lectures, whereas the second group (Group B), which included twenty-two (22) students, attended blended learning lectures. The student's achievements in speaking abilities were described. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and interviews were used to obtain information about students' problems, and the data were analysed using content analysis. The data analysis revealed that Group B students performed better than Group A students in terms of learning outcomes. The findings of the data analysis from the interviews and focus groups reveal that some problems were encountered, including; 1) interference from family members; 2) absence of a study room; 3) financial difficulty; 4) absence of peers; 5) difficulty to get local transportation; and 6) problem to concentrate. These findings suggest that the applied online learning system has not been able to meet the principles of education for all during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Solutions to the application of online learning in remote areas, highlighting the roles of the local government, are forwarded.

Contradictory Narratives on Drivers and Barriers of Online Shopping Intentions for Apparel among Customers in Kerala

Apparels are the frills of social embellishment and the medium for defining one’s personality. The rapid advancement in information technology, online banking, and smartphone accessibility has resulted in exponential growth in online apparel shopping in developing countries, with India ranking second in market potential. A spectrum of internal and external factors influences people’s intentions to buy online, with customers’ attitudes shaped by perceptions being the most influential one. The descriptive study using first-hand data investigates the perceptions regarding drivers and barriers of online shopping intentions for apparel among online and offline preferring customers in Kerala. There are diverging arguments for and against online apparel shopping, labelled as drivers and barriers. The discussions hint that, for customers who prefer to shop online, the perceived impact of drivers outweighs the barriers. However, customers who prefer offline overweigh the impact of barriers on online shopping intentions rather than what drivers could exert. The study concludes that people’s perceptions of how drivers and barriers impact their online apparel shopping intentions serve as the foundation for their preferences of being online or offline. The contradictory narratives of the perceived impact of drivers and barriers on customers’ online shopping intentions have classified strategic implications for businessmen in understanding consumer behaviour patterns and effectively enrooting their products.

Use of mobile phone technologies for accessing agricultural marketing information by grape smallholder farmers: a technological acceptance model (TAM) perspective

PurposeFactors influencing the use of mobile phone technologies for agricultural market information access remain a mixed debate, and there are contradictive views among studies. This study examined factors influencing the use of mobile phone technologies for agricultural marketing information access. The study is anchored on the technological acceptance model (TAM).Design/methodology/approachA descriptive cross-sectional research design was adopted with a sample size of 400 grape smallholder farmers. A structured questionnaire and focus group discussions (FGDs) were used to gather data. Descriptive, ordinal logistic regression and thematic approaches were used in data analysis.FindingsThe study confirmed grape smallholder farmers generally considered mobile phone technologies as an appropriate communication channel to stay informed about agricultural marketing information. It was found that reliable electricity supply, relevance, timeliness, perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) of mobile phone technologies influenced the level of agricultural marketing information access.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited to a selected number of grape smallholder farmers in Dodoma, Tanzania, and leaves out those without mobile phones. Also, the study was cross-sectional in nature, so it may not be necessarily capable of consistently providing critical and consistent information about the same population over a series of times.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the body of knowledge by integrating the use of mobile phone technologies to access marketing information in informing policy and decision-making processes to promote grape marketing.

Revisiting Digital Divide: Teaching and Research Considerations

In this editorial, I hope to start the conversation on the deepening digital divide that persists in disadvantaged communities and call upon us as information systems (IS) educators and researchers to create actionable knowledge and solutions to close the gap in the information and communications technology (ICT) access, use, and skills.

Determinants of Factors Associated With Community Demand for Health Services at Pintu Padang Health Center, South Tapanuli Regency

Demand for health services is one of the most important and influential factors in a health service, Demand (demand) can be in the form of goods or services used or purchased by patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between information technology, values and norms and accessibility to health services at the Pintu Padang Health Center. Measurements in this variable were carried out using a questionnaire. This type of quantitative research with a Cross Sectional approach. The sample was 365 respondents. Sampling used the Accidental Sampling method. Univariate and bivariate analysis. The results of data analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between information technology and public demand with a p-value of 0.000 (<0.05), there was a significant relationship between values and norms to public demand with a p-value of 0.000 (0.05), there was a significant relationship between accessibility and public demand with a p-value of 0.000 (0.05). Further improve services that can make it easier for patients to get health services.

Anti-Systemic Movements in the Attention Economy

In recent decades, anti-systemic movements feature new forms of communication for organizing efforts: the use of information and communication technologies. Research on information and communication technologies suggests that mobile phones and internet access have increasingly facilitated horizontal communication for anti-systemic movements across the world-system, creating space for rapid and instantaneous organization and mobilization. However, existing scholarship benefits from a critical evaluation of claims about horizontality by addressing the political economy of information and communication technologies from a world-systems analysis perspective. Specifically, information and communication technology devices and platforms—from cellphones to social media channels—are designed by powerful corporations that are often based in powerful core and semi-periphery nations. The majority of these corporations are based in the hegemonic core of the United States. Within the present context of waning material resources across the world-system, these corporations profit from an online attention economy. Just as traditional material economies exploit the labor and natural resources from the periphery to extract wealth for core states, the attention economy exploits the psychologies and behaviors of periphery populations to extract wealth for core countries. Thus, some of the most powerful institutions in the world-system control the algorithms and structures where anti-systemic movements compete for peoples’ attention. This study utilizes the Mass Mobilization Data Project 1990-2018 historical dataset to determine which kinds of anti-systemic movements thrive as information and communication technology access expands globally. Using population-averaged negative binomial panel models on protest counts, I determine that as information and communication technologies expand, anti-systemic movements that are unlikely to threaten U.S. hegemony thrive, and conversely, anti-systemic movements that pose serious threats to U.S. hegemony and the present capitalist world-system are stifled. To unpack these findings, I draw from the cultural political economy approach, a framework that describes how some imaginations become a zeitgeist over competing imaginations for economic and political realities.

Telehealth information and communication technology access for family caregivers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental health needs

BackgroundTelehealth is increasingly used to deliver mental health services. However, the potential benefits of telehealth for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental health needs (IDD-MH) may not be fully realized. This study addresses gaps in knowledge about access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) for individuals with IDD-MH from the perspective of their family caregivers. ObjectiveWhat factors are associated with access to ICTs among family caregivers of people with IDD-MH who use START services? MethodsRetrospective analysis of cross-sectional interview data gathered for START use at the onset of COVID-19. START is a crisis prevention and intervention evidence-based model for people with IDD-MH implemented across the USA. To assess needs during COVID-19, START coordinators conducted interviews with 1455 family caregivers between March and July 2020. A multinomial regression model examined correlates of ICT access, as indicated by an index (poor, limited, and optimal access). Correlates included the level of IDD, age, gender, race, ethnicity, rural setting of the person with IDD-MH, and caregiver status. ResultsAge (ages 23–30 years) and sole caregiver status were significantly associated with limited access (both p ≤ .001). Age (ages 23–30 years and ≥31 years, p < .001), race (Black or African American, p = .001), ethnicity (Hispanic, p = .004), and sole caregiver status (p < .001) were significantly associated with poor access. ConclusionsDisparities existed in ICT access for adults, specific racial/ethnic groups, and sole caregiver households. Healthcare policy related to telehealth must consider how ICT access can be equitable for all users with IDD-MH.

Leveraging digital technology for development: Does ICT contribute to poverty reduction?

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 requires countries to end poverty of all forms. At the same time, SDG 9 target 9.c calls for increasing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) access and striving to provide universal and affordable access to the internet in the least developed countries by 2020. While the existing studies have explored the effect of ICT on economic growth, there is a limited empirical study on the effect of ICT on poverty reduction. This article, therefore, investigates the effect of ICT on poverty reduction using comprehensive panel data for 44 sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries from 2010 to 2019. Using the dynamic system-generalized method of moment estimator to control endogeneity, the findings show that telephone penetration, mobile phone penetration, and ICT goods imported contribute to poverty reduction, while internet penetration, broadband penetration, and ICT goods exported increase poverty rate regardless of gender and age group. The net effect estimates reveal that at the maximum value of most ICT variables, economic growth, income inequality, and access to credit significantly increase poverty rate regardless of the age group. We argue that for SSA to leverage ICT to drive economic prosperity, policies that seek to drive ICT availability and affordability should be supported with policies that ensure income redistribution, trickle-down development, and minimizing the cost of accessing credit.