Rapid Digitalization Research Articles

Перспективы цифровой оценки диссертации

Currently, one of the most important components of scientific activity is the writing and subsequent defense of a candidate's / doctoral dissertation. It is revealed that, despite the rapid digitalization of the educational process in the scientific paradigm of the whole world, including Russia, there is no single digital assessment of the dissertation. The current system of evaluation of a dissertation based on the one-dimensional designation "yes" or "no" does not allow to objectively and impartially determine the scientific value of the dissertation. The author proposed a methodology for evaluating dissertations on a one-hundred-point scale, where the researcher with the highest score on the defense of the dissertation (91-100) would be provided with financial support from the state to continue promising scientific research, while at the same time being an advantage in the competition for his election to the Russian Academy of Sciences. The author is critical of the conditions of the state and prospects of the development of science in Russia, considering it unfair to neglect the system of evaluation in the defense of dissertations, which leads to a constant outflow of young researchers abroad. In the perspective of applying the digital assessment of the dissertation, the support of talented scientists in obtaining high scores in the defense of the dissertation at the local, regional and federal levels is considered.

Global Market Entry for Finnish SME eCommerce Companies

IntroductionCompetition in many fields of business today has become global in nature. This trend has been accelerated by the rapid digitalization of markets and communication channels. In the global arena, companies compete in environments that deal with diverse online channel formats, including electronic or eCommerce (eCom), mobile commerce, and social media (Bilgihan et

Leadership in Digital Health Services: Protocol for a Concept Analysis.

BackgroundDue to the rapid digitalization of health care, leadership is becoming more complex. Leadership in digital health services is a term that has been used in the literature with various meanings. Conceptualization of leadership in digital health services is needed to deliver higher quality digital health services, update existing leadership practices, and advance research.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to outline a concept analysis that aims to clarify and define the concept of leadership in digital health services.MethodsThe concept analysis will be performed using the Walker and Avant model, which involves eight steps: concept selection, determination of aims, identification of uses, determination of defining attributes, construction of a model case, construction of additional cases, identification of antecedents and consequences, and definition of empirical referents. A scoping literature search will be performed following the search protocol for scoping reviews by the Joanna Briggs Institute to identify all relevant literature on leadership in digital health services. Searches will be conducted in 6 scientific databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, Scopus, ProQuest, Web of Science, and the Finnish database Medic), and unpublished studies and gray literature will be searched using Google Scholar, EBSCO Open Dissertations, and MedNar.ResultsAn initial limited search of MEDLINE was undertaken on October 19, 2020, resulting in 883 records. The results of the concept analysis will be submitted for publication by July 2021.ConclusionsA robust conceptualization of leadership in digital health services is needed to support research, leadership, and education. The concept analysis model of Walker and Avant will be used to meet this need. As leadership in digital health services appears to be an interprofessional and intersectoral collaboration, defining this concept may also facilitate collaboration between professionals and sectors. The concept analysis to be conducted will also expand our understanding of leadership in digital health services.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/25495

Prospects for the development of digital forms of political participation of generation Z in modern Russia

The article considers the forms of political participation of generation Z in modern Russia and gives an assessment of the prospects for digital forms of this participation. The paper describes the characteristics that distinguish generation Z in terms of the influence of these characteristics on the political behavior of its representatives, as well as possible motives for the political participation of young people. The authors give the results of a study that allow you to get answers to the questions: what features make this or that form of political participation the most attractive for generation Z? Is generation Z really critical and negative about regime? Can digital forms of political participation become mainstream in the country’s political life thanks to youth and the rapid digitalization of society? The paper describes the criteria for the attractiveness of various forms of political participation, such as rallies, actions, demonstrations, strikes, hunger strikes, revolutions, elections, crowdfunding, written appeals to the authorities and petitions, participation in political movements and parties, meetings with political figures. These criteria are: personal safety, speed of implementation of the form, the ability to attract attention and find like-minded persons. According to the results of the study, the authors substantiate the conclusion about the prospects of using digital forms (in particular, online voting) of political participation, primarily due to the speed and security that distinguish digital forms of political participation from traditional ones: it is very convenient to express your civic position from anywhere in the world, while simultaneously doing other things and not fearing negative consequences for participation. In addition, digital forms of political participation are demanded by young people as the most convenient, as they are built into their “natural habitat” – the space of social networks.

Development of an Ecosystem Approach and Organization of Logistics Infrastructure

Rapid digitalization and finite resources of individual companies lead to a natural desire for long-term partnership between market participants, which involves improving and updating business models of enterprises. This article considers the development of partnerships based on digital ecosystems. It provides an important insight into the theory and practice of implementing the ecosystem approach and organizing the logistics structure, exploring the still insufficiently studied transition of Russian enterprises to a digital business environment. We focused on analysis of the impact that digitalization has on new business relationships evolving, on the nature of interactions among participants in the distribution chain and on designing the market’s logistics landscape. Our goal consisted in analyzing the impact of market participants’ competencies based on knowledge, skills and abilities on cooperation with another organization. The main source of data in this study is the responses of respondents to an online survey taken in 2020. We included enterprises of the southern Russian region, with transport and road service enterprises among others, and entrepreneurs of infobusiness from other regions as the research sample for this study. A great number of new terms and concepts appear in the modern world of digital technologies, so in many cases, business managers and entrepreneurs are unable to structure the flow of information, which results in substitution of concepts. For this reason, the study aims to investigate the degree to which businesses are aware of the possibilities of digitalization and are familiar with the essence of ecosystem business models. While the results obtained indicate that there is a significant variety of interpretations of the ecosystem, it should be borne in mind that the sample focused on enterprises does not demonstrate a consistent understanding of platform tools and all their applications.

CANVAS LMS: OPPORTUNITIES AND FEATURES

The sphere of education has been recently facing gradual changes in approaches and attitudes of all its participants to the process of studying. Rapid digitalization together with global life challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic gets technology to be used together with traditional means of education in order to meet the needs of today's learners not only in a painless but also in a favourable way. The article considers the necessity to modernize the traditional process of studying and optimize it for learners, who deal with individual or forced distance study, caused by the pandemic as well. The up to date change implementation can be possibly accomplished with the help of specialized applications and web systems, particularly the online course platform Canvas, which stands in the focus of our paper. Previous studies and researches connected with similar and / or the same platform are mentioned briefly. The article also reveals technical capability and features of the Canvas system, presents the investigation of its conformity with students’ current needs through our analysis of its advantages and disadvantages and describes its pros and cons not only from the point of view of students, who are considered to be the representatives of the main category or platform users, but also considering teachers’ experience and impressions of Canvas as a primary or a subsidiary educational system with courses. The readers of this article may get acquainted with the main elements of the Canvas platform structure, learn about their characteristics and decide whether to approve or disapprove such an alternative to outdated course attendance. Furthermore, the research includes a survey conducted among 50 students, who had already used the platform in appliance with their curriculum and were asked to share their impressions starting from logging in to giving an overall review of this concentration of online courses. In the final analysis we provide the readers of the article with a general conclusion about the platform, its conformity with the requirements of the educational system and learners’ needs specifically.

Роль новых цифровых технологий в период кризиса

Received 26.01.2021. The article investigates the role of new digital technologies during a crisis period on the example of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Considering the methods used by different states to prevent the spread of the virus and its consequences, the author analyzes the advantages of the impelled rapid digitalization, scrutinizes its negative aspects, and discusses perspectives. Although the digital transformation had already been taking place before the pandemic actually started (2019), the current crisis facilitates the unprecedented digitalization breakthrough in all life spheres, which will have delayed consequences. The short-run effects are already obvious: deepening of virtual communication; advancement of electronic document flow systems and online-services (including E-Government, public health service, etc.); virtualization of education, culture, sports, leisure activities; transformation of labour market towards distance employment, an outburst of electronic commerce and services, robot automation in economy; virtualization of political life (online-meetings, online-debates, online-summits, etc.), and, moreover, a transfer of power struggle and geopolitical struggle itself to digital platforms. Greater convenience and effectiveness are the most vivid advantages of digital technologies development, which plays the key role in crisis periods. Better access of disabled persons and people living in geographically remote places to medical aid, education, cultural objects, etc. also belongs to important achievements of the rapid digitalization. At the same time, there are significant negative aspects of this process, both general and specific. The violation of democratic rights and freedoms (primarily, of personal data security and individual privacy) is unavoidable in the light of the necessary “digital control” from the state to contain the spread of infection. Private IT companies participating in the process of the virus spread control due to their products (mobile applications, Internet platforms, etc.) also benefit from access to personal data. Whereas this issue is not central in authoritarian regimes like China, it becomes very challenging for democratic societies of the West. The digitalization of services gives wide room for irregularities and fraud in general. A growing “digital exclusion” is another concern: the greater dependency on technical means excludes certain parts of the population unable to use them for different reasons. An increasing individualization and solitude amid the lacking real-life communication gives rise to complicated psychological issues and mental disorders. Among specific negative side-effects of digitalization there are obstacles in personal electronic verification, worsening in the quality of remote medical assistance and online-education, unemployment growth and smashup of offline-businesses in economy, and some other. The most complicated question of the current crisis and the next “post-COVID” period is how serious the above-mentioned negative consequences of the rapid digitalization will be, to what extent they may devaluate its advantages, what sacrifice will be made by humanity to pay for comfort and effectiveness. Acknowledgements. The article was prepared within the project “Post-Crisis World Order: Challenges and Technologies, Competition and Cooperation” supported by the grant from Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation program for research projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development (Agreement № 075-15-2020-783).

ОСОЗНАННАЯ САМОРЕГУЛЯЦИЯ КАК МЕТАРЕСУРС ДОСТИЖЕНИЯ ЦЕЛЕЙ И РАЗРЕШЕНИЯ ПРОБЛЕМ ЖИЗНЕДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ

Background. In political, economic, social and environmental crisis conditions, a great importance is given to the investigation and search for the human psychological resources, which make it possible to successfully cope with usual and challenging life tasks in the conditions when the world order and the life styles drastically change. Objective of this article is to summarize the results of theoretical and empirical research for developing the resource approach to the study of the conscious self-regulation of human activity considered as a system of psychological means of consciously setting the goals and managing their achievement. Design. The resource approach provisions were substantiated theoretically and verified empirically in the laboratory of the self-regulation psychology of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education.” The studies were carried out on the large samples of schoolchildren, students, and professionals. Cognitive, personality and regulatory techniques included questionnaires and experimental tasks. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal design were applied. Results. The generalization of the empirical results made it possible to verify the developed scientific ideas of the conscious self-regulation of achieving goals as a system of the human universal and special regulatory resources, depending on the “globality” of the tasks they are intended for. The person’s regulatory competences implementing this system contribute to the productive aspects of achieving educational and professional goals. They also serve as a mechanism for mobilizing, coordinating, mediating and accumulating the entire palette of other individual resources and human reserves for solving various problems in human activity. Among these tasks are the personality self-development and self-education, professional self-determination, maintaining and increasing psychological well-being. The development of the conscious self-regulation resources contributes to successful learning and work in the context of rapid digitalization, serves as the basis for adaptation and formation of new self-organization of life, and also prevents acute stress reactions and negative emotional states under conditions of the coronavirus pandemic. Conclusions. Conscious self-regulation is a human meta-resource, since it not only makes a significant contribution to achieving the goals of practical activity, but also contributes to solution of the broader life tasks.

Machine learning methods application for consumer banking

Machine learning (ML) methods are effective tools for analysis of many actual problems in modern banking. Increasing growth of data and rapid digitalization underpin the acceleration of ML implementation. These processes are especially noticeable in consumer banking because banks have millions of the retail customers. The first goal of our research is to form an extended review ML application in consumer banking. From one side we have identified the most developed ML methods, which are applied in this segment (for example different types of regressions, fuzzy clustering, neural network, principal component analysis etc.). From the other side, we point out two multi-purpose tools used by banks in consumer segment intensively, namely scoring and clustering. Secondly, our goal is to present some innovative applications of ML methods to the analysis of each task. This includes several applications for scoring models and fuzzy clustering application. All applications are oriented to make banks business processes more effective. Considered applications were realised on real data from the Ukrainian banking industry.

Smart cities in China: growth driver in the post pandemic world

Research background: In recent decades, a global trend towards the introduction of IoT technologies, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and many others into the field of urban management to create a single digital ecosystem has become increasingly noticeable. The urgency of this problem also manifested itself during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many components of the smart city made it possible to control and contain the spread of the infection. All these factors testify that in current conditions, the digitalization of cities is simply inevitable. In this regard, the number of smart cities continues to increase worldwide, and their development models are constantly improving under the influence of a considerable number of innovative solutions Purpose of the article: Of particular interest are the Chinese successes in the rapid digitalization of the economy and society and the increase in the number of smart cities. The study aims to analyze and identify trends in the development of smart cities in China. Methods: Since the concept of "smart city" is relatively modern and is in constant development, the authors have studied various articles and reports on this topic to identify different opinions about this topical problem. As part of the study, the authors carried out a visual clustering analysis of smart cities distribution in China. Findings & Value added: The authors were able to identify that the Chinese smart cities market has its own characteristic features, which allowed it to achieve such success. In more detail in this article, the authors focused on cluster development and highlighted the geographical pattern of smart cities distribution in China and their strengths and weaknesses in each area.

Bibliometric Analysis of Economic, Social and Information Security Research

Issues of national security are of particular scientific interest because without it. It is impossible to imagine the existence of any state. Protecting the economic and social interests of the population has long been one of the prerogatives of public policy, which has expanded to information security of the people in the face of rapid digitalization of all spheres of life and the introduction of information attack as a new form of weapon. In this context, it is essential to conduct a thorough study of primary scientific papers on economic, social and information security. In this work, it is proposed to use quantitative and qualitative bibliometric analysis methods, which allows to identify the main trends and form a basis for further research. The information basis for this work was the international scientometric database Scopus and SciVal by Elsevier, which allows you to analyze bibliographic data using built-in tools and import them for external use in the software VOSviewer. Bibliographic information is presented from the 1930s to June 2021. The results show that in the world, the most researched is the topic of first, social, second, information, and third, economic security. At the same time, these studies are interdisciplinary, mainly at the intersection of economic and social sciences and information security at the intersection of economic and mathematical, computer sciences. The analysis of time trends changes the number of scientific papers on economic, social and information security in Scopus database shows their gradual growth. In contrast, information security has the fastest growth rate. The study of geographical trends shows that economic security research occurs mainly in the United States, the Russian Federation and Ukraine (the funding of research confirms this at the expense of the relevant ministries and foundations). Social security is mostly studied in English-speaking and European countries (United States, United Kingdom, Germany). Information security research is concentrated in English-speaking (United States, United Kingdom) and China, India. The qualitative bibliographic analysis allowed to analyze the most cited, and hence the trend works on selected topics, confirming the multidisciplinary nature of the work. In addition, a cluster analysis of co-occurrence of keywords was coducted, which formed clusters devoted to social, economic, socio-psychological, legal and other issues.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Media

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the reality of the world, revealing the contradictions within society that we have pretended not to see. Although measures are urgent, it is also clear that we must reconsider the meaning and form of this new society in its essence. A remarkable aspect has been the rapid digitalization of various sectors of society. We are already aware that information technology is not merely a means for, but also a representation of the changes in the structure of society as well as in humanity. What we should demand is not only a means for digitalization but also a meaning and direction for it, and to ensure that a public forum exists to resolve questions regarding meaning and direction within the society and community. Art is a symbol of the human activity of re-questioning the depths of reality in which one is involved, making hypotheses for the future, and asking the community about it. However, art itself is also undergoing a crisis. I would like to set a framework for grasping this situation to reconsider the issue of art as a medium responsible for publicness.

Urban development management based on the concept of Smart City in the Western region of Ukraine

The article proves that the need to modify urban management systems in Ukraine in accordance with the new Smart City concept of urban planning arose in the context of the rapid digitalization of society. The analysis of strategic priorities for the implementation of the Smart City concept in the practice of Ukrainian cities at the central, regional (Western region of Ukraine), and local (cities of regional significance) levels is conducted. The comparison and review of the practice of using open data and various e-services by administrations of 34 cities of regional significance in the Western region of Ukraine are carried out. The state of implementation of e-government tools by local authorities is determined. The division of cities of regional significance in the Western region of Ukraine according to the level of use of e-services, which are presented on their official websites, into four groups (passive; beginners; active; progressive) is carried out on the basis of the results of the analysis. The key problems of local policy of the cities of regional significance transformation in the Western region of Ukraine are identified, including: lack of a common vision on the further development of cities and communities on the basis of the Smart City concept by central, regional, and local authorities; the issue of approving strategies for the development of cities of regional significance remains unresolved; uneven introduction of innovative technologies in the management systems of the cities of regional significance development in the Western region on the basis of the Smart City concept, first of all, open data; low level of international activity of administrations of cities. Priority areas for improving regional and local policies to ensure sustainable urban development in accordance with the Smart City criteria are justified.

Editorial: Job quality in digitalized work environments

Given the rapid digitalization of the world of work, this editorial discusses possible relations to job quality and shows which factors of job quality have been given priority so far. Further, it places the contributions to the special issue in the discourse of digitalization and suggests further research. We argue that digitalization does not affect all groups of employees equally and that it can have varying consequences in different (work) contexts. We are pleased about the increasing attention paid to this topic in empirical social research. The multifaceted contributions to the special issue confirm that digitalization is not a fixed construct and that it contains many different facets. Therefore, we encourage researchers to expand the empirical analysis of the relationship between digitalization and quality of work and employment in the future, to transfer studies (if possible) into the longitudinal section, to study new phenomena, and to classify them in the discourse, as well as to consider possible moderators in the future.

Проблеми та перспективи розвитку ринку електронної комерції в країнах Латиноамериканського регіону

In the current conditions of rapid digitalization of the worldwide space, taking into account global factors, which are being forced, including such «black swans» as the COVID-19 pandemic, the issues of e-commerce development in the context of certain regions are being activated. The article is aimed at studying and identifying the features and trends of e-commerce development in the Latin American region, a detailed analysis of Brazil, Mexico and Argentina as the largest markets in the region. To achieve this aim, the methods of scientific abstraction, analysis and synthesis, statistical analysis, comparison, structural and logical generalization were used. The article determines that, given the large population of the region with a significant stratification of society, the region has seen a sharp increase in the e-commerce market, including by means of the mass digitalization of the end user to meet the need for remote work and training during the pandemic. Most researchers distinguish the markets of Brazil, Mexico and Argentina as the largest in the region. There is a significant increase in the presence of regional and global platforms, with an emphasis on the problem of disproportionately large volume of Asian products sold by global platforms. The increase in the volume of trading platforms can have a beneficial impact on the improvement of logistics infrastructure in the region, which is currently one of the key problems. Among the existing problems, experts also indicate a low level of penetration of banking services and a high degree of cash circulation. Due to the specifics of the banking sector, not all local cards are valid on international trading platforms, which is one of the deterrent factors for the development of e-commerce. Based on statistical analysis, it is determined that in the current realities of the Latin American region, the process of digitalization of all e-commerce market participants is experienced while maintaining trends in the steady growth of key indicators of Internet commerce. This characterizes the region as promising in terms of increasing market volumes, the number of Internet consumers, the level of Internet penetration, the modernization of the banking sector and changes in legislation. At the same time, it is identified that in the presence of problems of the shadow economy, a low degree of public confidence in the banking sector, the preservation of a significant disparity in the incomes of categories of the population, there is a need to revalue the prospects and conditions for the further development of the e-commerce market in the post-pandemic period.

Ongoing debate on data governance principles for achieving Universal Health Coverage: a proposal to post-G20 Osaka Summit meetings

ABSTRACT The Group of 20 Summit (G20) in Osaka, which Japan chaired for the first time in June 2019 has created a tailwind for achieving universal health coverage (UHC) globally. In response to the rapid digitalization, the G20 leaders commenced negotiations for the Osaka Track framework to formulate international rules on data flow across borders and systematize the concept of ‘Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT).’ The strategic harnessing of the power of data to strengthen the healthcare system can allow for rapid and affordable progress toward achieving UHC. However, world leaders have yet to discuss what data governance approaches the Osaka Track will follow, or even on what values it will seek to create and maximize. In this paper, we propose a people-centered, trust-oriented approach as the key principle of data governance toward achieving UHC, using Japan’s experience as an example. We believe that this approach is compatible with other prevailing approaches (e.g. the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union), and can serve as a bridge to their conceptual differences. We hope that our proposed principles will be fully discussed in post-G20 Osaka Summit meetings.

Study on Knowledge and Prevalence of Computer Vision Syndrome among Computer Operators in Nobel Medical College Teaching Hospital, Biratnagar, Nepal

Background: The eye and vision related problems that results from continuous use of computers and other visual display terminals for extended period of time leads to computer vision syndrome. Due to rapid digitalization in human life, the risk of developing it has also increased in many folds. So, with an aim of determining the prevalence and level of awareness of computer vision syndrome among computer users along with their attitude and practices to prevent it, this study was conducted in the office employees who use computer for a considerable period of time.
 Materials and Methods: A hospital based observational descriptive study was conducted in the out-patient department of Ophthalmology in Nobel Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Biratnagar, where 105 employees working in different work stations of same institution were enrolled. A questionnaire and the clinical findings were used to collect data.
 Results: About 80% of the employees were using computer for about (8-11) hours per day. Prevalence of computer vision syndrome noted was (92.4%) with low level of knowledge (85.7%) about it. About 45% of them wore glasses for their refractive errors but attitude and practices in work place to prevent the bad effects of using visual display terminals were found to be lacking (53.3%). Burning sensation in the eye, headache, ocular irritation and itching and neck, shoulder or back pain were the common symptoms. Around (60-70)% of the eyes tested positive for dry eye.
 Conclusion: Lack of awareness of computer vision syndrome and lack of personal protective measures were associated with its high level of prevalence.

Impact of Effective Information Technology Governance on Audit Technology Performance in Ghana

The notion of Industry 4.0 significantly changed the way firms’ operate and has influenced everyday life. The rapid digitalization and emergent trend of information technology (IT) transformation in firms and ample investment in IT by Ghanaian government stimulated the importance of IT-based risks and its associated controls. In addition, technology enabled the auditing and IT-related audit methods have significance when carrying out audit tasks. This study aims to investigate the effects of IT governess effectiveness on audit technology performance in the public sector of Ghana. This study used closed-ended to collect data. An online survey admitted to record 186 responses. The findings of the study stated that top management support, IT support services, and IT committee have a positive and statistically significant influence on audit technology performance. The proposed model of the study explained 65.1% variance in the audit technology performance. The study proposes that public sector companies must strengthen IT governance by developing an appropriate IT committee and IT support services for the auditors. Besides, firms should clearly elucidate their priorities and requirements associated with technology-based training in their IT policies, and action plans to improve the utilization of audit technology. Keywords: Information technology governance, audit technology performance, IT support services, IT committee, top management support. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/11-24-05 Publication date: December 31 st 2020

Формирование основ электронной демократии в Узбекистане: подходы к эффективному взаимодействию государства и гражданина

Мақола электрон демократия асослари ва шароитларини яратиш асносида Ўзбекистон Республикасида давлат ва фуқаронинг ўзаро алоқалари тизимининг баъзи назарий ва амалий жиҳатларини таҳлил қилишга бағишланган. Мақоланинг долзарблиги замонавий жамиятни жадал рақамлаштириш ва давлат даражасида электрон демократияни ривожлантирилиши билан тавсифланади. Бу эса давлат ва фуқаролик жамияти ўртасида тўғридан-тўғри ва билвосита алоқаларни яратишга ҳамда аҳолининг бошқарувдаги фаол иштирокига хизмат қилади. Ушбу мақола Ўзбекистондаги электрон демократиянинг ҳозирги ҳолатини таҳлил қилади.
 Унда электрон демократия фуқароларнинг давлат ишларини демократик бошқаришдаги иштирокини кенгайтириш, давлат органлари фаолиятининг шаффофлигини таъминлаш ҳамда уларнинг аҳоли билан ўзаро алоқаларини таъминлаш жараёни кўриб чиқилади. Муаллиф электрон демократия элементларининг давлат ва жамиятнинг ўзаро алоқалари амалиётида яққол намоён бўлишини таъкидлайди.

Heralding the Digitalization of Life in Post-Pandemic East Asian Societies.

Following the outbreak of what would become the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing measures were quickly introduced across East Asia—including drastic shelter-in-place orders in some cities—drawing on experience with the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) almost two decades ago. “Smart City” technologies and other digital tools were quickly deployed for infection control purposes, ranging from conventional thermal scanning cameras to digital tracing in the surveillance of at-risk individuals. Chatbots endowed with artificial intelligence have also been deployed to shift part of healthcare provision away from hospitals and to support a number of programmes for self-management of chronic disease in the community. With the closure of schools and adults working from home, digital technologies have also sustained many aspects of both professional and social life at a pace and scale not considered to be practicable before the outbreak. This paper considers how these new experiences with digital technologies in public health surveillance are spurring digitalization in East Asian societies beyond the conventional public health context. It also considers some of the concerns and challenges that are likely to arise with rapid digitalization, particularly in healthcare.