Recommender System for Government Service in Smart Cities

significant recommender systems (RS) development has occurred along with the Internet of Things (IoT) development in recent years. Recommender systems have been widely spread across diverse fields, including environmental preservation, e-commerce, healthcare, social and governance systems. There has been a growing focus on e-government as part of smart city initiatives in today's world of connected devices and infrastructure, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. With the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), the government can enhance the delivery of public services, increase transparency, accountability, and credibility, as well as engage citizens in the decision-making process. To facilitate 'smart' governance, one of a smart city initiative's objectives is integrating e-government into the city's governance framework. The lack of personalized services for particular stakeholders is one of the most significant limitations of e-governance. There are a number of open challenges coupled with interesting opportunities, making this a very promising and exciting area for research to shape recommendation systems for urban environments. Considering the overwhelming amount of information, services, and tasks available through smart government applications, it is a greater chance of providing personalized recommendations for different stakeholders and tasks within multi-faceted and multi-dimension. There is still a lot of research to be done on recommendation systems in the context of smart cities or smart government. This paper survey the existing studies on recommendation systems for smart governance. The study aims to address smart city challenges to considered when designing and implementing recommendations for e-governance and the target stakeholder's interests. © 2022 IEEE.

Keeping in touch while sheltering in place: a comparative case study on the complex emotions experienced by older adults when introduced to ICTs and video conferencing services

Currently, COVID-19 poses a threat to the US and the rest of the world, which has created the need for many people to establish physical distance from others. This need for physical distance is perhaps most important for those most vulnerable to COVID-19, which includes the older adult population. Through this time of physical isolation, most people need to keep in touch with each other while sheltering in place. Advances in digital communication have offered new avenues to help people maintain communication, and these advances have made the lives of many easier and more efficient. These new avenues for communication include video conferencing services such as Zoom, Skype, Apple FaceTime, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, and other similar video-based communication services. Although many older adults have reliable access to the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) required for video-based communication, many older adults are not yet skilled in using them. ICT use can be dangerous without the right skills, because ICT use can allow people to become susceptible to forms of digital exploitation and/or abuse. However, it is increasingly becoming both a hazard and a hardship to not use ICTs as life continues to transition online. As is the case with anyone, the older adult population may feel different emotions depending on their past experiences with technology, the digital divide, and ageist beliefs. Although the participants came to this study with rich life experiences, nuanced wisdom, and countless successes in their lives, these emotions are perhaps one of the most significant and harmful barriers that may keep some older adults from participating in the digital world. The purpose of this study was to learn more about the emotions older adults experienced when introduced to ICTs, such as a video conferencing service, and what caused those emotions to manifest. A qualitative multiple-case study was used for data collection and analysis. Through the use of interviews, observation, and document review, this study explored the experiences and emotions of eleven older adults with ICTs, and specifically, video conferencing services. Data analyses included inductive analysis of qualitative data, within-case analysis, and cross-case analysis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Keeping in touch while sheltering in place: a comparative case study on the complex emotions experienced by older adults when introduced to ICTs and video conferencing services

Currently, COVID-19 poses a threat to the US and the rest of the world, which has created the need for many people to establish physical distance from others. This need for physical distance is perhaps most important for those most vulnerable to COVID-19, which includes the older adult population. Through this time of physical isolation, most people need to keep in touch with each other while sheltering in place. Advances in digital communication have offered new avenues to help people maintain communication, and these advances have made the lives of many easier and more efficient. These new avenues for communication include video conferencing services such as Zoom, Skype, Apple FaceTime, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, and other similar video-based communication services. Although many older adults have reliable access to the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) required for video-based communication, many older adults are not yet skilled in using them. ICT use can be dangerous without the right skills, because ICT use can allow people to become susceptible to forms of digital exploitation and/or abuse. However, it is increasingly becoming both a hazard and a hardship to not use ICTs as life continues to transition online. As is the case with anyone, the older adult population may feel different emotions depending on their past experiences with technology, the digital divide, and ageist beliefs. Although the participants came to this study with rich life experiences, nuanced wisdom, and countless successes in their lives, these emotions are perhaps one of the most significant and harmful barriers that may keep some older adults from participating in the digital world. The purpose of this study was to learn more about the emotions older adults experienced when introduced to ICTs, such as a video conferencing service, and what caused those emotions to manifest. A qualitative multiple-case study was used for data collection and analysis. Through the use of interviews, observation, and document review, this study explored the experiences and emotions of eleven older adults with ICTs, and specifically, video conferencing services. Data analyses included inductive analysis of qualitative data, within-case analysis, and cross-case analysis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Semiconductor Catch-Up Is Not Enough: Twigging the Context of China's Ambitions

The extensive narrative of growth and development of the information and communication technologies (ICTs) in China by Jiang and Murmann (2022) and the discussion of Chinese strengths and weaknesses portray the remarkable progress that China has made, especially in technology relative to advances in the basic sciences. In our response, we situate their contribution in the larger context of Chinese economic growth and the challenges it faces in transforming these accomplishments into an embedded national capability to become a leading innovation economy and thereby deliver prosperity to its enormous but aging population. The contexts for the successes and weaknesses in ICT that Jiang and Murmann (2022) describe so admirably are vital for a more comprehensive understanding of their place in the overall development of China.

Using advanced information and communication technologies to advance oncology education in Africa.

BACKGROUND: Recent work has highlighted the tremendous potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in advancing global oncology education, research and care. The COVID-19 pandemic has made the development of effective approaches for online education even more crucial. Here we assessed the readiness, interest and potential models for effective implementation of ICT-powered oncology education in Africa. METHODS: Building on previous work by the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), a survey was conducted to assess the electronic learning (e-Learning) readiness of oncology health professionals using an online self-assessment tool. Components of e-Learning readiness assessed include access to computers, Internet, appropriate bandwidth and interest. As a practical test model, an ICT resource-intensive radiation oncology training programme was implemented via the Global Oncology University (GO-U) collaborative education platform. An analysis of results, challenges and opportunities resulting from these is discussed for advancing online oncology education in Africa. RESULTS: The survey showed over 92% of health professionals have access to computers, laptops or other technology that can allow them to participate in online education. Over 45% of oncology health professionals have already participated in some form of online education. Interest in online education was over 93%. Models for effective online learning in oncology include synchronous and asynchronous short-term courses for continuous education and long-term degree and residency programmes. There was a significant increase in skills level following the collaborative radiation oncology training model used by the GO-U platform. CONCLUSION: Africa has the capacity to implement successful e-Learning in oncology, which is consistent with findings in previous work such as the AORTIC. Greater investment by institutions and governments is needed in terms of resources and policy changes to facilitate the implementation of effective online oncology training. Purposeful engagement of diaspora oncology health professionals with relevant cultural backgrounds as with some current collaborative efforts is highly recommended in helping turn brain drain into brain circulation.

Networks of trust: accessing informal work online in Indonesia during COVID-19.

Although studies on digital labour platforms demonstrated how the internet has opened up access to income opportunities in the developing world, an exploration of how informal workers use the internet to access work without an intermediary is missing. Using data from digital ethnography and interviews with workers in Indonesia, this article examines how platform-based motorcycle taxi drivers and domestic workers accessed work through social media in the time of COVID-19 when the platforms were not allowed to operate. The evidence suggests that while social media can offer increased opportunities for workers, their success was largely dependent on their social networks and bounded by the algorithms designed by platform owners.

Meeting the Practice Challenges of COVID-19: MSW Students' Perceptions of E-Therapy and the Therapeutic Alliance.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a radical shift in social work practice. Overnight, social work intervention models provided in-person gave way to the utilization of Information and Communication Technologies to facilitate direct practice in virtual environments (e-therapy). Social work's slow acceptance of e-therapy prior to the pandemic resulted in a lack of training for many social work practitioners and MSW student interns, who were required to make rapid transitions to using and operating in online environments. It appears likely that e-therapy will continue after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, so integrating education about effective e-therapy techniques into social work curricula seems like a logical next step. A social worker's ability to establish the therapeutic alliance, which is at the heart of all helping relationships, will be central to this curricula. Understanding social work students' perceptions of e-therapy and the therapeutic alliance can help shape the development of this new curriculum. Using internal student email, students at two Research I universities were invited to participate in a fully online anonymous survey dealing with attitudes towards e-therapy and the therapeutic alliance. Surveys were conducted in 2018 and April-May 2020. Survey questions were based on the only prior comprehensive study of student attitudes towards e-therapy (Finn in J Soc Work Educ 38(3), 403-419. 10.1080/10437797.2002.10779107, 2002). Study results indicate that students have e-therapy experience, believe that a practitioner can build a good therapeutic alliance, and think that some form of e-therapy will continue after the pandemic. These results confirm that further exploration about the inclusion of e-therapy education and its efficacy in social work curricula requires urgent attention.

How should we understand the digital economy in Asia? Critical assessment and research agenda.

By Asian digital economy, we refer to high-tech developments, business and social transformations, and information-driven changes in the region's growth. We discuss its background and foundations, significance in Asia and contribution to removal of historical barriers in traditional business. We assess how new value chains are transforming country-level involvement in worldwide manufacturing and note "smiling curve theory" predictions about the global value chain in Asia for high-tech firms and their economies. The takeaway is that the digital economy in Asian nations involves revamping business processes through technology innovation, government policies for growth, and digital entrepreneurship. We analyze the "digital economy and society index", and attributes of nations, societies and economies, as a basis for framing our ideas. We consider research directions prompted by data analytics and AI, the platform economy, digital trade, fintech innovation, and societal and economic sustainability. We further highlight new issues in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.