Access To Information Services Research Articles

Chatbots Implementation for Students Admision

The growing need for accessible and responsive information services in higher education has highlighted limitations in traditional admission support systems. This study aims to enhance the new student admission process at Universitas Stikubank through the development and implementation of a chatbot based on the RASA framework. The chatbot addresses several key issues: limited availability of staff, the necessity for 24/7 access to information, and the demand for immediate responses to prospective students’ queries. By simulating human interactions, the chatbot provides real-time, accurate information about university programs, admission requirements, campus facilities, and more. The development process involved data collection through interviews, observations, and literature review, followed by a structured methodology for conversation modeling and system design. Testing results indicate that the chatbot effectively supports the admission process, reducing administrative workload and enhancing the applicant experience by offering uninterrupted service. This study demonstrates the potential of chatbot technology to streamline administrative processes and improve service quality in the educational sector, particularly in university admissions.

Facilitating digital accessibility for students with disabilities into information services at Jordanian academic libraries

PurposeThis study examines the digital accessibility of information services for students with disabilities at the University of Jordan. Despite advancements in disability rights and technology, academic libraries often lag in providing fully accessible digital services.Design/methodology/approachThe mixed-methods research involved quantitative surveys from 173 students with disabilities and a qualitative interview with the head of the information application department, in addition to a focus group interview with 10 students with disabilities. Quantitative analysis included means, standard deviations and four-way ANOVA to identify significant differences in perceptions. Qualitative insights highlighted specific issues and recurring themes, revealing significant gaps in digital accessibility.FindingsThe results revealed a weak level of digital accessibility of students with disabilities to information services in academic libraries in Jordan is very low. The findings indicate a need for improvements in library infrastructure, staff training and policy development. The study also offers insights into challenges in a developing country context and provides recommendations for enhancing library inclusivity and support structures, emphasizing the importance of aligning services with international accessibility standards.Practical implicationsThe findings will primarily be beneficial for library managers to understand their library’s deficiencies and responsibility towards the local community and the enhancement of digital inclusion. This understanding will aid in planning training programs and workshops for employees on supporting students with disabilities. Additionally, it serves as a valuable resource for collaboration between libraries and educators to organize educational sessions for academic librarians in Jordan and other developing nations.Originality/valueIt serves as a valuable resource for collaboration between libraries and educators to organize educational sessions for academic librarians in Jordan and other developing nations. This research adds value to existing literature by highlighting the context in one developing country.

Implementasi Cyber Public Relations Humas Pemerintah Kabupaten Sumedang melalui Media "WA KEPO"

Sumedang Regency Government implements cyber public relations by designing and managing public information using a social media platform called WA KEPO (WhatsApp Kebutuhan Informsi dan Pelayanan Online). This research aims to examine how the Sumedang Regency Government implements cyber public relations. The study employs a qualitative approach with a case study research method. The findings indicate that the Sumedang Regency Government uses WA KEPO as a medium for public information to ensure transparency. Information shared through WA KEPO demonstrates a commitment to transparency. The presence of cyber public relations elements in WA KEPO shows that using WA KEPO as a public information medium represents a form of cyber public relations activity and reflects digital transformation within the government system. The public uses WA KEPO to access information and public services. Although the platform has facilitated access to information, the effectiveness and challenges faced by users when accessing WA KEPO need to be re-evaluated. The Sumedang Regency Government implements cyber public relations through WA KEPO by taking strategic steps to establish the platform and by collaborating with regional organizations (OPDs) and vertical agencies. The choice of WhatsApp is based on its widespread use among people in Indonesia and the convenience and speed it offers in delivering information. This study concludes that the Sumedang Regency Government effectively implements cyber public relations through WA KEPO as an information medium.

LIBRARY SKILLS REQUIRED BY THE PARAPROFESSIONAL STAFF IN USER SERVICES DEPARTMENT

This paper provides a review on the library skills that are required by the paraprofessional staff in user services department, explore the specific types of paraprofessional staff for user service department, and their roles. The study put together comparatively the user service information resource and service delivery responsibilities and the information utilitarian service support roles of the paraprofessional library staff and examines that, the more befitting type of paraprofessional library staff for user services are the “page”, “library aides”, and “library Services Assistant”. The types of responsibilities of user services paraprofessional staff was examined to be the middle level complementary roles in a way that relates to ‘user assistance’, and ‘library support’ in user management, information retrieval and access, shelve management, circulation desks services, reading area management and close access information services, among others. It also examined the library skills required by the user service paraprofessional library staff, who are expected to have the soft library – skills, hard library – skills, and the library information technologies use – skills, among others. The study concludes by stressing the existence of differing practices in the labelling paraprofessional library staff as “library support staff”, “library nonprofessional”, “not-certified” or “non-licenced librarians”, “post-secondary school” or “diploma certificate holders” in consistently, as well as confusion in their schedule of responsibilities. The study suggests the need for library regulatory agencies/parastatals and the libraries themselves to review the existing library staffing pattern/nomenclature and responsibilities to suit the current changing library environment, development in knowledge acquisition and certificates, changing users’ information needs and seeking behaviour and the changing trends in information services, among others.

European AI and EO convergence via a novel community-driven framework for data-intensive innovation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents a collection of tools and methodologies that have the potential to revolutionise various aspects of human activity. Earth observation (EO) data, including satellite and in-situ, are essential in a number of high impact applications, ranging from security and energy to agriculture and health. In this paper, we present the AI4Copernicus framework for bridging the two domains within the European context to enable data-centred innovation. In order to achieve this goal, AI4Copernicus has developed and enriches the European AI-on-demand platform with a number of application bootstrapping services and tools to accelerate uptake and innovation, whilst it provides integration over AI-on-Demand services and the Copernicus ecosystem, targeting the highly successful Data and Information Access Service (DIAS) Cloud platforms. More specifically, by employing procedures for onboarding and validating models and tools, and by utilising a host of meticulously reviewed and supervised open calls-enabled projects, and containerisation best-practices, AI4Copernicus deployed and made available several products on DIAS platforms. Moreover, these products and resources have been made available on the AI-on-Demand platform catalogue for discovery, use and further development. The AI4Copernicus framework is being used by a number of business-driven projects and SMEs spanning several application domains. This article provides an overview of the European AI and EO context as well as the AI4Copernicus technological framework and tools offered. Further, we present real world use-cases as well as a community-centred evaluation of our framework based on usage and feedback received from several projects.

Strategi Humas Dinas Komunikasi dan Informatika Kabupaten Maluku Tenggara dalam Pengelolaan Informasi Publik

The Department of Communication and Informatics (Diskominfo) of Southeast Maluku Regency plays a crucial role in supporting local governance and development. They focus on ensuring easy access to information for the public, especially in areas with limited internet coverage or low literacy rates. Diskominfo employs various strategies, including social media, digital platforms, as well as subscription-based radio and television stations. They are also responsible for providing public information services through various online platforms and seven public service applications. The information management process involves stages of collection, clarification, documentation, and distribution with principles of accurate news writing. Despite efforts to improve information access and public services, Diskominfo still faces several challenges such as telecommunication network blank spots, limited infrastructure, and the public's lack of knowledge about government information. To address these challenges, strategic issues such as expanding networks in blank spot areas, enhancing monitoring and evaluation, implementing electronic-based public service systems, and improving human resource capacity must be considered. Diskominfo of Southeast Maluku Regency continues to strive to ensure relevant and accurate information is available to the public, with the hope of supporting the development and empowerment of all layers of society in the region. Keywords: Strategies, Information Management System, Online, Diskominfo.

Indonesian generative chatbot model for student services using GPT

The accessibility of academic information greatly impacts the satisfaction and loyalty of university students. However, limited university resources often hinder students from conveniently accessing information services. To address this challenge, this research proposes the digitization of the question-answering process between students and student service staff through the implementation of generative chatbot. A generative chatbot can provide students with human-like responses to academic inquiries at their convenience. This research developed generative chatbot using pre-trained GPT-2 architecture in three different sizes, specifically designed for addressing practicum-related questions in a private university in Indonesia. The experiment utilized 1288 question-answer pairs in Indonesian and demonstrated the best performance with a BLEU score of 0.753, signifying good performance accuracy in generating text despite dataset limitations.

Pengelolaan Informasi dan Dokumentasi Sebagai Basis Pemenuhan Keterbukaan Informasi Publik

Achieving transparent public information access services requires good information management and documentation. For this reason, it is necessary to study the role of information and documentation management officials in supporting the realization of public information openness. This research uses a qualitative approach by applying interview, observation and documentation methods. The results of this research show that to realize openness of public information, information and documentation management officials at UINJ carry out the role of coordinating, documenting information, verifying information, testing consequences, updating information, and providing information to the public. To support the achievement of these roles, PPID UINJ refers to standard operating procedures and implementation of evaluations. However, the results of this research also show that the implementation of public information has not been optimal due to barriers to mindset regarding openness of public information and technical obstacles. Theoretically, the results of this research show that success in realizing public information openness is not only through fulfilling the indicators of the role of officials but also through changing the mindset of stakeholders and supporting work units in the work environment as a whole

Determinants of climate information service access and use among smallholder farmers in Bereh woreda, Ethiopia.

Climate information service (CIS) is a key component of a climate adaptation strategy that is expected to lessen climate risk. Access to and use of CIS among the local community are limited and constrained by various factors and are not supported by empirical research evidence. Therefore, this article analyzed CIS access and use determinants among smallholder farmers in Bereh woreda. The study applied a cross-sectional design with a mixed methodological approach. Data were collected through a survey of 219 smallholder farmer households, three focused-group discussions, and six key informant interviews. The collected survey data were analyzed using the heckprobit model to determine factors influencing smallholder farmers' access to and use of CIS. The heckprobit model results revealed that the determinants of CIS access and use had a statistical significance of log-likelihood of 1% (Wald χ2 = 45.2, p = 0.001), indicating a strong explanatory power. The selection model revealed that age and off-farm income significantly reduced the likelihood of accessing CIS, whereas mobile-phone ownership and male-headed households increased the likelihood of accessing it. Age, female-headed households, and farm size decreased the likelihood of using CIS, whereas mixed farming, radio ownership, and access to herbicide enhanced the likelihood of using it. This study, therefore, recommends intensive awareness creation and improving the delivery of diverse and reliable CIS to enhance agricultural productivity and smallholder farmers' resilience to the impacts of climate change. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:794-804. © 2023 SETAC.

How have public healthcare providers in Sweden conformed to the European Union’s Web Accessibility Directive regarding accessibility statements on their websites?

AbstractThe Web Accessibility Directive (WAD) is part of the European Union’s work for digital inclusion. The WAD obligates that public sector bodies’ websites meet accessibility standards and provide an accessibility statement on the website informing about inaccessible content, and a feedback mechanism for reporting accessibility issues or requesting inaccessible content in an accessible format. The objective of this study was to evaluate how healthcare providers in Sweden have applied accessibility statements on their websites as regulated by law. A descriptive study using a mixed methods approach was conducted, by quantitative descriptive data analysis of the healthcare providers’ accessibility statements compliance to requirements and qualitative data analysis of the written information provided in the accessibility statement. All but one of the 37 evaluated healthcare providers published an accessibility statement. None of the healthcare providers fully met the requirements for accessibility statements, and no one complied with the intention of the law, i.e. to provide accessible health information and eHealth services. There was no or minor progress between the first and the latest published accessibility statement. The possibility to declare no or partial compliance with the law, or claim disproportionate burden, and the lack of enforcement procedures, risk producing symbolic actions e.g., publishing accessibility statements without intention to abide by the law. We suggest that the directives for accessibility statements should be advanced regarding comprehensiveness, understandability, and usefulness. It is suggested that the assessment protocol developed for this study may be used for future evaluations of accessibility statements.

Copernicus for urban resilience in Europe

The urban community faces a significant obstacle in effectively utilising Earth Observation (EO) intelligence, particularly the Copernicus EO program of the European Union, to address the multifaceted aspects of urban sustainability and bolster urban resilience in the face of climate change challenges. In this context, here we present the efforts of the CURE project, which received funding under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Framework Programme, to leverage the Copernicus Core Services (CCS) in supporting urban resilience. CURE provides spatially disaggregated environmental intelligence at a local scale, demonstrating that CCS can facilitate urban planning and management strategies to improve the resilience of cities. With a strong emphasis on stakeholder engagement, CURE has identified eleven cross-cutting applications between CCS that correspond to the major dimensions of urban sustainability and align with user needs. These applications have been integrated into a cloud-based platform known as DIAS (Data and Information Access Services), which is capable of delivering reliable, usable and relevant intelligence to support the development of downstream services towards enhancing resilience planning of cities throughout Europe.

Accessibility of social services and ICT‐based services for children with disabilities and their families

AbstractChildren with disabilities and their families are often socially isolated. To integrate them into society, it is important to improve their access to services and encourage families to participate in society. It is effective to incorporate information and communication technology in providing information access and care services for children with disabilities and their families. Therefore, this study explores parental satisfaction with and demand for information and communication technology‐based care services for children with disabilities. This study used an explanatory sequential mixed method design. A total of 99 parents of children enrolled in two schools for special education or rehabilitation hospital participated in the study. Data were collected from parents through either a questionnaire survey or interviews. The study was conducted from 5 November to 5 December 2018. More than 50% of the participants found it inconvenient to search for services and reported below‐average satisfaction because of a lack of information and the results being inappropriate, abstract, difficult to understand, insufficient and scattered. More than 70% of the participants were dissatisfied with the services because of their high cost and the limited frequency of use. Participants expressed a need for information and communication technology‐based services to address these issues, including services to help the child's development, with low eligibility requirements and easy access to treatment that can enhance networks and services. Parents had high care burdens and difficulties accessing services for their children, which highlights the need for alternative services.

Health Information System Krama Bali Sejahtera Public Services Innovation Improves Denpasar Community's Trust For Healthy Behavior Through Adaptation Of New Habits

The government in providing public services to the community is required to be effective and efficient, therefore it is continuously expected to be able to innovate services in a better direction to improve quality. Service quality is an important thing that determines public trust in public services to be able to realize community participation by increasing knowledge, trust and developing community habits regarding the concept of healthy behavior in adopting new habits and closer government relations with the community. This study aims to determine the description of public service innovations in Denpasar City in increasing public confidence to behave healthily in adapting to new habits, especially in the community in Denpasar City. Data analysis in this study used Partial Least Square (PLS) with a sample of 200 respondents who accessed the measured SIK-KBS. The results of the SIK-KBS public service innovation assessment show that the Bali Provincial Government has a positive assessment with a score of 75.3 and is in the BB (innovative) public service innovation qualification level. Based on this value, it is known that the SIK-KBS public service innovation that has been carried out in Denpasar City in improving information access services has been innovative and able to increase public confidence in healthy behavior which has a significant positive effect as seen from the t-statistic value > 1.96.

Layanan Informasi Program Usaha Mikro, Kecil, dan Menengah Kota Makassar (Survei di Kelurahan Bira, Kecamatan Tamalanrea dan Kelurahan Kunjungmae, Kecamatan Mariso)

The rapid development of information makes the government must keep up with existing developments. The need for the use of information technology due to Indonesia's vast territory.Information services are carried out by the government to disseminate programs to the public including the MSME programs. However, the obstacles faced are the media and information channels that are less capable of being used as a source of information that disseminate the MSME programs. This study aims to find out how the MSME program information services in Makassar City, especially in the Bira Subdistrict-Tamalanrea District and Kunjungmae Subdistrict-Mariso District. The research method used was a survey with a quantitative approach with 121 research respondents. The results of the study conclude that respondents do not use official government media in the field of communication and information (central and regional) in seeking information. However, several topics of information that were of concern to respondents, including internet sites and social media, were very little used by respondents in accessing information services. Information channels as a source of information about the MSME program launched by the government were mostly obtained from banners/billboards posted by related agencies. Information services through information media that are used by the public to obtain MSME information services mostly come from television and from family members through direct communication as well as via email and social media.

Impact of Mobile Internet Application on Farmers’ Adoption and Development of Green Technology

Mobile Internet refers to a new mode of information interaction through mobile terminals and the use of wireless communication to access information services. The mobile Internet has provided a new model for the traditional information circulation mode, rural economic structure, and social transformation. With an association between the mobile Internet and farmers’ adoption behavior of new green technology, this paper investigated the impact of mobile Internet application on farmers’ adoption of green technology through a mediating effect model. From the perspective of new agricultural technology diffusion and based on the perspective of factor substitution, we decompose the mechanism that mobile Internet applications affect the adoption of new wheat varieties. Along the path of information transmission, evaluation, and adoption of new wheat varieties, we deeply explored the impact of the mobile Internet on the adoption of new wheat varieties by different types of wheat growers. The results show that there is a significant mediating effect of information acquisition ability, risk attitude, and expected return on the influence of the mobile Internet on green technology adoption. For the adoption mechanism of new green varieties, there was a distinct difference among various farmers.

Government Website Performance During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparative Study of Yogyakarta and South Sulawesi, Indonesia

This paper analyzes government websites and social media accounts during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a crisis, the government must provide real-time information to store and share information using websites and social media. This paper also compares government websites and social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study used a qualitative analysis method with NVivo 12 Plus and Similar-web as analytical tools to assist in capturing data and mining data from government-owned websites and social media accounts. This study’s results explained that local governments' use and availability of websites and social media was the government's response to ensure that access and public information services could run well during a crisis. The performance of government websites was influenced by the intensity of relationships on social networks, such as social media. The higher the engagement of government websites with social media, the higher the level of information dissemination in the community. The findings of this study also indicated that the performance of government websites greatly influenced public trust. The limitation of this research lies in the research method, which only took data for a certain period. Hence, this research still requires further development by using observation or interviews.

Strategi Layanan pada Dinas Perpustakaan dan Kearsipan (DISPUSIPDA) Jawa Barat Di Masa Pandemi COVID-19

The presence of COVID-19 causes libraries must create new service strategies to continue to provide services to users. The purpose of the study was to know how the West Java Dispusipda Library service strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research focus on how the library manage direct service strategy, how to manage Candil digital library services, and Makan Jengkol book delivery service. This study uses a qualitative method with data collection techniques interview, observation, documentation, and literature study. Interviews were conducted on two informants. Data analysis consists of data reduction, data display, and data verification. The results showed that direct services at the West Java Dispusipda Library were carried out by implementing health protocols and special rules, as well as open and closed services. Candil digital library services is application-based digital libraries that provide almost 13000 books. It can be downloaded on Playstore or Appstore for free. The Makan Jengkol Service is a book borrowing and returning service which provides 150 book titles. It can be used by utilizing Grabexpress. Conclusion The West Java Dispusipda Library is able to continue to provide information access services to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, both direct services and online services

UPDATE MODELS OF CONSTRUCTION ORGANIZATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THEIR ADAPTOGENICITY TO MODERN MANAGEMENT AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

The lack of clear and accessible information sources, services, platforms, applications or portals on digital business transformation slows down the speed of innovation in domestic entrepreneurship. In turn, this does not allow businesses to integrate with global trends, which complicates access and work in the international economic arena. The identified problems necessitate the development of a methodological approach to the study of digital transformation processes at the enterprise level; polystructural methodological approach to determining the index of digital transformation of business structures on the basis of relevant indicators; design and implementation of a digital platform for small and medium-sized businesses, which would automatically determine the Digital Transformation Index and provide an individual "road map" to improve the digital development of the enterprise. The article presents recent innovative technology for modeling business processes of enterprises based on process management. The paper considers the creation and justification of the updated methodological and analytical tools for assessing, selecting and regulating the production system of administration of an enterprise project portfolio in a single operating management system. The application of the process approach is based on a comprehensive, systematic review of the enterprise as a set of processes, the development of a process management system using the principles of ISO 9000: 2000. The new process approach is proposed that allows excluding routine operations from the actions of employees, increasing the speed of employee interaction, effectively optimizing existing business processes, and quickly rebuilding the enterprise’s business processes in response to significant changes in business conditions. The work identifies executable business processes, proposes a new approach to modeling the business processes of an enterprise, gives examples of problems associated with the new approach, and suggests possible ways to solve them. Criteria for the results of simulated business processes are defined that allow linking the target indicators of a balanced scorecard of the enterprise with the established results of business processes. It is proved that the use of this recent innovative technology for solving scientific and practical problems of enterprise management significantly expands and deepens the possibilities of economic analysis in the process of solving problematic situations and makes management decisions more grounded and effective.

MOBILE BANKING SERVICES AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN TAITA TAVETA COUNTY KENYA

Purpose: The study sought to assess the impact of mobile banking services and financial inclusion in Taita Taveta County Kenya. The study's goal was to analyze the impact of account information access, transactional, investment, and support services on financial inclusion in Taita Taveta County.
 Methodology: The study used the Technology Acceptance Model, Diffusion of Innovation, Financial Intermediation, and Silber's Constraint Theory of Innovation. The study used a descriptive research approach. According to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning's 2020 report, the target population comprises all 11,386 licensed businesses in Taita Taveta county. The study's sample will be gathered from companies and other stakeholders through a stratified random sampling approach as well as convenience sampling. To collect primary data, semi-structured questionnaires will be employed, which will be presented in person. The data was analyzed using SPSS Version 23.0.
 Findings: According to the study results, the vast majority of respondents were aware of financial inclusion. The study discovered a positive and statistically significant association between access to account information and financial inclusion of registered firms in Taita Taveta County (r = 0.341, p 0.05). This implied that greater access to account information would lead to greater financial inclusion of firms in Taita Taveta County. The study also discovered a favorable and statistically significant association between mobile transactional services and business financial inclusion in Taita Taveta County (r = 0.426, p 0.05). As a result, a rise in mobile transactional services will result in greater financial inclusion of the county's businesses. The data also revealed a favorable and significant link between financial investment mobile services and business financial inclusion in Taita Taveta County (r = 0.512, p 0.05). In Taita Taveta County, there was likewise a positive and significant link between financial assistance mobile services and business financial inclusion (r =.755, p.01). From the study, the researcher concluded that more customers are attracted by the option of getting loans from banks through the phone. Further, more customers were attracted to paperless banking as it eased their record keeping practices on bank transactions.
 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The researcher recommended that banks need to establish proper policies that will help them improve on financial inclusion in the rural places in Kenya.

Integration of Sentinel-3 and MODIS Vegetation Indices with ERA-5 Agro-Meteorological Indicators for Operational Crop Yield Forecasting

Timely crop yield forecasts at a national level are substantial to support food policies, to assess agricultural production, and to subsidize regions affected by food shortage. This study presents an operational crop yield forecasting system for Poland that employs freely available satellite and agro-meteorological products provided by the Copernicus programme. The crop yield predictors consist of: (1) Vegetation condition indicators provided daily by Sentinel-3 OLCI (optical) and SLSTR (thermal) imagery, (2) a backward extension of Sentinel-3 data (before 2018) derived from cross-calibrated MODIS data, and (3) air temperature, total precipitation, surface radiation, and soil moisture derived from ERA-5 climate reanalysis generated by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The crop yield forecasting algorithm is based on thermal time (growing degree days derived from ERA-5 data) to better follow the crop development stage. The recursive feature elimination is used to derive an optimal set of predictors for each administrative unit, which are ultimately employed by the Extreme Gradient Boosting regressor to forecast yields using official yield statistics as a reference. According to intensive leave-one-year-out cross validation for the 2000–2019 period, the relative RMSE for voivodships (NUTS-2) are: 8% for winter wheat, and 13% for winter rapeseed and maize. Respectively, for municipalities (LAU) it equals 14% for winter wheat, 19% for winter rapeseed, and 27% for maize. The system is designed to be easily applicable in other regions and to be easily adaptable to cloud computing environments such as Data and Information Access Services (DIAS) or Amazon AWS, where data sets from the Copernicus programme are directly accessible.