Social Vulnerability to COVID-19: Impacts of Technology Adoption and Information Behavior

142 Pages·2023·3.119 MB·English

by  Xiaojun Yuan, Dan Wu, DeeDee Bennett Gayle

Synthesis Lectures on
Information Concepts, Retrieval, and Services
Xiaojun Yuan · Dan Wu ·
DeeDee Bennett Gayle Editors
Social Vulnerability to
COVID-19
Impacts of Technology Adoption and
Information Behavior
Synthesis Lectures on Information
Concepts, Retrieval, and Services
Series Editor
Gary Marchionini, School of Information and Library Science,
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
This series publishes short books on topics pertaining to information science and applica-
tions of technology to information discovery, production, distribution, and management.
Potential topics include: data models, indexing theory and algorithms, classification,
information architecture, information economics, privacy and identity, scholarly com-
munication, bibliometrics and webometrics, personal information management, human
information behavior, digital libraries, archives and preservation, cultural informatics,
information retrieval evaluation, data fusion, relevance feedback, recommendation sys-
tems, question answering, natural language processing for retrieval, text summarization,
multimedia retrieval, multilingual retrieval, and exploratory search.
Xiaojun Yuan · Dan Wu ·
DeeDee Bennett Gayle
Editors
Social Vulnerability
to COVID-19
Impacts of Technology Adoption and
Information Behavior
Editors
Xiaojun Yuan Dan Wu
College of Emergency Preparedness School of Information Management
Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity Wuhan University
University at Albany Wuhan, China
State University of New York
Albany, NY, USA
DeeDee Bennett Gayle
College of Emergency Preparedness
Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity
University at Albany
State University of New York
Albany, NY, USA
ISSN 1947-945X ISSN 1947-9468 (electronic)
Synthesis Lectures on Information Concepts, Retrieval, and Services
ISBN 978-3-031-06896-6 ISBN 978-3-031-06897-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06897-3
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2023
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole
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Contents
1 Introduction ......................................................... 1
DeeDee Bennett Gayle and Xiaojun Yuan
2 Technological Innovations in Response to COVID-19: Research
Agenda Considering Marginalized Populations .......................... 11
DeeDee Bennett Gayle, Xiaojun Yuan, Elisabeth Dubois, and Thora Knight
3 Adoption of Artificial Intelligence Technologies by Often Marginalized
Populations .......................................................... 31
Xiaojun Yuan, DeeDee Bennett Gayle, Thora Knight, and Elisabeth Dubois
4 Mining the Health Information Needs of COVID-19 Patients Based
on Social Q&A Community ........................................... 51
Dan Wu and Le Ma
5 Digital Divide Faced by the Elderly Under the Covid-19 Pandemic ........ 75
Shaobo Liang
6 Difficulties of Vulnerable Groups in Accessing the Public Information
Service During COVID-19 Pandemic in China .......................... 89
Kun Huang, Lei Li, Shi Chao Luo, and Xiao Yu Wang
7 Responding to COVID-19: Privacy Implications of the Rapid Adoption
of ICTs .............................................................. 107
Thora Knight, Xiaojun Yuan, DeeDee Bennett Gayle, and Salimah LaForce
8 Conclusion .......................................................... 127
Dan Wu and Le Ma
v
Editors and Contributors
About the Editors
Xiaojun Yuan Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the College of Emergency Prepared-
ness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany, State University
of New York. Her research interests include both human–computer interaction and
information retrieval, with a focus on user interface design and evaluation and human
information behavior.
She has received various grants and contracts, including from the Institute of Museum
and Library Services, SUNY seed grant, Initiatives for Women Program at the University
at Albany, and New York State Education Department.
She published extensively in journals in information retrieval and human–computer
interaction (JASIS&T, IP&M, Journal of Documentation, etc.), and conferences in com-
puter science and information science (ACM SIGIR, ACM SIGCHI, ACM CHIIR,
ASIS&T, etc.).
She received her Ph.D. from Rutgers University at the School of Communication and
Information, and Ph.D. from Chinese Academy of Sciences in the Institute of Comput-
ing Technology. She received her M.S. in Statistics from Rutgers University and M.E.
and B.E. in Computer Application from Xi’an University of Science & Technology
in China. She serves as an Editorial Board Member of Aslib Journal of Information
Management (AJIM) and a Board Member of the International Chinese Association of
Human-Computer Interaction. She is a member of the Association for Information Science
and Technology (ASIS&T), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Dan Wu Ph.D., is a Professor in the School of Information Management at Wuhan Uni-
versity, a member of the Academic Committee of Wuhan University, and the Director
of the Human-Computer Interaction and User Behavior Research Center. Her research
areas include information organization and retrieval, user information behavior, human–
computer interaction, and digital libraries.
vii
viii Editors and Contributors
She has secured research grants and contracts from the National Social Science Foun-
dation of China (Major Program), the National Natural Science Foundation of China
(NSFC), and the Humanities and Social Sciences Foundation of the Ministry of Education.
Her work is published in various journals (including the IP&M, JASIST, etc.). She has
presented at several conferences related to information behavior, information retrieval,
and digital library (SIGIR, CIKM, CSCW, CHIIR, etc.).
She received her Ph.D. from Peking University in Management. She serves as the
Editor-in-Chief of Aslib Journal of Information Management and the Executive Editor of
Data and Information Management. She also serves as a director at large of the ASIS&T.
She is a member of the ACM Digital Library Committee, a member of the iSchool Data
Science Curriculum Committee, and a member of the JCDL Steering Committee.
DeeDee Bennett Gayle Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the College of Emergency
Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany, State
University of New York. She broadly examines the influence and integration of advanced
technologies on the practice of emergency management, and for use by vulnerable
populations.
She has secured research grants and contracts, including from the National Science
Foundation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Department of Home-
land Security. Her work is published in various journals, and she has presented at several
conferences related to emergency management, disability, wireless technology, and future
studies.
She received her Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University in Fire and Emergency Man-
agement. She has a unique academic background having received both her M.S. in Public
Policy and B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She
is an Advisory Board Member for the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency
Management (I-DIEM), a member of the Social Science Extreme Events Reconnaissance
(SSEER) and Interdisciplinary Science Extreme Events Reconnaissance (ISEER), within
the NSF-FUNDED CONVERGE initiative.
Contributors
Yuan Xiaojun University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA
Bennett Gayle DeeDee University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany,
NY, USA
Dubois Elisabeth University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA
Huang Kun School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Knight Thora University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA
Editors and Contributors ix
LaForce Salimah Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
Li Lei School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Liang Shaobo School of Information Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China;
Center for Studies of Human-Computer Interaction and User Behavior, Wuhan University,
Wuhan, China
Luo Shi Chao School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Ma Le School of Information Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Wang Xiao Yu School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Wu Dan School of Information Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
1
Introduction
DeeDee Bennett Gayle and Xiaojun Yuan
Abstract
This edited volume provides a unique account of the impact COVID-19 had on the
use and adoption of technology among the most marginalized populations worldwide.
Older adults were disproportionately at risk during the pandemic because of their infec-
tion and mortality rate, and at risk to social isolation due to lower levels of digital
literacy, use, and adoption. However, other populations had high levels of social dis-
ruption during the pandemic, namely children (and families with children), who had
to adapt to rapidly changing new school policies requiring them to use online tech-
nologies for education. The changes in course instruction put a strain on the children
who may have difficulties learning virtually and the families who assisted the students
with technology issues, provided broadband wireless access, and enables a quiet learn-
ing environment. This chapter provides a brief overview of the global impact of the
pandemic, as well as the response measures which led to a dramatic increase in the
worldwide reliance of communications technology. Additionally, this chapter includes
a summary of the types of marginalized populations who may have had significant
difficulty in use or adoption of technologies for employment, education, or other activ-
ities in daily life (such as doctor’s visits and government services). Finally, a synopsis
of the research studies included in this book are presented.
Keywords
COVID-19 ● Technology ● Marginalized populations ● Book overview
B
D. Bennett Gayle ( ) · X. Yuan
University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA
e-mail: [email protected]
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 1
X. Yuan et al. (eds.), Social Vulnerability to COVID-19, Synthesis Lectures
on Information Concepts, Retrieval, and Services,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06897-3_1