DIGITAL COLLABORATION IN THE COVID-19 CRISIS: TRANSFORMING SAUDI ARABIA'S DISASTER RESPONSE
| dc.contributor.advisor | Aryal, Komal Raj | |
| dc.contributor.author | Almalki, Raed | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-01-17T10:59:00Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-01-17T10:59:00Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 0023-09-21 | |
| dc.description | The COVID-19 problem has had a significant impact on a worldwide scale, which has prompted governments to undertake a variety of preventative and response measures in an effort to limit the strain's contagiousness and reduce the severity of its consequences. Education is one of the industries that has been greatly impacted by this catastrophe. As a result of the epidemic, schools and universities have had to quickly adjust to the new circumstances that have been placed on them as a result of the pandemic. Many nations, including Saudi Arabia, have responded to these problems by embracing digital interaction and online education as crucial ways to maintain the continuation of learning in these particular circumstances. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the transformational impact that digital collaboration had in Saudi Arabia's catastrophe approach to the COVID-19 crisis. More specifically, the areas of education, health, safety, and security will be the focal points of the investigation that will be conducted in this research. On March 3, 2020, Saudi Arabia verified its first case of COVID-19, which resulted in the country-wide adoption of lockdowns, limits on both private and public facilities, and mobility constraints for the people. These steps are in line with the measures that have been enacted internationally. Because of these severe restrictions regarding mitigation, it has become very necessary to make efficient use of technological and digital solutions in order to continue delivering important services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Saudi Arabia, along with a great number of other countries, understood the relevance of digital technology, notably in the fields of public health, healthcare services, education, telecommunication, commerce, and risk communication (Marwah Hassounah, Hassounah, Raheel, & Alhefzi). This research paper focuses on publicly accessible government pronouncements, press briefings and releases, news clips, published statistics, published research, and professional debates in order to get a thorough glimpse of Saudi Arabia's digital response to the epidemic. These sites offer extremely helpful insights into the many projects that are being performed in Saudi Arabia by both the public and commercial sectors. Notably, the efforts of both sectors working together resulted in the creation and deployment of roughly 19 apps and platforms that effectively supported public health duties and offered healthcare services (Gunther, September 2020). In addition, the Saudi Arabian education system shown resiliency by capitalizing on an existing online education platform to guarantee the consistency of instructional procedures. As a result of this experience, potential new pathways have been created for the widespread use of digital education techniques in the years to come. In addition, the enterprises in the Saudi Arabian telecommunications industry have demonstrated seamless teamwork and implemented new ideas in order to assist the continued efforts being made throughout the crisis. In addition, risk communication initiatives corresponded to best practice recommendations and made good use of social media platforms, websites, and SMS text messaging. The results of this study highlight the relevance of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which was published in 2017 and which has established the basis for digital transformation in the country. This change has been promoted and put to the test as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlights the possibilities for transformation. When looking into the future, Saudi Arabia has the possibility to further study the use of artificial intelligence into the process of merging different sources of information during potential outbreaks. In addition, reducing the total number of mobile applications and consolidating their features might improve both accessibility and ease of use (Marwah Hassounah, Hassounah, Raheel, & Alhefzi, April 2020). In conclusion, the purpose of this research paper is to conduct an in-depth investigation of the contribution that digital cooperation made to the transformation of Saudi Arabia's emergency response during the COVID-19 crisis. This research offers insight on the revolutionary impact of digital technology by studying the activities performed in the education, health, safety, and security sectors. The findings of this research can contribute to continuing efforts being made by Saudi Arabia and other countries to successfully use digital cooperation to lessen the impact of crises. These findings can also be used to shape future plans for responding to natural disasters. | |
| dc.description.abstract | The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on a worldwide scale, which has led governments to develop a variety of preventative and response measures in an effort to lessen the severity of its consequences. The education system, particularly that of Saudi Arabia, faced tremendous problems and was required to fast adjust to the new conditions brought about by the epidemic. This dissertation analyzes the transformational influence of digital cooperation in Saudi Arabia's reaction to the COVID-19 crisis, with a special emphasis on education, health, safety, and security. The topic of this research is COVID-19. During the epidemic, Saudi Arabia, like with many other nations, understood the significance of digital technology, particularly in the fields of public health, healthcare services, education, telecommunication, commerce, and risk communication. Analysis of publicly available official announcements, press briefings, published data, research, and professional discussions were performed with the goal of gaining a thorough understanding of Saudi Arabia's digital response. According to the findings of the research, the pandemic prompted a faster adoption of digital solutions across a variety of industries. The education system in Saudi Arabia has shown resiliency by adopting online education platforms to guarantee that students always have the opportunity to learn new things. The cooperation provided by telecommunications firms was essential to the continuing efforts, and those working to disseminate information about potential dangers made good use of websites, social media platforms, and SMS text messaging. This study comes to a close by investigating the role that digital cooperation had in changing Saudi Arabia's emergency reaction to the COVID-19 issue. The research adds vital insights to continuing worldwide efforts in harnessing digital collaboration to lessen the effect of crises and influence future disaster response tactics by studying its impact on education, health, safety, and security. These are only few of the areas that were investigated in the study. | |
| dc.format.extent | 59 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14154/71229 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Saudi Digital Library | |
| dc.subject | IDC: Impact of Digital Collaborations CODC: Challenges and Opportunities of Digital Collaborations DRT: Disaster Response Transformation | |
| dc.title | DIGITAL COLLABORATION IN THE COVID-19 CRISIS: TRANSFORMING SAUDI ARABIA'S DISASTER RESPONSE | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| sdl.degree.department | Business | |
| sdl.degree.discipline | Crisis and Disaster Management | |
| sdl.degree.grantor | Aston University | |
| sdl.degree.name | Master of Science |