Fusion of Terrain Information and Mobile Phone Location Data for Flood Area Detection in Rural Areas

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takahiro Yabe ◽  
Kota Tsubouchi ◽  
Yoshihide Sekimoto
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Location Data

scholarly journals Migration statistics relevant for malaria transmission in Senegal derived from mobile phone data and used in an agent-based migration model

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1s) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian M. Tompkins ◽  
Nicky McCreesh
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Malaria Transmission ◽  
Gravity Model ◽  
Mobile Phone Data ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Migration Model ◽  
Location Data ◽  
Home Location ◽  
One Year ◽  
Overnight Stays

One year of mobile phone location data from Senegal is analysed to determine the characteristics of journeys that result in an overnight stay, and are thus relevant for malaria transmission. Defining the home location of each person as the place of most frequent calls, it is found that approximately 60% of people who spend nights away from home have regular destinations that are repeatedly visited, although only 10% have 3 or more regular destinations. The number of journeys involving overnight stays peaks at a distance of 50 km, although roughly half of such journeys exceed 100 km. Most visits only involve a stay of one or two nights away from home, with just 4% exceeding one week. A new agent-based migration model is introduced, based on a gravity model adapted to represent overnight journeys. Each agent makes journeys involving overnight stays to either regular or random locations, with journey and destination probabilities taken from the mobile phone dataset. Preliminary simulations show that the agentbased model can approximately reproduce the patterns of migration involving overnight stays.

scholarly journals Challenges in Contact Tracing by Mining Mobile Phone Location Data for COVID-19: Implications for Public Governance in South Africa

10.28945/4736 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 101-124
Author(s):  
Paul Kariuki ◽  
Lizzy O Ofusori ◽  
Prabhakar Rontala Subramanniam ◽  
Moses Okpeku ◽  
Maria L Goyayi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Public Governance ◽  
The Public ◽  
Location Data ◽  
Pertinent Data ◽  
Privacy And Confidentiality

Aim/Purpose: The paper’s objective is to examine the challenges of using the mobile phone to mine location data for effective contact tracing of symptomatic, pre-symptomatic, and asymptomatic individuals and the implications of this technology for public health governance. Background: The COVID-19 crisis has created an unprecedented need for contact tracing across South Africa, requiring thousands of people to be traced and their details captured in government health databases as part of public health efforts aimed at breaking the chains of transmission. Contact tracing for COVID-19 requires the identification of persons who may have been exposed to the virus and following them up daily for 14 days from the last point of exposure. Mining mobile phone location data can play a critical role in locating people from the time they were identified as contacts to the time they access medical assistance. In this case, it aids data flow to various databases designated for COVID-19 work. Methodology: The researchers conducted a review of the available literature on this subject drawing from academic articles published in peer-reviewed journals, research reports, and other relevant national and international government documents reporting on public health and COVID-19. Document analysis was used as the primary research method, drawing on the case studies. Contribution: Contact tracing remains a critical strategy in curbing the deadly COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa and elsewhere in the world. However, given increasing concern regarding its invasive nature and possible infringement of individual liberties, it is imperative to interrogate the challenges related to its implementation to ensure a balance with public governance. The research findings can thus be used to inform policies and practices associated with contact tracing in South Africa. Findings: The study found that contact tracing using mobile phone location data mining can be used to enforce quarantine measures such as lockdowns aimed at mitigating a public health emergency such as COVID-19. However, the use of technology can expose the public to criminal activities by exposing their locations. From a public governance point of view, any exposure of the public to social ills is highly undesirable. Recommendations for Practitioners: In using contact tracing apps to provide pertinent data location caution needs to be exercised to ensure that sensitive private information is not made public to the extent that it compromises citizens’ safety and security. The study recommends the development and implementation of data use protocols to support the use of this technology, in order to mitigate against infringement of individual privacy and other civil liberties. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should explore ways of improving digital applications in order to improve the acceptability of the use of contact tracing technology to manage pandemics such as COVID-19, paying attention to ethical considerations. Impact on Society: Since contact tracing has implications for privacy and confidentiality it must be conducted with caution. This research highlights the challenges that the authorities must address to ensure that the right to privacy and confidentiality is upheld. Future Research: Future research could focus on collecting primary data to provide insight on contact tracing through mining mobile phone location data. Research could also be conducted on how app-based technology can enhance the effectiveness of contact tracing in order to optimize testing and tracing coverage. This has the potential to minimize transmission whilst also minimizing tracing delays. Moreover, it is important to develop contact tracing apps that are universally inter-operable and privacy-preserving.

scholarly journals Acceptability and Use of Interactive Voice Response Mobile Phone Surveys for Noncommunicable Disease Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance in Rural Uganda: Qualitative Study (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Ssemugabo ◽  
Elizeus Rutebemberwa ◽  
Dan Kajungu ◽  
George W Pariyo ◽  
Adnan A Hyder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Interactive Voice Response ◽  
Noncommunicable Disease ◽  
Behavioral Risk Factors ◽  
Behavioral Risk ◽  
Community Members

BACKGROUND There is need for more timely data to inform interventions that address the growing noncommunicable disease (NCD) epidemic. With a global increase in mobile phone ownership, mobile phone surveys can bridge this gap. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore the acceptability and use of interactive voice response (IVR) surveys for surveillance of NCD behavioral risk factors in rural Uganda. METHODS This qualitative study employed user group testing (UGT) with community members. The study was conducted at the Iganga-Mayuge Health and Demographic Surveillance Site (IM-HDSS) in Eastern Uganda. We conducted four UGTs which consisted of different categories of HDSS members: females living in urban areas, males living in urban areas, females living in rural areas, and males living in rural areas. Participants were individually sent an IVR survey, then were brought in for a group discussion using a semistructured guide. Data were analyzed thematically using directed content analysis. RESULTS Participants perceived that IVR surveys may be useful in promoting confidentiality, saving costs, and raising awareness on NCD behavioral risk factors. Due to the clarity and delivery of questions in the local language, the IVR survey was perceived as easy to use. Community members suggested scheduling surveys on specific days and sending reminders as ways to improve their use for surveillance. Social issues such as domestic violence and perceptions toward unknown calls, technological factors including poor network connections and inability to use phones, and personal issues such as lack of access to phones and use of multiple networks were identified as barriers to the acceptability and use of mobile phone surveys. However, incentives were reported to motivate people to complete the survey. CONCLUSIONS Community members reflected on contextual and sociological implications of using mobile phones for surveillance of NCD behavioral risk factors. The opportunities and challenges that affect acceptability and use of IVR surveys should be considered in designing and implementing surveillance programs for NCD risk factors.

Mobile Phone Usage and Its Socio-Economic Impacts in Pakistan

2019 ◽  
pp. 112-127
Author(s):  
Sadia Jamil
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Sindh Province ◽  
The Social ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Mobile Phone Usage ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Mobile Use

Through examining use of mobile in Pakistan's Sindh province, the current chapter presents a unique and interesting case of the socio-economic impacts of mobile use on users' lifestyles. Although there exists an obvious divide between urban and rural areas in terms of impacts of mobile use, the case of Pakistan could serve as an alert to scholars that why mobile use remains limited in narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas against a backdrop of mobile being widely believed to be able to play a big role in narrowing the social and economic gap between urban and rural areas. The author of this chapter found that mobile use was also gender-biased in rural areas, resulting in a gap between males and females as far as social and economic impacts of mobile use on their lifestyles.

Awareness of Mobile Phone-Based Money Transfer Services in Agriculture by Smallholder Farmers in Kenya

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver K. Kirui ◽  
Julius Juma Okello ◽  
Rose A. Nyikal
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Market Failure ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Agricultural Finance ◽  
Money Transfer ◽  
Transfer Services

Smallholder farmer access to agricultural finance has been a major constraint to agricultural commercialization in developing countries. The ICT revolution in Africa has however brought an opportunity to ease this constraint. The mobile phone-based money transfer services that started in Kenya urban centres have spread to rural areas and even other countries. Using these services farmers could receive funds to invest in agricultural financial transactions. This study examines the awareness of mobile phone-based money transfer services (MMT) among rural farmers in Kenya and examines the various uses of money transferred through such services. The study employs descriptive analysis and found a very high awareness of mobile phone-based money transfer services among the smallholder farmers and found predominant use of remitted funds for agricultural related purposes (purchase of seed, fertilizer for planting and topdressing, farm equipment/implements, leasing of land for farming, wages for labour). The study concludes that there is need to expand the coverage of MMT services in rural areas since it resolves an idiosyncratic market failure that farmers face namely access to financial services. It discusses the implications of these findings for policy and practice.

scholarly journals It Is All About Location: Smartphones and Tracking the Spread of COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630512094825
Author(s):  
Jordan Frith ◽  
Michael Saker
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Mobile Phone Data ◽  
Locative Media ◽  
Location Data ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Anonymized Data ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Data Visualizations

Mobile phone location data have become tied to understandings of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data visualizations have used mobile phone data to inform people about how mobility practices may be linked to the spread of the virus, and governments have explored contact tracing that relies upon mobile phone data. This article examines how these uses of location data implicate three particular issues that have been present in the growing body of locative media research: (1) anonymized data are often not anonymous, (2) location data are not always representative and can exacerbate inequality, and (3) location data are a key part of the extension of the surveillance state.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document