How can we use mobile apps for disaster communications in Taiwan: Problems and possible practice

The growth rate of global smart phone in 2010 is as high as 78.1%, showing that smart phone gradually becomes the mainstream in the mobile phone market. Smart phone has the function of installing applications, provides users with more diversified mobile value-added services and will change users' communication habits in the future. Mobile communication follows the development trend of 3G and WiMAX, make users can link with mobile software stores through internet, downloading all kinds of applications, which has provided human beings with more diversified information, and gradually changed people's living habits. With the widespread of smart phone in Taiwan and many mobile applications start to go popular in market, people are crazy about downloading mobile applications, and different applications create different types of communications. Within a trend of smart phone and massive mobile apps go popular in Taiwan, what can we do to apply these tools for disaster communications? And compare to other infrastructure-level support, is mobile app a feasible route for disaster communications? What is the possible uses and challenges. --

How Mobile Devices are Transforming Disaster Relief and Public Safety

With its growing usage, mobile technology is greatly improving disaster relief and public safety efforts. Countries around the world face threats from natural disasters, climate change, civil unrest, terrorist attacks, and criminal activities, among others. Mobile devices, tablets, and smart phones enable emergency providers and the general public to manage these challenges and mitigate public safety concerns.In this paper, part of the Brookings Mobile Economy Project, we focus on how mobile technology provides an early warning system, aids in emergency coordination, and improves public communications. In particular, we review how mobile devices assist with public safety, disaster planning, and crisis response. We explain how these devices are instrumental in the design and functioning of integrated, multi-layered communications networks. We demonstrate how they have helped save lives and ameliorate human suffering throughout the world

An analysis of mobile internet service in Thailand: Implications for bridging digital divide

Mobile Internet is growing around the world without exception for developing countries like Thailand by passing the poor legacy wired infrastructure. This study attempts to provide guidance to a national regulatory agency (NRA) by addressing the following question: What are the key determining factors to explain the probability that individual consumer will use mobile Internet? The discrete choice model is employed to empirically examine whether the service and application attributes, socio-economic variables and service provider has systematic link with the decision of consumer. The data from a national survey in 2010 commissioned by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) of Thailand is used for the analysis. Based on the findings, fixed telephony, e-mail, age, area of living and mobile operator are recognized as the strongest determinants for mobile Internet adoption. The findings suggest that the mobile Internet becomes an alternative technology to bridge the digital divide since a group of people who have no fixed Internet connection at home they can connect the Internet via mobile Internet. As such, telecom regulator and policy makers need to consider the policies regarding to infrastructure investment frequency allocation, content and application development and competition in order to stimulate the growth of mobile Internet adoption and close the digital divide within country. --Mobile Internet,digital divide,developing country

The Regional Focus of Asian Multinational Enterprises

In recent issues of this journal a debate has raged concerning the appropriate nature of academic research in the Asia Pacific region. In keeping with the expressed desire for both rigor and regional relevance in this research, we wish to demonstrate a strong commonality between the performance of large Asian firms and others from Europe and North America. The large Asian firms mostly operate on an intra-regional basis. It has been assumed that the path to success for Asian firms is globalization, yet we show that the literature supporting this is confined to a handful of unrepresentative case studies.Asian multinationals, regional strategy, internationalization, bibliometric analysis, firm-specific advantages

Pathways to Innovation in Asia's Leading Electronics Exporting Countries: Drivers and Policy Implications

This paper was prepared for the Democratic Pacific Assembly 2003 Conference, "Common Future of the 21st Century Pacific," September 18-21, 2003, in Taipei, Taiwan. This paper offers a framework for exploring emerging pathways to innovation in Asian electronics industries, as well as their drivers and policy implications. The focus is on "stylized facts" rather than on the diversity of specific country trajectories. I demonstrate that the role of Asia's leading players in the electronics industry is changing - from global export production bases for hardware and software, a transition is under way to the creation of commercially viable innovations and standards. I argue that transformations in global markets, production and innovation systems are providing new opportunities for Asian firms that seek to improve their innovative capabilities. To exploit these opportunities, however, important changes are required in Asia's innovation strategies, policies and management approaches. I highlight the considerable potential of "technology diversification" strategies as an intermediate option for attempts to move beyond "fast follower" strategies. A completely revised and updated version has been published as: "Pathways to innovation in Asia's leading electronics-exporting countries - a framework for exploring drivers and policy implications", International Journal of Technology Management, special issue on "Competitive Strategies of Asian High-Tech Firms; Vol. 29, 1/ 2: 6-20.

Recent mobile telecommunications alliance formation

During the year to end-January 2005, the resurgence of takeover activity in the mobile telecommunications industry 1 has attracted media attention. However, by focusing on takeovers, the willingness of companies in the sector to collaborate through alliance and joint venture formation is in danger of being overlooked. These alliances, none of which are more than two years old, can be variously interpreted. They could signify a return to expansionary behaviour by operators motivated by the desire to capture lucrative roaming traffic or retain key customers. Alternatively the alliances may be motivated by the desire to compete more effectively with Vodafone, which is arguably the only mobile operator with a global footprint. This paper is structured as follows. In the initial section, the six alliances that have been formed are described. Particular attention is paid to the membership and resulting scale of these alliances, as well as to the motives for their formation. The first sub-section focuses on those alliances that are largely scale orientated in motivation, while the second concentrates on those that are more technologically orientated. These alliances are then discussed in detail and conclusions are drawn

Innovation Offshoring:Asia's Emerging Role in Global Innovation Networks

Most analysts agree that critical ingredients for economic growth, competitiveness, and welfare in the United States have been policies that encourage strong investment in research and development (R&D) and innovation. In addition, there is a general perception that technological innovation must be based in the United States to remain a pillar of the American economy. Over the past decade, however, the rise of Asia as an important location for "innovation offshoring" has begun to challenge these familiar notions. Based on original research, this report demonstrates that innovation offshoring is driven by profound changes in corporate innovation management as well as by the globalization of markets for technology and knowledge workers. U.S. companies are at the forefront of this trend, but Asian governments and firms are playing an increasingly active role as promoters and new sources of innovation. Innovation offshoring has created a competitive challenge of historic proportions for the United States, requiring the nation to respond with a new national strategy. This report recommends that such a strategy include the following elements: output forecasting techniques ... Improve access to and collection of innovation-related data to inform the national policy debate; Address "home-made" causes of innovation offshoring by sustaining and building upon existing strengths of the U.S. innovation system; Support corporate innovation by (1) providing tax incentives to spur early-state investments in innovation start-ups and (2) reforming the U.S. patent system so it is more accessible to smaller inventors and innovators; and Upgrade the U.S. talent pool of knowledge workers by (1) providing incentives to study science and engineering, (2) encouraging the development of management, interpretive, cross-cultural, and other "soft" capabilities, and (3) encouraging immigration of highly skilled workers.Innovation Networks, Innovation Offshoring, Asia

SHANGHAI – FROM DEVELOPMENT TO KNOWLEDGE CITY

This report provides insights on the expansive development in Shanghai of human resources in higher education and the creation of a huge web of incubators, university science parks, district industrial parks, and various specialized development zones. With a total population of some 17 million and a GDP per capita of around US$3,000 the city planners expects that 2.5 per cent of its GDP will in 2005 be used for research and development. FDI in high technology and returning scientists in microelectronics illustrate the ambitions of Shanghai to become a knowledge city. More than 140 foreign-controlled R&D laboratories have already been established in Shanghai. Their number and sizes will increase and also involve more basic research as the IPR regime improves. Shanghai will emerge as innovative knowledge region on the world stage that before 2020 will be competing with other global knowledge regions such as the Oxford-London-Cambridge triangle by attracting talent and creating new knowledge. This report highlights a rapid and continued expansion of higher education in Shanghai that now has 59 colleges and universities with a total enrolment in 2004 of 600,000 students. The City has 10 universities which are included in the national list of Top-100 Universities which have been selected by the Ministry of Education to receive special treatment and extra resources. Three of a dozen Chinese universities with expectation to become recognized as world-famous research universities are located in Shanghai – Fudan University, Tongji University and Shanghai Jiaotong University. Fudan University Science Park and the School of Microelectronics at Fudan University provide examples of the changing character of the university system in Shanghai Linked to the development of human resources is a web of technological infrastructure of which Zhangjiang High-Technology Development Zone provides an illustration of ongoing efforts to integrate industrial production, research and university education. Shanghai is attracting overseas entrepreneurs in its advancing semiconductor industry, exemplified by SMIC with one of its bases in Zhangjiang High-Technology Development Zone, Shanghai is also attracting returning scientists to expand its IC knowledge base as exemplified by the School of Microelectronics at Fudan University, which has 600 graduate students.Human factors; Universities; Fudan University; Regional innovation System (RIS) Semiconductors; High Technology Parks; Overview of Science and Technology

Using computer simulation in operating room management: impacts of information quality on process performance

High quality information has a significant impact on improving operation performance and patient satisfaction, as well as resolving patient disputes. Based on the analysis of the perioperative process, information quality is considered as an important contributory factor in improving patient throughput. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework to use computer simulations in modeling information flow of hospital process for operating room management (ORM). Additionally, we conduct simulation studies in different levels of the information quality for ORM. The results of our studies provide evidence that information quality can drive process performance in several phases of the ORM