Author: Dinar Mutiara Kusumo Nugraheni
Nugraheni, Dinar Mutiara Kusumo, 2019 Profiling Users of Technology Used to Deliver Disaster Warning Messages (Study of SMS for early warning messages in Semarang, Indonesia) , Flinders University, College of Science and Engineering
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The use of technology has proven effective to help the dissemination of early warning messages to end users. Moreover, as technology advances, there are many options that can be used to deliver early warning messages. Prior studies have recommended that effective technology to deliver early warning messages should: deliver warning messages in local languages; consume minimal electrical power; be low in cost; and be used by many people.
Problems discovered with early warning messages referred to the user’s ability and skill with using technology. In addition, no existing methodological tools were found that can help the information system designers and the authorities to recognise the user’s skill with using technology to access the early warning messages.
From the literature, three factors that strongly influence the effectiveness of mobile technology to deliver early warning messages were found: the user’s devices, the user’s skill, and the user’s positive perceptions to use the technology. These factors were refined into metrics, which were: device preparedness, the user’s task or skill level (ease of use and confidence with skill), and the user’s positive perceptions (usefulness and satisfaction). The aim of this thesis is to provide a methodological tool that can produce a profile of a population group incorporating these metrics for mobile technology that may be used to design effective delivery of early warning messages.
These metrics were validated by evaluating data collected in two surveys. Both surveys were conducted in flood prone areas of Semarang, Indonesia. Recent data (2016) show the majority of mobile phone users in Indonesia were non-smartphone users, so SMS (Short Messages Services) was used to validate the metrics. In addition, the first survey confirmed that people living in flood-prone areas of Semarang were non-smartphone users. Moreover, SMS can be accessed either from a smartphone or non-smartphone.
From evaluating the data from both surveys, the metrics were successfully validated, and they identified typical SMS users for notification and verification services. In addition, it was validated that the verification service was effective for clarifying notification messages when SMS was used for both services to deliver an early warning message.
Keywords: profiling users of technology, technology readiness evaluation, user's skill level
Subject: Computer Science thesis
Thesis type: Doctor of Philosophy
Completed: 2019
School: College of Science and Engineering
Supervisor: Denise de Vries