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1. Perception of Emerging Technology for Emergency Preparedness: A Cross-Sectional Study

   Bennett_Gayle, D; Goodarzi, M; Yuan, X; Mwavita, M; LaForce, S (January 2025, Proceedings of the 58th Hawaii International conference on System Sciences)

   Bui, Tung X (Ed.)

   This study gauges the preparedness levels of individuals (younger and older) across hazards and investigates their willingness to use emerging technology for disaster preparedness. Older adults are among the most vulnerable during disasters and more likely to be displaced. As climate change contributes to the increased frequency, intensity, and scale of disasters, the number of areas impacted by multiple hazards has also increased. In December 2023, a nationwide survey with over 1,000 respondents was launched. The results indicate a variation in the perception of preparedness across hazards, at the individual level. Additionally, most respondents would use emerging technology to help them improve their disaster preparedness, including smart speakers, phones, mobile appliances, cars, wearable devices, robots, and virtual reality devices. Findings indicate that older adults may be willing to use emerging technology that they are uncomfortable with for disaster preparedness, necessitating training, exercises, and qualitative research to understand how and why. 

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2. Instructor-practitioner collaborations via a web platform – design and practitioners' intention-to-use

   https://doi.org/10.36680/j.itcon.2024.020  

   Yusuf, Anthony; Akanmu, Abiola; Afolabi, Adedeji; Ball, Sheryl; Murzi, Homero; Ofori-Boadu, Andrea (May 2024, Journal of Information Technology in Construction)

   Obonyo, Esther (Ed.)

   The construction industry is rapidly changing due to the greater adoption of innovations and technology. This has necessitated changes in the competencies that the industry demands from new graduates. For academia to meet the changing needs of the industry, the inputs of practitioners are needed to complement academic pedagogical efforts. This study leverages the potential of Web 2.0 to develop a web platform called ConPEC to facilitate instructor-practitioner collaborations for enhancing student learning. ConPEC is aimed at providing instructors with equitable access to practitioners, increasing the participation of practitioners in instructors' pedagogical efforts, and enabling greater interaction of students with their communities of practice (CoP). These could facilitate achieving a proper blend of theory and practice in construction engineering education as well as ensure that students possess the competencies that the industry demands. This study demonstrates the efficacy of design principles in designing information systems. This study also demonstrates the usage of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to explain and understand practitioners' acceptance of ConPEC. The findings reveal that practitioners perceived ConPEC to be useful, easy to use, and user-friendly. Practitioners’ behavioral intention-to-use ConPEC is significantly influenced by attitude toward usage, perceived ease of use, and trust. Trust also significantly influenced perceived ease of use. However, perceived usefulness has no direct significant influence on practitioners’ behavioral intention-to-use ConPEC. The study uncovers practitioners' acceptance behavior toward ConPEC which could be leveraged for further system development. The study also provides a framework that can be leveraged in diverse domains to develop similar initiatives aimed at addressing skill gaps in fresh graduates. 

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3. Perceived Disaster Preparedness between Asian Americans and Other Races: Mediating Roles of Information Seeking and Self-Efficacy

   https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcac166  

   Chen, Zhirui; Cong, Zhen (September 2022, The British Journal of Social Work)

   Abstract This study aimed to examine the differences in perceived disaster preparedness between Asian Americans and other major races in the USA, namely, Whites, African Americans and Native Americans, and how information-seeking behaviours and self-efficacy (i.e. perceived ability in conducting preparedness behaviours) mediated these racial differences. Data used were from the 2017 National Household Survey conducted by US Federal Emergency Management Agency and included 4,493 respondents. Multiple mediation analysis with percentile and bias-corrected bootstrapping was performed. Results showed that the perceived preparedness level of Asian Americans was lower than that of Whites and Native Americans. Asian Americans’ lower level of self-efficacy explained their disadvantages in perceived disaster preparedness compared with Whites, African Americans and Native Americans. The disadvantages of Asian Americans relative to Native Americans were also attributed to fewer information-seeking behaviours. Based on these findings, disaster-related social work services and intervention strategies can be developed to improve the preparedness mechanisms within the Asian American community and reduce racial disparities in disaster planning. 

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4. Investigating Perceptions that Predict Mental Health Related Help-Seeking in First-Year Engineering Students

   Wilson, Sarah A; Huth, Ava; Lamer, Sara; Hammer, Joseph H; Whitwer, Matthew (August 2024, American Society for Engineering Education)

   National data indicates that engineering students are less likely than students in other academic disciplines to seek professional help for their mental health distress. Without professional intervention, mental health symptoms can worsen and become more challenging to treat. Therefore, this study uses a quantitative approach to investigate the beliefs that first-year engineering students hold about seeking mental health treatment and the influence of these beliefs on their intention to seek professional help. This study addresses the following research questions: 1) Which factors are most strongly associated with first-year engineering students’ intention to seek mental health treatment? 2) What beliefs about the outcomes of professional mental healthcare are most predictive of students’ intention to seek treatment? This study used a self-report survey instrument that employed the Integrated Behavioral Model (IBM) as an empirically supported theoretical framework to identify the beliefs that most accurately predict behavior. In December 2021, a survey was conducted in the first-year engineering program at a large public university with a predominantly White population (n = 452). The self-report survey instrument included measures of mental health help-seeking intention, attitude, perceived norm, personal agency, and outcome beliefs guided by the IBM. Respondents exhibited high scores on scales measuring their attitude towards seeking help, perceived control, and self-efficacy. This suggests that, on average, first-year engineering students had positive perceptions of their seeking help, felt in control of their decisions to seek help, and were confident in their ability to seek help. Students had lower scores for perceived norms, meaning they were less likely to believe that seeking help was supported by those who are important to them. Additionally, less than half of the students indicated they would intend to seek help if they experienced mental health distress. Students’ perception that others would expect them to seek help (i.e., their perceived norm injunctive) was the strongest predictor of intention to seek help, followed by their attitude toward seeking help. The specific outcome beliefs that were negatively correlated with intention to seek help were that seeking help would: 1) go against the expectations of the engineering community, 2) be a sign of weakness or an admission of defeat, and 3) result in poor treatment or discrimination from the mental health professional. Conversely, the outcome beliefs most positively correlated with intention were that seeking help would: 1) help me feel supported, 2) help me improve my coping skills, 3) make me feel better, 4) help me find a solution to my problem, and 5) help me gain a better understanding of my mental health concern. The findings of this study offer valuable insights into the beliefs of first-year engineering students towards seeking professional treatment for mental health concerns. These findings will inform the development of targeted interventions to improve help-seeking for mental health. 

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5. The Proximity of Disaster Experiences and Financial Preparedness for Emergencies in the US

   https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2022.228  

   Feng, Guanggang; Cong, Zhen (December 2022, Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness)

   Abstract Objective: This study investigated how the proximity of disaster experience was associated with financial preparedness for emergencies. Methods: The data used were from the 2018 National Household Survey, which was administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The working sample included 4779 respondents. Results: Logistic Regression showed that the likelihood of setting aside emergency funds tended to be the highest between 2-5 years after experiencing a disaster, which declined slightly but persisted even after 16 years. Recent disaster experience within 1 year did not show a significant impact, indicating a period of substantial needs. However, the proximity of disaster experience did not significantly affect the amount of money set aside. Conclusion: It is suspected that increased risk perception related to previous experiences of disasters is more relevant to the likelihood of preparing financially; whereas other capacity-related factors such as income and having a disability have more effect on the amount of money set aside. 

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