Universally designede earthquake management system in Pakistan

Abstract

The broad objective of this research is to analyze how the research field of Universal Design of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can save lives from emergencies and disasters. The primary objective of this research is to analyze how universally designed earthquake management system can save lives for Pakistani people specifically elderly and people with disabilities by providing them awareness and necessary precautions that one should follow during an earthquake. A literature review on earthquake management system and Universal Design of ICT is conducted. A universally designed earthquake management system website prototype is made and tested by Pakistani people and questionnaire is conducted from them. The ultimate goal of this effort is to answer the following questions: 1. How can Universal design of ICT reduce the impact of emergencies or support diverse people in emergencies., in particular for Earthquake situations in Pakistan? 2. What are the requirements for such a universally designed information system? 3. What is a suitable universal design for such a system that is optimised for the situation in Pakistan regarding availability of ICT equipment and network? A set of gaps are identified from the literature and questionnaire, indicating that many Pakistani are not aware by safety precautions for earthquake. There is lack of Universally designed systems to provide such awareness. The survey serves future research to fill gap to promote emergency support information systems through universal design.