This research aimed to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of a volunteer program. The literature lac... more This research aimed to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of a volunteer program. The literature lacked empirical evidence on the cost efficiency of voluntary work in the public-sector context. Most previous studies have paid attention to the cases of nonprofit organizations, although there have been many volunteer programs in public organizations. In this research, we focused on the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Boat Crew Program which may help distressed boaters in distress, patrol regattas and marine events, and assist in maritime observations. We discovered that approximately $1.39 million was invested in volunteers to run the boat crew program for 2019. We also estimated the total monetary benefit of volunteer contributions by using the replacement cost method. As a result, we found that 5,369 volunteers contributed approximately 199,000 hours to the boat crew program in 2019. It means that the program extended the equivalent of 104 full-time Coast Guard personnel in 2019. The total economic benefit attributed to the volunteer contributions of labor ranged from $4.8 million to $5.4 million. Therefore, for every dollar the Coast Guard invested in the volunteer program, they obtained an additional return of $3.42 to $3.89 from volunteer contributions.
This study aims to conduct an assessment of emergency information sharing between the government ... more This study aims to conduct an assessment of emergency information sharing between the government and the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, this study intends to explore how the government provides emergency information on the pandemic to the public, how the public provides input to the government, and how the government and the public work together to respond to the pandemic. This study employed a mixed case study method focusing on the Oregon Citizen Assembly on COVID-19 Recovery and the Oregon State Government’s pandemic response activities. This study found that ordinary citizens were overall satisfied with pandemic information provided by the state government, but they reported that they did not have sufficient opportunities to share their input with the government. Online mini-publics can serve as a meaningful and deliberative forum for civic participation during pandemics.
Over the past decade, scholars have paid attention to the importance of open government, which ai... more Over the past decade, scholars have paid attention to the importance of open government, which aims to make public administration more transparent, democratic, and effective by using information and communication technologies. However, there is a lack of empirical research that examines the effects of open government. Therefore, this study intends to rigorously test the democratic and administrative effects of open government, focusing on a global initiative known as the Open Government Partnership (OGP). Specifically, this study examines whether OGP adoption in national governments has reduced government corruption and improved government effectiveness across countries. For this purpose, this study collected longitudinal data from the Center for Systemic Peace, the United Nations, and the World Bank. Then, it employed a panel data analysis based on a fixed effects model. As a result, there was no direct effect of OGP adoption on government corruption and government effectiveness, respectively. However, legal and economic factors were likely to moderate the effects of OGP adoption on curbing government corruption and enhancing government effectiveness. This study can make a theoretical and practical contribution to open government, e-government, and collaborative governance.
Over the past four decades, open government has been applied and researched in diverse democratic... more Over the past four decades, open government has been applied and researched in diverse democratic and administrative contexts. The literature focuses primarily on open government initiatives designed by government actors or co-created by government actors with non-state stakeholders. But the literature has paid little attention to the emergence of open governance by non-state stakeholders acting independently of government and developing innovative solutions to complex social problems. Thus, we develop a conceptual model of non-state stakeholder-led and community-driven open governance. Based on an in-depth case study on OpenStreetMap—a global digital community of more than 300,000 volunteer mappers—we found key themes and sub-themes that illuminate the concept of non-state stakeholder and community-led open governance leading to a comprehensive model of open governance that compares existing open government initiatives with non-state stakeholder and community-led initiatives. This study extends the open government literature by considering the role of non-state stakeholders in open governance initiatives. Findings from this study can help government actors harness the efforts of non-state stakeholders that provide public benefit.
Over the past two decades, many governments around the world have adopted e-government as an anti... more Over the past two decades, many governments around the world have adopted e-government as an anti-corruption tool. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the impacts of e-government on corruption. Thus, this article aims to empirically examine whether e-government reduces corruption across countries. For this purpose, longitudinal data from 2003 to 2016 were collected from 214 countries and then panel data analysis based on a fixed-effect model was conducted. Analysis results reveal that e-government as a whole significantly reduces corruption, while the effects of open government as one type of e-government are unclear. However, the rule of law moderates the relationship between open government and corruption. That is, in countries with more effective legal systems, open government is more likely to reduce corruption than in countries with less effective legal systems. Points for practitioners • E-government as a whole can effectively reduce corruption. • Open government, such as open data portals and online discussion forums, does not have a direct impact on the reduction of corruption.
International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior, 2019
Purpose: Advances in information technology enable the general public to participate and contribu... more Purpose: Advances in information technology enable the general public to participate and contribute to disaster response in a meaningful way. When catastrophic disasters recently occurred, digital volunteer networks formed by the public emerged across the globe. They aggregated, analyzed, and visualized disaster data. Those volunteer networks sometimes shared their data with formal response organizations. In many cases, such data sharing and integration significantly increased the capacity of formal response organizations for dealing with disasters. However, despite the emergence and contributions of digital volunteer networks, the literature has been focused primarily on the role of formal response organizations such as emergency management agencies and the Red Cross. This research describes how technical and organizational factors influence collaboration between digital volunteer networks and formal response organizations.
Design/methodology approach: This research employs a case study method, focusing on the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
Findings: This study found that information technology and a shared understanding of disaster situations and how to address disasters are key determinants of collaboration between digital volunteer networks and formal response organizations.
Originality/value: This research is expected to contribute to building an integrated emergency response system in the information age.
Keywords: Information technology; disaster informatics; data sharing; emergency response
Advances in information and communication technologies enable the public to contribute to emergen... more Advances in information and communication technologies enable the public to contribute to emergency responses. In recent disasters, the public has set up reporting systems by which the affected people could submit their testimonies about disaster conditions, analyzed disaster data, and helped mobilize and deliver relief resources. To intentionally plan for an integrative emergency response system in the networked age, this research aims to explore (1) organizational and technical determinants to the formation of the relationships between formal organizations and participatory online groups formed by the public and (2) the consequences on the outcomes that the relationships generate. We conducted a series of in-depth case studies. This research determines that resource dependence, shared understanding, and the use of certain types of information technology influence the formation of the relationships. In addition, healthy collaborative relationships increase the chances for desired outcomes including inter-organizational alignment and minimizing the long-term harms of a disaster.
International Review of Administrative Sciences, 2019
Over the past two decades, many governments around the world have adopted e-government as an anti... more Over the past two decades, many governments around the world have adopted e-government as an anti-corruption tool. But, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the impacts of e-government on corruption. Thus, this article aims to empirically examine whether e-government reduces corruption across countries. For this purpose, longitudinal data from 2003 to 2016 were collected from 214 countries and then panel data analysis based on a fixed effect model was conducted. Analysis results reveal that e-government as a whole significantly reduces corruption, while effects of open government as one type of e-government are unclear. But, the rule of law moderates the relationship between open government and corruption. That is, in countries with more effective legal systems, open government is more likely to reduce corruption than in countries with less effective legal systems.
Advances in information, communication, and computational technologies allow digital volunteer ne... more Advances in information, communication, and computational technologies allow digital volunteer networks formed by concerned publics across the globe to contribute to an effective response to disasters and crises. Digital volunteer networks are event-centric and emergent networks. Currently, the literature is sharply growing in the fields of communication, computer science, emergency management, and geography. This article aims to assess the current status of the literature and suggest a comprehensive conceptual framework of digital volunteer networks in response to disasters and crises. This framework is based on a traditional Input-Process-Output model consists of three dimensions: the disaster and crisis context; a voluntary response process; and outputs and outcomes. We also discuss challenges of digital volunteer networks for crisis response. This article is expected to contribute to the development of related theories and hypotheses and practical strategies for managing digital volunteer networks.
Dealing with man-made crises and natural disasters is extremely complex. In the digital era, info... more Dealing with man-made crises and natural disasters is extremely complex. In the digital era, information and communication technologies enable a vast group of the general public to collaborate with one another on a large scale to effectively respond to a crisis or a disaster. In recent crises and disasters, informal, online groups of individuals made significant contributions to the effective response by collecting and processing crisis and disaster data and mobilizing and delivering relief resources. In this paper, the authors explore how informal, online groups influence the effectiveness of the overall emergency response by focusing on the Boston Marathon bombing. Specifically, in the immediate aftermath of the Boston bombing, informal, online groups collated crisis-related information from multiple sources and provided this information to law enforcement agencies, thus enabling the investigation team to effectively identify and apprehend two bombing suspects. Additionally, informal, online groups helped the general public efficiently self-organize the mobilization and allocation of relief resources for stranded marathoners and visitors. Importantly, the authors note the challenges of informal, online groups in response to crisis. Particularly, informal, online groups of amateur detectives led to data inaccuracies and privacy issues because these online groups were open to—and accessible by—the public. In this study, the authors use qualitative case study methods by collecting data from multiple secondary sources and employing exploratory thematic analysis. * Keywords: Emergency management; crisis management; information and communication technology; online collective action
Although the rise of big data, open government, and social media imply greater data sharing, expe... more Although the rise of big data, open government, and social media imply greater data sharing, expectations currently do not match reality as many consider data exchange in government to be inadequate. Based on prior research, Additionally, the paper distinguishes technical management capacity and technical engagement capacity effects on agencies' sharing behavior. We test hypotheses predicting sharing behavior of municipal government agencies with other agencies and with non-government organizations using data from a 2012 national survey of U.S. municipal government managers. We find that data sharing with both government and non-government organizations is more strongly determined by persuasive mechanisms and technical engagement capacity, although technical management capacity is also important for sharing with other government agencies. Conclusions provide insights for future research directions and practice.
Since the 1970s, travel training programs, which provide a short-term training to people with dis... more Since the 1970s, travel training programs, which provide a short-term training to people with disabilities and older people to teach them independent travel skills required to use fixed-route transportation, have spread across the United States. But the authors note that currently, there is no integrative framework for evaluating the training programs, although it is crucial for improving program implementation and developing knowledge and theories related to travel training. Therefore, this research aims to build an integrative theory-driven evaluation framework of the programs on the basis of prior studies on travel training and the literature on program evaluation and learning and training theories. The framework considers (1) a wide range of key elements related to the delivery systems and outcomes of travel training; (2) diverse stakeholders that engage in designing, operating, and assessing travel training; and (3) the short-term, intermediate, and long-term outcomes of the programs. Based on the framework, the authors develop a flexible logic model for travel training programs to help scholars and practitioners design and conduct actual evaluation studies. Thus, this research is expected to make theoretical and practical contributions to theory-driven program evaluation and travel training programs.
Participation in discussions about the public interest can be enhanced by technology, but can als... more Participation in discussions about the public interest can be enhanced by technology, but can also create an environment in which participants are overwhelmed by the quantity, quality, and diversity of information and arguments. Political participation is at a greater disadvantage than non-political activities in that participants from different parties already start out with established differences, which requires them to reach some form of common ground before progress can be made. Those seeking authentic deliberation are discouraged to participate when confronted with uncivil and inflammatory rhetoric. These issues are often exacerbated in online discussions, where lack of identity cues and low barriers to entry can lead to heightened incivility between participants , often labeled as " flaming " and " trolling ". This paper explores the extent to which moderator systems, tools online discussion forums use to manage contributions, can reduce information overload and encourage civil conversations in virtual discussion spaces. Using the popular website Slashdot as an example of sound moderation in a public discourse setting, we found that users move toward consensus about which and how comments deserve to be moderated. Using these findings, we explore how transferable these systems are for participation in public matters specifically to the unique attributes of political discussion. Slashdot's political forum provides a comparison group that allowed us to find quantitative and qualitative differences in political posting, comments, and moderation. Our results show that large scale, civil participation is possible with a distributed moderation system that enables regularly lively debates to be conducted positively because the system provides tools for people to enforce norms of civility.
Traditionally, emergency response is in large part the role and responsibility of formal organiza... more Traditionally, emergency response is in large part the role and responsibility of formal organizations. Advances in information technology enable amateurs or concerned publics to play a meaningful role in emergency response. Indeed, in recent catastrophic disasters or crises such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the 2011 Japan earthquake and nuclear crisis, participatory online groups of the general public from both across the globe and the affected areas made significant contributions to the effective response through crowdsourcing vital information and assisting with the allocation of needed resources. Thus, a more integrative lens is needed to understand the responses of various actors to catastrophic crises or disasters by taking into account not only formal organizations with legal responsibilities, but also volunteer-based, participatory groups who actively participate in emergency response. In this dissertation, I first developed an “event-driven” lens for integrating both formal and volunteer-based, participatory emergency responses on the basis of a comprehensive literature review (chapter 1). Then I conducted a deeper analysis of one aspect of the event-driven lens: relationships between participatory online groups and formal organizations in crisis or disaster situations. Specifically, I explored organizational and technical determinants and outcomes of forming such relationships (chapter 2). As a consequence, I found out three determinants (resource dependence, shared understanding, and information technology) and two outcomes (inter-organizational alignment and the effectiveness of coordinated emergency response) of the relationship between participatory online groups and formal organizations and suggested seven hypotheses. Furthermore, I empirically tested these hypotheses, focusing on the 2015 Nepal earthquake case (chapter 3). As a result, I found ii empirical evidence that supports that shared understanding and information technology improve the development of the relationship between participatory online groups and formal organizations. Moreover, research findings support that the development of the relationship enhances inter-organizational coordination. Lastly, I provide implications for future research (chapter 4). This dissertation is expected to contribute to bridging the disconnect between the emergency management literature and the crisis informatics literature. The theoretical insight from inter-organizational relations (IOR) theory provides another contribution.
This paper explores how information and communication technologies (ICTs) are used for the public... more This paper explores how information and communication technologies (ICTs) are used for the public across the world to take their crowdsourced, voluntary collective action to effectively address natural disasters and man-made crises in the network age. The ICTs enable individuals to mobilize volunteers across the globe, report crisis situations from the ground, translate reported messages, carry out crisis mapping, and self-organize the coordination of relief resources. Although the ICTs-enabled, voluntary collection action can make a considerable contribution to emergency and crisis management, scholars and practitioners need to consider challenges and risks, including inaccuracy, bias, privacy and security issues, technological limitations, and burnout of online volunteers.
Policy informatics not only gives new approaches to analyzing policy challenges, but also provide... more Policy informatics not only gives new approaches to analyzing policy challenges, but also provides guidance for understanding new forms of organizing in the digital era. This chapter aims to investigate how technology accelerates the creation of just-in-time efforts while also lowering the barriers for joining such efforts to an increasingly diverse set of formal and informal actors who can make a meaningful contribution in the context of emergency management. In this chapter, we suggest a novel and extended lens called an ‘event-driven’ lens for integrating formal and informal responses by reviewing the literature on emergency management, crowdsourcing, open innovation, policy informatics, and digital humanitarianism. The novel lens is called an event-driven lens because crises serve as a focusing event that suddenly bring about not only the activation of formal organizations and their latent networks across the levels of government and the sectors, but also the emergence of many informal actors across the globe and from the affected communities to collectively respond to disasters or crises. Traditionally, emergency preparedness and response are in large part the role and responsibility of formal organizations like emergency management agencies and police and fire departments. Due to concurrent advances in a variety of technologies (information, communication, and artificial intelligence), informal groups of publics from both across the globe and the affected regions now regularly emerge and can play a significant role in the response through crowdsourcing vital information and assisting with the allocation of needed resources and services.
This research aimed to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of a volunteer program. The literature lac... more This research aimed to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of a volunteer program. The literature lacked empirical evidence on the cost efficiency of voluntary work in the public-sector context. Most previous studies have paid attention to the cases of nonprofit organizations, although there have been many volunteer programs in public organizations. In this research, we focused on the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Boat Crew Program which may help distressed boaters in distress, patrol regattas and marine events, and assist in maritime observations. We discovered that approximately $1.39 million was invested in volunteers to run the boat crew program for 2019. We also estimated the total monetary benefit of volunteer contributions by using the replacement cost method. As a result, we found that 5,369 volunteers contributed approximately 199,000 hours to the boat crew program in 2019. It means that the program extended the equivalent of 104 full-time Coast Guard personnel in 2019. The total economic benefit attributed to the volunteer contributions of labor ranged from $4.8 million to $5.4 million. Therefore, for every dollar the Coast Guard invested in the volunteer program, they obtained an additional return of $3.42 to $3.89 from volunteer contributions.
This study aims to conduct an assessment of emergency information sharing between the government ... more This study aims to conduct an assessment of emergency information sharing between the government and the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, this study intends to explore how the government provides emergency information on the pandemic to the public, how the public provides input to the government, and how the government and the public work together to respond to the pandemic. This study employed a mixed case study method focusing on the Oregon Citizen Assembly on COVID-19 Recovery and the Oregon State Government’s pandemic response activities. This study found that ordinary citizens were overall satisfied with pandemic information provided by the state government, but they reported that they did not have sufficient opportunities to share their input with the government. Online mini-publics can serve as a meaningful and deliberative forum for civic participation during pandemics.
Over the past decade, scholars have paid attention to the importance of open government, which ai... more Over the past decade, scholars have paid attention to the importance of open government, which aims to make public administration more transparent, democratic, and effective by using information and communication technologies. However, there is a lack of empirical research that examines the effects of open government. Therefore, this study intends to rigorously test the democratic and administrative effects of open government, focusing on a global initiative known as the Open Government Partnership (OGP). Specifically, this study examines whether OGP adoption in national governments has reduced government corruption and improved government effectiveness across countries. For this purpose, this study collected longitudinal data from the Center for Systemic Peace, the United Nations, and the World Bank. Then, it employed a panel data analysis based on a fixed effects model. As a result, there was no direct effect of OGP adoption on government corruption and government effectiveness, respectively. However, legal and economic factors were likely to moderate the effects of OGP adoption on curbing government corruption and enhancing government effectiveness. This study can make a theoretical and practical contribution to open government, e-government, and collaborative governance.
Over the past four decades, open government has been applied and researched in diverse democratic... more Over the past four decades, open government has been applied and researched in diverse democratic and administrative contexts. The literature focuses primarily on open government initiatives designed by government actors or co-created by government actors with non-state stakeholders. But the literature has paid little attention to the emergence of open governance by non-state stakeholders acting independently of government and developing innovative solutions to complex social problems. Thus, we develop a conceptual model of non-state stakeholder-led and community-driven open governance. Based on an in-depth case study on OpenStreetMap—a global digital community of more than 300,000 volunteer mappers—we found key themes and sub-themes that illuminate the concept of non-state stakeholder and community-led open governance leading to a comprehensive model of open governance that compares existing open government initiatives with non-state stakeholder and community-led initiatives. This study extends the open government literature by considering the role of non-state stakeholders in open governance initiatives. Findings from this study can help government actors harness the efforts of non-state stakeholders that provide public benefit.
Over the past two decades, many governments around the world have adopted e-government as an anti... more Over the past two decades, many governments around the world have adopted e-government as an anti-corruption tool. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the impacts of e-government on corruption. Thus, this article aims to empirically examine whether e-government reduces corruption across countries. For this purpose, longitudinal data from 2003 to 2016 were collected from 214 countries and then panel data analysis based on a fixed-effect model was conducted. Analysis results reveal that e-government as a whole significantly reduces corruption, while the effects of open government as one type of e-government are unclear. However, the rule of law moderates the relationship between open government and corruption. That is, in countries with more effective legal systems, open government is more likely to reduce corruption than in countries with less effective legal systems. Points for practitioners • E-government as a whole can effectively reduce corruption. • Open government, such as open data portals and online discussion forums, does not have a direct impact on the reduction of corruption.
International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior, 2019
Purpose: Advances in information technology enable the general public to participate and contribu... more Purpose: Advances in information technology enable the general public to participate and contribute to disaster response in a meaningful way. When catastrophic disasters recently occurred, digital volunteer networks formed by the public emerged across the globe. They aggregated, analyzed, and visualized disaster data. Those volunteer networks sometimes shared their data with formal response organizations. In many cases, such data sharing and integration significantly increased the capacity of formal response organizations for dealing with disasters. However, despite the emergence and contributions of digital volunteer networks, the literature has been focused primarily on the role of formal response organizations such as emergency management agencies and the Red Cross. This research describes how technical and organizational factors influence collaboration between digital volunteer networks and formal response organizations.
Design/methodology approach: This research employs a case study method, focusing on the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
Findings: This study found that information technology and a shared understanding of disaster situations and how to address disasters are key determinants of collaboration between digital volunteer networks and formal response organizations.
Originality/value: This research is expected to contribute to building an integrated emergency response system in the information age.
Keywords: Information technology; disaster informatics; data sharing; emergency response
Advances in information and communication technologies enable the public to contribute to emergen... more Advances in information and communication technologies enable the public to contribute to emergency responses. In recent disasters, the public has set up reporting systems by which the affected people could submit their testimonies about disaster conditions, analyzed disaster data, and helped mobilize and deliver relief resources. To intentionally plan for an integrative emergency response system in the networked age, this research aims to explore (1) organizational and technical determinants to the formation of the relationships between formal organizations and participatory online groups formed by the public and (2) the consequences on the outcomes that the relationships generate. We conducted a series of in-depth case studies. This research determines that resource dependence, shared understanding, and the use of certain types of information technology influence the formation of the relationships. In addition, healthy collaborative relationships increase the chances for desired outcomes including inter-organizational alignment and minimizing the long-term harms of a disaster.
International Review of Administrative Sciences, 2019
Over the past two decades, many governments around the world have adopted e-government as an anti... more Over the past two decades, many governments around the world have adopted e-government as an anti-corruption tool. But, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the impacts of e-government on corruption. Thus, this article aims to empirically examine whether e-government reduces corruption across countries. For this purpose, longitudinal data from 2003 to 2016 were collected from 214 countries and then panel data analysis based on a fixed effect model was conducted. Analysis results reveal that e-government as a whole significantly reduces corruption, while effects of open government as one type of e-government are unclear. But, the rule of law moderates the relationship between open government and corruption. That is, in countries with more effective legal systems, open government is more likely to reduce corruption than in countries with less effective legal systems.
Advances in information, communication, and computational technologies allow digital volunteer ne... more Advances in information, communication, and computational technologies allow digital volunteer networks formed by concerned publics across the globe to contribute to an effective response to disasters and crises. Digital volunteer networks are event-centric and emergent networks. Currently, the literature is sharply growing in the fields of communication, computer science, emergency management, and geography. This article aims to assess the current status of the literature and suggest a comprehensive conceptual framework of digital volunteer networks in response to disasters and crises. This framework is based on a traditional Input-Process-Output model consists of three dimensions: the disaster and crisis context; a voluntary response process; and outputs and outcomes. We also discuss challenges of digital volunteer networks for crisis response. This article is expected to contribute to the development of related theories and hypotheses and practical strategies for managing digital volunteer networks.
Dealing with man-made crises and natural disasters is extremely complex. In the digital era, info... more Dealing with man-made crises and natural disasters is extremely complex. In the digital era, information and communication technologies enable a vast group of the general public to collaborate with one another on a large scale to effectively respond to a crisis or a disaster. In recent crises and disasters, informal, online groups of individuals made significant contributions to the effective response by collecting and processing crisis and disaster data and mobilizing and delivering relief resources. In this paper, the authors explore how informal, online groups influence the effectiveness of the overall emergency response by focusing on the Boston Marathon bombing. Specifically, in the immediate aftermath of the Boston bombing, informal, online groups collated crisis-related information from multiple sources and provided this information to law enforcement agencies, thus enabling the investigation team to effectively identify and apprehend two bombing suspects. Additionally, informal, online groups helped the general public efficiently self-organize the mobilization and allocation of relief resources for stranded marathoners and visitors. Importantly, the authors note the challenges of informal, online groups in response to crisis. Particularly, informal, online groups of amateur detectives led to data inaccuracies and privacy issues because these online groups were open to—and accessible by—the public. In this study, the authors use qualitative case study methods by collecting data from multiple secondary sources and employing exploratory thematic analysis. * Keywords: Emergency management; crisis management; information and communication technology; online collective action
Although the rise of big data, open government, and social media imply greater data sharing, expe... more Although the rise of big data, open government, and social media imply greater data sharing, expectations currently do not match reality as many consider data exchange in government to be inadequate. Based on prior research, Additionally, the paper distinguishes technical management capacity and technical engagement capacity effects on agencies' sharing behavior. We test hypotheses predicting sharing behavior of municipal government agencies with other agencies and with non-government organizations using data from a 2012 national survey of U.S. municipal government managers. We find that data sharing with both government and non-government organizations is more strongly determined by persuasive mechanisms and technical engagement capacity, although technical management capacity is also important for sharing with other government agencies. Conclusions provide insights for future research directions and practice.
Since the 1970s, travel training programs, which provide a short-term training to people with dis... more Since the 1970s, travel training programs, which provide a short-term training to people with disabilities and older people to teach them independent travel skills required to use fixed-route transportation, have spread across the United States. But the authors note that currently, there is no integrative framework for evaluating the training programs, although it is crucial for improving program implementation and developing knowledge and theories related to travel training. Therefore, this research aims to build an integrative theory-driven evaluation framework of the programs on the basis of prior studies on travel training and the literature on program evaluation and learning and training theories. The framework considers (1) a wide range of key elements related to the delivery systems and outcomes of travel training; (2) diverse stakeholders that engage in designing, operating, and assessing travel training; and (3) the short-term, intermediate, and long-term outcomes of the programs. Based on the framework, the authors develop a flexible logic model for travel training programs to help scholars and practitioners design and conduct actual evaluation studies. Thus, this research is expected to make theoretical and practical contributions to theory-driven program evaluation and travel training programs.
Participation in discussions about the public interest can be enhanced by technology, but can als... more Participation in discussions about the public interest can be enhanced by technology, but can also create an environment in which participants are overwhelmed by the quantity, quality, and diversity of information and arguments. Political participation is at a greater disadvantage than non-political activities in that participants from different parties already start out with established differences, which requires them to reach some form of common ground before progress can be made. Those seeking authentic deliberation are discouraged to participate when confronted with uncivil and inflammatory rhetoric. These issues are often exacerbated in online discussions, where lack of identity cues and low barriers to entry can lead to heightened incivility between participants , often labeled as " flaming " and " trolling ". This paper explores the extent to which moderator systems, tools online discussion forums use to manage contributions, can reduce information overload and encourage civil conversations in virtual discussion spaces. Using the popular website Slashdot as an example of sound moderation in a public discourse setting, we found that users move toward consensus about which and how comments deserve to be moderated. Using these findings, we explore how transferable these systems are for participation in public matters specifically to the unique attributes of political discussion. Slashdot's political forum provides a comparison group that allowed us to find quantitative and qualitative differences in political posting, comments, and moderation. Our results show that large scale, civil participation is possible with a distributed moderation system that enables regularly lively debates to be conducted positively because the system provides tools for people to enforce norms of civility.
Traditionally, emergency response is in large part the role and responsibility of formal organiza... more Traditionally, emergency response is in large part the role and responsibility of formal organizations. Advances in information technology enable amateurs or concerned publics to play a meaningful role in emergency response. Indeed, in recent catastrophic disasters or crises such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the 2011 Japan earthquake and nuclear crisis, participatory online groups of the general public from both across the globe and the affected areas made significant contributions to the effective response through crowdsourcing vital information and assisting with the allocation of needed resources. Thus, a more integrative lens is needed to understand the responses of various actors to catastrophic crises or disasters by taking into account not only formal organizations with legal responsibilities, but also volunteer-based, participatory groups who actively participate in emergency response. In this dissertation, I first developed an “event-driven” lens for integrating both formal and volunteer-based, participatory emergency responses on the basis of a comprehensive literature review (chapter 1). Then I conducted a deeper analysis of one aspect of the event-driven lens: relationships between participatory online groups and formal organizations in crisis or disaster situations. Specifically, I explored organizational and technical determinants and outcomes of forming such relationships (chapter 2). As a consequence, I found out three determinants (resource dependence, shared understanding, and information technology) and two outcomes (inter-organizational alignment and the effectiveness of coordinated emergency response) of the relationship between participatory online groups and formal organizations and suggested seven hypotheses. Furthermore, I empirically tested these hypotheses, focusing on the 2015 Nepal earthquake case (chapter 3). As a result, I found ii empirical evidence that supports that shared understanding and information technology improve the development of the relationship between participatory online groups and formal organizations. Moreover, research findings support that the development of the relationship enhances inter-organizational coordination. Lastly, I provide implications for future research (chapter 4). This dissertation is expected to contribute to bridging the disconnect between the emergency management literature and the crisis informatics literature. The theoretical insight from inter-organizational relations (IOR) theory provides another contribution.
This paper explores how information and communication technologies (ICTs) are used for the public... more This paper explores how information and communication technologies (ICTs) are used for the public across the world to take their crowdsourced, voluntary collective action to effectively address natural disasters and man-made crises in the network age. The ICTs enable individuals to mobilize volunteers across the globe, report crisis situations from the ground, translate reported messages, carry out crisis mapping, and self-organize the coordination of relief resources. Although the ICTs-enabled, voluntary collection action can make a considerable contribution to emergency and crisis management, scholars and practitioners need to consider challenges and risks, including inaccuracy, bias, privacy and security issues, technological limitations, and burnout of online volunteers.
Policy informatics not only gives new approaches to analyzing policy challenges, but also provide... more Policy informatics not only gives new approaches to analyzing policy challenges, but also provides guidance for understanding new forms of organizing in the digital era. This chapter aims to investigate how technology accelerates the creation of just-in-time efforts while also lowering the barriers for joining such efforts to an increasingly diverse set of formal and informal actors who can make a meaningful contribution in the context of emergency management. In this chapter, we suggest a novel and extended lens called an ‘event-driven’ lens for integrating formal and informal responses by reviewing the literature on emergency management, crowdsourcing, open innovation, policy informatics, and digital humanitarianism. The novel lens is called an event-driven lens because crises serve as a focusing event that suddenly bring about not only the activation of formal organizations and their latent networks across the levels of government and the sectors, but also the emergence of many informal actors across the globe and from the affected communities to collectively respond to disasters or crises. Traditionally, emergency preparedness and response are in large part the role and responsibility of formal organizations like emergency management agencies and police and fire departments. Due to concurrent advances in a variety of technologies (information, communication, and artificial intelligence), informal groups of publics from both across the globe and the affected regions now regularly emerge and can play a significant role in the response through crowdsourcing vital information and assisting with the allocation of needed resources and services.
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Design/methodology approach: This research employs a case study method, focusing on the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
Findings: This study found that information technology and a shared understanding of disaster situations and how to address disasters are key determinants of collaboration between digital volunteer networks and formal response organizations.
Originality/value: This research is expected to contribute to building an integrated emergency response system in the information age.
Keywords: Information technology; disaster informatics; data sharing; emergency response
Type: Research paper
* Keywords: Emergency management; crisis management; information and communication technology; online collective action
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740624X16301083
ii
empirical evidence that supports that shared understanding and information technology improve the development of the relationship between participatory online groups and formal organizations. Moreover, research findings support that the development of the relationship enhances inter-organizational coordination. Lastly, I provide implications for future research (chapter 4). This dissertation is expected to contribute to bridging the disconnect between the emergency management literature and the crisis informatics literature. The theoretical insight from inter-organizational relations (IOR) theory provides another contribution.
Design/methodology approach: This research employs a case study method, focusing on the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
Findings: This study found that information technology and a shared understanding of disaster situations and how to address disasters are key determinants of collaboration between digital volunteer networks and formal response organizations.
Originality/value: This research is expected to contribute to building an integrated emergency response system in the information age.
Keywords: Information technology; disaster informatics; data sharing; emergency response
Type: Research paper
* Keywords: Emergency management; crisis management; information and communication technology; online collective action
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740624X16301083
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empirical evidence that supports that shared understanding and information technology improve the development of the relationship between participatory online groups and formal organizations. Moreover, research findings support that the development of the relationship enhances inter-organizational coordination. Lastly, I provide implications for future research (chapter 4). This dissertation is expected to contribute to bridging the disconnect between the emergency management literature and the crisis informatics literature. The theoretical insight from inter-organizational relations (IOR) theory provides another contribution.