Anas Aloudat

Social acceptance of location-based mobile government services for emergency management

Location-based services deployed by governments can be used to assist people manage emergencies via their mobile handsets. Research delineating the acceptance of public services in the domain of emergency management has been scantly investigated in information systems. The main aim of this study is to assess the viability of location-based mobile emergency services by: (i) exploring the issues related to location-based services and their nationwide utilisation for emergency management; (ii) investigating the attitudinal and behavioural implications of the services; and (iii) examining the social acceptance or rejection of the services and identify the determinants of this acceptance or rejection. The results reveal that both attitude and perceived usefulness demonstrate a good prediction power of behavioural intention. Although perceived ease of use was found not to be a predictor of attitude, the results affirm its influence on perceived usefulness. The results also demonstrate the role of trust as the most influential determinant of individual perception of the usefulness of the services. Further, the results indicate that only the collection of personal location information, as a perceived privacy concern, had a significant negative impact on trust. Implications and future research are also discussed.

Factors Influencing Citizen Adoption of E-Government in Developing Countries: The Case of Jordan

The main purposes of this study are to investigate citizen adoption of e-government services in Jordan and to explore factors affecting the level of adoption of e-government services. Importantly, this study aims to develop a conceptual framework that is based on previous literature of Technology Acceptance Model TAM in order to examine the relationships between certain factors government trustworthiness, service quality and citizen satisfaction and citizen adoption of e-government services. A self-administered questionnaire was used to capture data from 356 Jordanian citizens across the country randomly. The findings indicate that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, citizen satisfaction and trustworthiness are significant predictors of the Jordanian intention to use an e-government service. The results also showed that the service quality dimensions: responsiveness, reliability, and empathy have significant impacts on the citizen satisfaction. The study has made significant contributions to the body of knowledge at academic and practical levels as an important exploratory study that was conducted in the context of Jordan, a developing country with genuine need for more research works on e-government issues. In addition, this study provides some valuable insights into the performance and adoption of e-government in Jordan that could help government agencies to improve the effectiveness of their services.

An empirical assessment of the antecedents of electronic-business implementation and the resulting organizational performance

– The purpose of this paper is to propose and empirically test a unified framework that captures the antecedents of e-business implementation, that is; organizational factors which is decomposed into organizational capabilities (training availability, technical expertise, knowledge level), knowledge management capabilities (knowledge acquisition, application, and sharing), adhocracy culture, and top management support, e-business implementation, and organizational performance (efficiency, sales performance, customer satisfaction, relationship development). , – Data from a survey of 258 top managers in Saudi Arabian enterprises were collected to empirically test the proposed research model. Additionally, the statistical techniques employed included a confirmatory factor analysis to examine the reliability and validity of the measurement model, and structural equation modeling using AMOS is utilized to test the hypotheses. , – The findings of this study suggest that organizational factors influence e-business implementation. Moreover, e-business implementation affects organizational performance. , – This study did not investigate all organizational factors and knowledge management processes. Future research could assess the influence of additional factors such as technology and environment contexts on e-business implementation. , – Owners/managers considering e-business implementation would be best to focus on internal (organizational) factors and their interaction within and beyond the organization, rather than focussing exclusively on technological considerations. , – This study is significant for at least two reasons: it determines the key antecedents to successful business implementation based on organizational factors and it helps to understand the effects of e-business implementation on organizational performance.

Privacy vs. Security in National Emergencies

Emergence of a shared global risks rhetoric over the past few years has paralleled growth in some countries of political efforts to achieve national security. These efforts are characterized by the introduction and implementation of unprecedented measures to counter growing threats and to attempt to eliminate all identifiable potential human- and natural-caused risks and hazards. As every risk has the intrinsic potential to severely affect, not just individuals, but a countrys infrastructure, the accession of socially constructed security measures has been justified to the public as an absolute necessity to sustain the uninterrupted order of civil society. However, some citizens and lobbying groups have perceived the extent of the measures as a substantial move towards blanket and intrusive covert/overt policing practices on our lives, leading down the path towards a nationwide surveillance society.

The Value of Government Mandated Location-Based Services in Emergencies in Australia

The adoption of mobile technologies for emergency management has the capacity to save lives. In Australia in February 2009, the Victorian Bushfires claimed 173 lives, the worst peace-time disaster in the nations history. The Australian government responded swiftly to the tragedy by going to tender for mobile applications that could be used during emergencies, such as mobile alerts and location services. These applications have the ability to deliver personalized information direct to the citizen during crises, complementing traditional broadcasting mediums like television and radio. Indeed governments have a responsibility to their citizens to safeguard them against both natural and human-made hazards and today national security has grown to encapsulate such societal and economic securitization. However, some citizens and lobby groups have emphasized that such breakthrough technologies need to be deployed with caution as they are fraught with ethical considerations, including the potential for breaches in privacy, security and trust. The other problem is that real world implementations of national emergency alerts have not always worked reliably and their value has come into question as a result. This paper provides a big picture view of the value of government-mandated location-based services during emergencies, and the challenges ensuing from their use.

The Implications of Iris-Recognition Technologies

Biometrics are the unique characteristics of the individual that differentiate him or her from any other person. Down and Sands explained that the physiological characteristics refer to the inherited traits that are shaped in the early embryonic stages of the human development. Physical biometrics include, among other things, DNA, fingerprints, hand geometry, vein patterns, face structure, skin luminescence, palm prints, iris patterns, periocular features, retina patterns, ear shape, lip prints, heartbeats, tongue prints, and body odor/scent. Behavioral characteristics are not inherited but acquired and learned throughout the life of the individual . These include, but also are not limited to, signature, handwriting, vocal prints, keystroke dynamics, and gait-body motion. As a result, the biometrics of a person cannot be stolen, forgotten, or forged. It is what we are.

Value Capturing and Role Playing in Social Networking Sites

Digitally Engaged Communities (DECs) are growing exponentially within Social Networking Sites (SNS), such as Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, LinkedIn, and MySpace, thanks to the wide adoption of such sites. Digitally engaged communities are referred to by terms such as online communities, virtual communities, Web communities, and social networks. One of the most widely cited definitions of DECs is that of Preece [31]. She argues that a DEC consists of people, purpose, policies, and the computer systems. She explains that any community is created by a group of people networking together, interacting publicly, sharing similar needs, and governing themselves through an implicit set of protocols guiding their interactions. Preece [31] also indicates that this kind of digital relationship needs to be mediated by the support of technological facilitators. Hence, one can argue that DECs are Web-based networks of interpersonal ties connecting people socially, and allowing them to 1) create a sense of belonging and construct an online profile within a bounded system, and 2) articulate a list of other online contacts with whom they establish relationships and connections.

Towards a Conceptual Model of User Acceptance of Location-Based Emergency Services

This paper investigates the introduction of location-based services by government as part of an all-hazards approach to modern emergency management solutions. Its main contribution is in exploring the determinants of an individuals acceptance or rejection of location services. The authors put forward a conceptual model to better predict why an individual would accept or reject such services, especially with respect to emergencies. While it may be posited by government agencies that individuals would unanimously wish to accept life-saving and life-sustaining location services for their well-being, this view remains untested. The theorised determinants include: visibility of the service solution, perceived service quality features, risks as perceived by using the service, trust in the service and service provider, and perceived privacy concerns. The main concern here is to predict human behaviour, i.e. acceptance or rejection. Given that location-based services are fundamentally a set of electronic services, this paper employs the Technology Acceptance Model TAM as a special adaptation of the Theory of Reasoned Action TRA to serve as the theoretical foundation of its conceptualisation. A series of propositions are drawn upon the mutual relationships between the determinants and a conceptual model is constructed using the determinants and guided by the propositions. It is argued the conceptual model presented would yield to the field of location-based services research a justifiable theoretical approach competent for exploitation in further empirical research in a variety of contexts e.g. national security.

The Viability of Mobile Services (SMS and Cell Broadcast) in Emergency Management Solutions: An Exploratory Study

In this paper the path forward in location-based mobile phone warning systems is given against a concise backdrop of their deployment worldwide. Of relevance here is (i) how the systems are implemented using legislation, contractual service level agreement instruments or a hybrid approach, (ii) whether or not governments who deploy these systems will carry the cost of the deployment during an emergency or disaster, and (iii) whether or not carrier participation is mandated. Of particular importance are also the underlying technologies of this kind of emergency systems. To date, the short message service and cell broadcast service have been the main technologies to be utilised by governments in the application of location-based services in modern emergency management solutions. However, these technologies will most certainly be superseded by newer, more powerful capabilities. A comprehensive list of requirements for the future location-based emergency systems is presented also in this paper. In essence, these are recommendations to be adhered to if robust solutions using new technologies are to be deployed in a nation state.

You Want to Do What with RFID?: Perceptions of radio-frequency identification implants for employee identification in the workplace.

Electronic employee identification (ID) has transformed the workplace. Handheld tokens, such as contactless smartcards and wearable clip-on infrared badges, are now fundamental to security practices across the globe. Medium-to-large organizations continually stress the importance of employees carrying their staff cards at all times and displaying them for security purposes. Staff badges have been increasingly linked to physical access control in buildings, dynamic computer log-in, and even for e-payment using stored value. Most employees carry their electronic ID in a plastic sleeve attached to a lanyard, but given the card can be removed, it can be left behind, misplaced, or stolen.