ActiveCitizenParticipationinE Government AGlobalPerspective

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.
net/publication/281687018
Active Citizen Participation in E-Government: A Global Perspective
Book · January 2012

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-0116-1
CITATIONS READS
19 1,746
2 authors:
Marc Holzer Aroon Manoharan

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Suffolk University
292 PUBLICATIONS 3,645 CITATIONS 86 PUBLICATIONS 825 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE
All content following this page was uploaded by Aroon Manoharan on 08 July 2018.
The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Active Citizen
Participation in
E-Government:
O F
A Global Perspective
R O
Aroon Manoharan
Kent State University, USA
Marc Holzer
L P
A
Rutgers University-Campus at Newark, USA
OB
G L
G I
I
Managing Director: Lindsay Johnston
Senior Editorial Director: Heather Probst
Book Production Manager: Sean Woznicki
Development Manager: Joel Gamon
Development Editor: Michael Killian
Acquisitions Editor: Erika Gallagher
F
Typesetter: Lisandro Gonzalez
Cover Design: Nick Newcomer, Lisandro Gonzalez
O
Published in the United States of America by
Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global)
O
701 E. Chocolate Avenue
Hershey PA 17033
Tel: 7175338845
R
Fax: 7175338661
Email: cust@igiglobal.com
P
Web site: http://www.igiglobal.com
L
Copyright © 2012 by IGI Global. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or distributed in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without written permission from the publisher.
Product or company names used in this set are for identification purposes only. Inclusion of the names of the products or
A
companies does not indicate a claim of ownership by IGI Global of the trademark or registered trademark.
B
Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data
Active citizen participation in egovernment: a global perspective / Aroon Manoharan and Marc Holzer, editors.
p. cm.
O
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: “This book focuses on the issues and challenges involving adoption and implementation of online civic
L
engagement initiatives globally and will serve as a valuable guide to governments in their efforts to enable active citizen
participation”Provided by publisher.
ISBN 9781466601161 (hardcover) ISBN 9781466601178 (ebook) ISBN 9781466601185 (print & perpetual
G
access) 1. Public administrationCitizen participationTechnological innovations. 2. Political participationTechnological
innovations. 3. Internet in public administration. I. Manoharan, Aroon, 1979 II. Holzer, Marc.
I
JF1525.A8A34 2012
323’.04202854678dc23
2011046465
I G
British Cataloguing in Publication Data
A Cataloguing in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library.
All work contributed to this book is new, previouslyunpublished material. The views expressed in this book are those of the
authors, but not necessarily of the publisher.
Editorial Advisory Board
O F
AriVeikko Anttiroiko, University of Tampere, Finland
Daniel Bromberg, Western Carolina University, USA
Donald J. Calista, Marist College, USA
R O
P
Tony J. Carrizales, Marist College, USA
YuChe Chen, Northern Illinois University, USA
L
Amit Das, Qatar University, Qatar
Kelvin Joseph Bwalya, University of Botswana, Botswana
A
ChanGon Kim, Seoul Metropolitan Government, South Korea
Patrick Kim Cheng Low, University of South Australia, Australia & Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
B
SeungYong Rho, Seoul Women’s University, South Korea
Alan R. Shark, Public Technology Institute, USA & Rutgers University, USA
Genie Stowers, San Francisco State University, USA
O
Hua Xu, Auburn University Montgomery, USA
L
Kaifeng Yang, Florida State University, USA
Wenxuan Yu, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
I G
I G
Table of Contents
O F
O
Preface ................................................................................................................................................. xiv
R
Chapter 1
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19:
P
Reporting and Internal Management ...................................................................................................... 1
Étienne Charbonneau, École Nationale D’administration Publique, Canada
L
Younhee Kim, East Carolina University, USA
A
Chapter 2
EGov and Transparency in NJ Counties: Providing Information to Citizens...................................... 20
B
Deborah MohammedSpigner, NJ Common Cause, USA
Marc Fudge, California State University, San Bernardino, USA
O
Neil Coleman, President, New Jersey Taxpayers’ Association, USA
L
Chapter 3
Transparency Issues in EGovernance and Civic Engagement ............................................................ 44
G
Sherri Greenberg, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
I
Angela Newell, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Chapter 4
G
Measuring and Improving InformationBased Government Websites:
I
A Suggested Framework ....................................................................................................................... 65
Laura Wesley, Industry Canada, Canada
Chapter 5
Online Political Participation in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election:
Examining the Democratic Divide........................................................................................................ 85
Taewoo Nam, University at Albany, State University of New York, United States
Djoko Sigit Sayogo, University at Albany, State University of New York, United States
Chapter 6
Power and Identity among Citizens in Networked Societies: Towards a Critical
Study of Cultural EGovernance......................................................................................................... 110
Jakob Svensson, Karlstad University, Sweden
Chapter 7
A Systems Theory Approach to Electronic Voting Complexity.......................................................... 129
Dimitrios Zissis, University of the Aegean, Syros, Greece
Dimitrios Lekkas, University of the Aegean, Syros, Greece
Argyris Arnellos, University of the Aegean, Syros, Greece
F
Chapter 8
Educational and Democratic Potential of Digital Games in eGovernment ....................................... 153
O
Erkki Patokorpi, IAMSR, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
Sami Leppimäki, IAMSR, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
O
Franck Tétard, IAMSR, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
R
Chapter 9
Managing Interactional Performance in EGovernment ..................................................................... 168
P
Françoise Simon, University of HauteAlsace, France
Chapter 10
L
Social Networks, Civic Participation, and Young People: A Literature Review
and Summary of the Educational Challenges ..................................................................................... 188
A
Sonia Lara, University of Navarra, Spain
Concepción Naval, University of Navarra, Spain
B
Chapter 11
O
Innovative Processes and Managerial Effectiveness of eProcurement in Healthcare ....................... 207
Ubaldo Comite, University of Calabria, Italy
L
Chapter 12
G
European Public EProcurement: The Italian Experience .................................................................. 231
Pietro Previtali, University of Pavia, Italy
I
Chapter 13
G
Civic Engagement and EGovernance in Gauteng: Grounds for universal Household
I
Broadband Internet Service................................................................................................................. 251
Lucienne Abrahams, LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Mark Burke, LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Lauri Elliott, Conceptualee, Inc., United States
Warren Hero, Gauteng Provincial Government, South Africa
Chapter 14
Implications of eGovernment in Botswana in the Realm of eParticipation:
Case of Francistown............................................................................................................................ 277
Vako Mbako, University of Botswana, Botswana
Kelvin Joseph Bwalya, University of Johannesburg, Center of Knowledge
& Information Management, South Africa
Tanya Du Plessis, University of Johannesburg, Center of Knowledge
Chris Rensleigh, University of Johannesburg, Center of Knowledge
Chapter 15
F
Impact of Internet Use on Civic Engagement in Chinese Rural Areas:
A Preliminary Research ...................................................................................................................... 297
JianChuan Zhang, Northern Illinois University, USA
O
Ying Qin, China Internet Network Information Center, China
O
Chapter 16
Rural EGovernance through the “Panchayati Raj” Institutions in India:
R
Prospects and Challenges.................................................................................................................... 315
Malathi Subramanian, Amity University, India
P
Chapter 17
EEngaging India: EDemocracy Strategies for Empowerment and Civic Participation ................... 335
L
Kavita Karan, Southern Illinois University, USA
A
Chapter 18
EGovernment Policy Implementation in Brunei: Lessons Learnt from Singapore ........................... 360
B
Mohammad Habibur Rahman, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
Patrick Kim Cheng Low, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
O
Mohammad Nabil Almunawar, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
Fadzliwati Mohiddin, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
L
SikLiong Ang, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
G
Chapter 19
Elucidating Online Structure for Democratic Legitimacy: Case of Local Government
I
Online Structure in JavaIndonesia ..................................................................................................... 379
Djoko Sigit Sayogo, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA
G
Taewoo Nam, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA
I
Chapter 20
Citizen Participation through Municipal Websites: A Global Scorecard ............................................ 404
Alicia Schatteman, Northern Illinois University, USA
George Poluse, Kent State University, USA
Chapter 21
Stepwise EParticipation: Good Practice from the Regional Level in Europe ................................... 417
Francesco Molinari, University of Siena, Italy
Mateja Kunstelj, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
!"#$%&'(&)&*&+,-./'01.+2*,.34'&5'!"#67"818/'97&+21.8
Chapter 22
Open Governance, Civic Engagement, and new Digital Media ......................................................... 439
EleniRevekka Staiou, University of Athens, Greece
Dimitris Gouscos, University of Athens, Greece
F
Chapter 23
Social Media Corporate Policies for Government Organizations: Lessons Learnt
from the United Arab Emirates ........................................................................................................... 460
O
Salem Al Shair, Federal eGovernment, United Arab Emirates
Ibrahim Elbadawi, Federal eGovernment, United Arab Emirates
O
Chapter 24
R
TT Connect: The Gateway to Enhanced Service Delivery ................................................................. 477
Charlene M. L. Roach, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago
P
Chapter 25
A Glimmer of Hope in Mass Media in Liberal Democracy: istanbulrumazinligi.com ...................... 499
L
:.7)81';8<=#3&>7#/'?87838,8*84'01.+2*,.34/'(#*-24
A
Chapter 26
Debate on EDebate: Between Acceptance and Refusal..................................................................... 512
B
EwaUniversité KrzatalaJaworskaParis,
O
Chapter 27
Conceptualization of Trust in the eGovernment Context: A Qualitative Analysis ............................ 530
L
@.,<8='A7,8B<.2*/'?*.5C3<'01.+2*,.34/'A#,3*87.8
Rahim Hussain, University of Dubai, United Arab Emirates
G
Compilation of References ............................................................................................................... 560
I
About the Contributors .................................................................................................................... 617
G
Index ................................................................................................................................................... 628
I
Detailed Table of Contents
O F
O
Preface ................................................................................................................................................. xiv
R
Chapter 1
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19:
P
Reporting and Internal Management ...................................................................................................... 1
Étienne Charbonneau, École Nationale D’administration Publique, Canada
L
Younhee Kim, East Carolina University, USA
The chapter discusses different approaches to present complicated performance information to citizens
A
and reviews various cases to understand connections between performance measurement and information.
B
Chapter 2
EGov and Transparency in NJ Counties: Providing Information to Citizens...................................... 20
O
L
Marc Fudge, California State University, San Bernardino, USA
Neil Coleman, President, New Jersey Taxpayers’ Association, USA
G
The chapter examines the levels of transparency on New Jersey county government websites, and ad
I
;)"<<"<+<="#*&#+*<<("<+)"8/1";+1$+/##"<<+1$+*%-$)./1*$%+/%;+<")>*#"+;"8*>")9?
Chapter 3
G
Transparency Issues in EGovernance and Civic Engagement ............................................................ 44
I
Sherri Greenberg, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Angela Newell, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
@5"+#5/=1")+;*<#(<<"<+15"+;"&%*1*$%+$-+1)/%<=/)"%#9+)"8/1";+1$+"A'$>")%/%#"+/%;+15"+*.=8"."%1/1*$%+$-+
transparency initiatives.
Chapter 4
Measuring and Improving InformationBased Government Websites:
A Suggested Framework ....................................................................................................................... 65
Laura Wesley, Industry Canada, Canada
@5"+#5/=1")+*%1)$;(#"<+/+-)/."4$)3+-$)+."/<()*%'+"-&#*"%#9B+"--"#1*>"%"<<B+/%;+#*1*C"%+</1*<-/#1*$%+
with public sector websites.
Chapter 5
Online Political Participation in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election:
Examining the Democratic Divide........................................................................................................ 85
Taewoo Nam, University at Albany, State University of New York, United States
Djoko Sigit Sayogo, University at Albany, State University of New York, United States
F
The chapter examines the link between the democratic divide and socioeconomic/demographic charac
teristics, based on data from the 2008 U.S. presidential election.
O
Chapter 6
Power and Identity among Citizens in Networked Societies: Towards a Critical
O
Study of Cultural EGovernance......................................................................................................... 110
Jakob Svensson, Karlstad University, Sweden
R
The chapter examines how people enter into citizenship through online political participation and the
P
factors governing these processes
Chapter 7
L
A Systems Theory Approach to Electronic Voting Complexity.......................................................... 129
Dimitrios Zissis, University of the Aegean, Syros, Greece
A
Dimitrios Lekkas, University of the Aegean, Syros, Greece
Argyris Arnellos, University of the Aegean, Syros, Greece
B
The chapter contributes to the existing body of knowledge on electronic voting, based on Soft System
Methodology (SSM).
Chapter 8
LO
Educational and Democratic Potential of Digital Games in eGovernment ....................................... 153
Erkki Patokorpi, IAMSR, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
G
Sami Leppimäki, IAMSR, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
I
Franck Tétard, IAMSR, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
The chapter explores the potential of digital games for education, communication, and the promotion
G
of civic skills in egovernment.
I
Chapter 9
Managing Interactional Performance in EGovernment ..................................................................... 168
Françoise Simon, University of HauteAlsace, France
The chapter discusses the issue of interactional performance in public eservice delivery, based on a
conceptual framework of media choice and the theory of perceived justice.
Chapter 10
Social Networks, Civic Participation, and Young People: A Literature Review
and Summary of the Educational Challenges ..................................................................................... 188
Sonia Lara, University of Navarra, Spain
Concepción Naval, University of Navarra, Spain
The chapter examines the contribution of social networks to citizen participation and examines the dif
-")"%#"<+7"14""%+$-D*%"+/%;+$%8*%"+#*>*#+=/)1*#*=/1*$%?
Chapter 11
Innovative Processes and Managerial Effectiveness of eProcurement in Healthcare ....................... 207
F
Ubaldo Comite, University of Calabria, Italy
The chapter discusses the functioning of new models of eprocurement and explores its potential in
O
)";(#*%'+"E="%<"<+/%;+/#5*">*%'+"-&#*"%#9?
Chapter 12
O
European Public EProcurement: The Italian Experience .................................................................. 231
Pietro Previtali, University of Pavia, Italy
R
The chapter discusses the role of eprocurement platforms, both from an organizational and economic
P
perspective and presents various European central procurement models from the public sector.
Chapter 13
L
Civic Engagement and EGovernance in Gauteng: Grounds for universal Household
Broadband Internet Service................................................................................................................. 251
A
Lucienne Abrahams, LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Mark Burke, LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
B
Lauri Elliott, Conceptualee, Inc., United States
Warren Hero, Gauteng Provincial Government, South Africa
O
The chapter presents insights into the state of edevelopment in Gauteng, South Africa, with particular
L
focus on policies that push universal household broadband service.
Chapter 14
G
Implications of eGovernment in Botswana in the Realm of eParticipation:
I
Case of Francistown............................................................................................................................ 277
Vako Mbako, University of Botswana, Botswana
Kelvin Joseph Bwalya, University of Johannesburg, Center of Knowledge & Information Manage
G
ment, South Africa
I
Tanya Du Plessis, University of Johannesburg, Center of Knowledge & Information Management,
South Africa
Chris Rensleigh, University of Johannesburg, Center of Knowledge & Information Management,
South Africa
The chapter analyses the state of egovernment preparedness and adoption in Botswana, and analyzes
the intervention strategies towards robust egovernment development.
Chapter 15
Impact of Internet Use on Civic Engagement in Chinese Rural Areas:
A Preliminary Research ...................................................................................................................... 297
JianChuan Zhang, Northern Illinois University, USA
Ying Qin, China Internet Network Information Center, China
The chapter explores the relationship between Internet usage and civic engagement among rural users
in China, and its potential to enable active citizen engagement in public affairs.
Chapter 16
Rural EGovernance through the “Panchayati Raj” Institutions in India:
F
Prospects and Challenges.................................................................................................................... 315
Malathi Subramanian, Amity University, India
O
The chapter attempts to examine the challenges to and dimensions of the task of electronic delivery of
government services through the local selfgovernment institutions called “Panchayati Raj” in India.
O
Chapter 17
EEngaging India: EDemocracy Strategies for Empowerment and Civic Participation ................... 335
R
Kavita Karan, Southern Illinois University, USA
P
The chapter examines the edemocracy strategies and new media technologies used by political parties,
industrial corporations, and other organizations in the recent elections in India.
L
Chapter 18
EGovernment Policy Implementation in Brunei: Lessons Learnt from Singapore ........................... 360
A
Mohammad Habibur Rahman, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
Patrick Kim Cheng Low, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
B
Mohammad Nabil Almunawar, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
Fadzliwati Mohiddin, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
O
SikLiong Ang, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
L
The chapter highlights the factors that have enabled egovernment policies to be successfully implemented
in Singapore and propose similar strategies in Brunei.
G
Chapter 19
I
Elucidating Online Structure for Democratic Legitimacy: Case of Local Government
Online Structure in JavaIndonesia ..................................................................................................... 379
Djoko Sigit Sayogo, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA
G
Taewoo Nam, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA
I
The chapter explores the potential of egovernment implementation in transforming the communication
structure between local governments and citizens in Java, Indonesia.
Chapter 20
Citizen Participation through Municipal Websites: A Global Scorecard ............................................ 404
Alicia Schatteman, Northern Illinois University, USA
George Poluse, Kent State University, USA
The chapter introduces a model to explain why some countries provide better online citizen participation
opportunities than others, based on a global study of municipal websites.
Chapter 21
Stepwise EParticipation: Good Practice from the Regional Level in Europe ................................... 417
Francesco Molinari, University of Siena, Italy
Mateja Kunstelj, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
!"#$%&'(&)&*&+,-./'01.+2*,.34'&5'!"#67"818/'97&+21.8
F
The chapter discusses the results of the IDEALEU project, which involves citizen participation and
deliberation on the priorities of the new climate change agenda of the European Parliament.
O
Chapter 22
Open Governance, Civic Engagement, and new Digital Media ......................................................... 439
O
EleniRevekka Staiou, University of Athens, Greece
Dimitris Gouscos, University of Athens, Greece
R
The chapter highlights and discusses the concepts of egovernance, open governance, and civic engage
P
ment enabled by technologies such as Web 2.0, social media, and usergenerated content.
L
Chapter 23
Social Media Corporate Policies for Government Organizations: Lessons Learnt
from the United Arab Emirates ........................................................................................................... 460
A
Salem Al Shair, Federal eGovernment, United Arab Emirates
Ibrahim Elbadawi, Federal eGovernment, United Arab Emirates
B
The chapter presents the key lessons learnt from the process of formulating a governmentwide social
media policy in the United Arab Emirates, along with providing recommendations for future research.
Chapter 24
LO
TT Connect: The Gateway to Enhanced Service Delivery ................................................................. 477
Charlene M. L. Roach, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago
G
The chapter examines The Trinidad and Tobago (TT) Pilot Portal site, also known as ttconnect, which
I
provides a gateway to access the services of the twentytwo TT government ministries.
G
Chapter 25
I
A Glimmer of Hope in Mass Media in Liberal Democracy: istanbulrumazinligi.com ...................... 499
:.7)81';8<=#3&>7#/'?87838,8*84'01.+2*,.34/'(#*-24
The chapter examines how the new media provides solutions for the problems of national integrated
public sphere through opening new spaces in Turkey.
Chapter 26
Debate on EDebate: Between Acceptance and Refusal..................................................................... 512
EwaUniversité KrzatalaJaworskaParis,
@5"+#5/=1")+"E/.*%"<+15"+-/#1$)<+15/1+*%D("%#"+15"+/##"=1/%#"+$)+)"-(</8+$-+"A=/)1*#*=/1*$%+1$$8<+79+8$#/8+
government stakeholders, based on a case study of French municipalities.
Chapter 27
Conceptualization of Trust in the eGovernment Context: A Qualitative Analysis ............................ 530
@.,<8='A7,8B<.2*/'?*.5C3<'01.+2*,.34/'A#,3*87.8
Rahim Hussain, University of Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The chapter provides an indepth understanding of the citizen’s perception of egovernment adoption
F
based on a qualitative approach using focus groups.
O
Compilation of References ............................................................................................................... 560
About the Contributors .................................................................................................................... 617
O
Index ................................................................................................................................................... 628
P R
A L
OB
G L
G I
I
xiv
Preface
O F
O
As governments across the world increasingly adopt information and communication technology to
improve their efficiency and effectiveness, they are gradually providing opportunities for citizen par
R
ticipation and engagement online. The use of Internet technologies raises the possibility for largescale
edemocracy and enhances the degree and quality of public participation in government. Initially, e
P
participation was largely passive, with mostly oneway communication and information dissemination.
Nowadays, online participation is highlighted by twoway communication and the active participation
L
of citizens, along with the increasing accessibility of computers and the everincreasing prevalence of
social media. In light of these various possibilities for citizens to actively participate in governance and
A
decisionmaking, this book details the efforts of governments and public agencies in providing proper
channels for engaging their citizens.
B
This book presents a wide range of research on approaches undertaken by governments across the
world in facilitating active citizen participation online. The chapters also highlight the unique determinants
and challenges surrounding its implementation in different global regions. Focusing on the issues and
O
challenges involving adoption and implementation of online civic engagement initiatives globally, the
L
book should serve as a valuable guide to governments in their efforts to enable active citizen participation.
In Chapter 1, Reconfiguring Performance Information Linking with Accountability: Reporting and
G
Internal Management, Étienne Charbonneau and Younhee Kim suggest innovative approaches to pres
ent complicated performance information to citizens. The chapter reviews various cases to understand
I
the link between performance measurement and performance information in order to promote commu
nication between citizens and government. According to the authors, performance reporting should be
G
constructed in modernized, innovative, and userfocused ways to stimulate the use of performance infor
I
mation by external stakeholders, which can promote government accountability. In Chapter 2, EGov and
Transparency in NJ Counties: Providing Information to Citizens, Deborah MohammedSpigner, Daniel
Bromberg, Marc Fudge, and Neil Coleman examine the levels of transparency on New Jersey county
government websites, and addresses specific issues related to access to information and service delivery.
The research demonstrates that counties are utilizing information and communication technologies to
increase transparency in a range of modes. However, the use of such technologies continues to remain
in its infancy at the countygovernment level. In Chapter 3, Transparency Issues in EGovernance and
Civic Engagement, Sherri Greenberg and Angela Newell discuss the definition of transparency related
to egovernance and the implementation of transparency initiatives. Transparency is important in the
transition from egovernment to egovernance, and President Obama has made transparency a prominent
issue in the federal government with his directive to use online resources to promote transparency. This
chapter outlines the necessary political, policy, and technology and transparency issues in egovernance,
xv
along with recommendations for best practices in policy development and implementation. In Chapter
4, Measuring and Improving Informationbased Government Websites: A Suggested Framework, Laura
Wesley introduces a framework for measuring efficiency, effectiveness, and citizen satisfaction with
public sector websites. The framework uses research methods that measure the extent to which online
information advances organizational objectives, reaches its target audience, and meets users’ expecta
F
tions for service and quality. In Chapter 5, Online Political Participation in the 2008 U.S. Presidential
Election: Examining the Democratic Divide, Taewoo Nam and Djoko Sigit Sayogo examine how the
democratic divide (the gap in political activities via the Internet) is linked to socioeconomic and demo
O
graphic characteristics, based on the data from the Pew Research Center’s survey conducted during the
campaign season of the 2008 U.S. presidential election. The study compares five different types of online
O
political activity communication, mobilization, information consumption, information production, and
involvement in social networking websites.
R
In Chapter 6, Power and Identity among Citizens in Networked Societies: Towards a Critical Study
of Cultural EGovernance, Jakob Svensson discusses the issues of political participation, citizenship
P
practices and power. Based on social theory and transdisciplinarity, the chapter examines how people
enter into citizenship through political participation online and the factors governing these processes.
L
In Chapter 7, A Systems Theory Approach to Electronic Voting Complexity, Dimitrios Zissis, Dimitrios
Lekkas, and Argyris Arnellos contribute to the existing body of knowledge on electronic voting, based
A
on Soft System Methodology (SSM). Electronic voting is often identified as a soft, illstructured human
activity system, and soft systems thinking is applied to resolve complex issues and provide a clearer
B
perspective of related interdependencies. In Chapter 8, Educational and Democratic Potential of Digital
Games in EGovernment, Erkki Patokorpi, Sami Leppimäki and Franck Tétard discuss the potential
of digital games for education, communication and the promotion of civic skills in egovernment. Ac
O
cording to the authors, learning by games promotes the understanding of complex social issues and
L
their mutual relationships, and consequently, learning by playing serious games is best understood as
reasoned practical action in a virtual world. Presenting a social and cultural rationale for the use of
games by citizens in terms of social capital, the chapter discusses worldwide examples of existing game
G
applications for egovernment. In Chapter 9, Managing Interactional Performance in EGovernment,
I
Françoise Simon discusses the issue of interactional performance in public eservice delivery, based on
a conceptual framework of media choice and the theory of perceived justice. The chapter examines the
interplay of service complexity, media richness, and social cues on individual media preferences. Ad
I G
ditionally, it discusses key factors that lead citizenusers to the perception of a sense of equity through
electronic communication.
In Chapter 10, Social Networks, Civic Participation and Young People: A Literature Review and
Summary of the Educational Challenges, Sonia Lara and Concepción Naval examine the contribution
of social networks to citizen participation. The key questions discussed in the chapter are How does
the use of social networks affect civic behaviour and attitudes among citizens? Does such use foster real
civic participation or, in contrast, does it lead to isolation from the real world as a result of engagement in
online activities? Also, are there generic, quantitative and/or qualitative differences between offline and
online social and civic participation? In Chapter 11, Innovative Processes and Managerial Effectiveness of
EProcurement in Healthcare, Ubaldo Comite discusses the functioning of new models of eprocurement
and explores its potential in achieving efficiency, based on the reorganization of the acquiring procedures
of goods and services. In Chapter 12, European Public EProcurement: The Italian Experience, Pietro
Previtali discusses the role of eprocurement and presents various European central procurement models
xvi
from the public sector. Based on an etransaction survey in the Italian Central Procurement Department,
the chapter discusses the category of goods and services compliant with eprocurement tools, along with
the implications of the legislative framework for eprocurement transactions.
In Chapter 13, Civic Engagement and EGovernance in Gauteng: Grounds for Universal Household
Broadband Internet Service, Lucienne Abrahams, Mark Burke, Lauri Elliott, and Warren Hero present
F
insights into the state of edevelopment in Gauteng, South Africa. The achievement of universal suf
frage in 1994 created the foundations for greater civic engagement. However, as social interaction and
societal governance become increasingly electronically mediated, a large proportion of the population
O
is excluded from these new forms of onNet interaction. This chapter argues that policies that push
universal household broadband service can contribute to reducing social exclusion through creating the
O
foundation for households to operate as units of production and overcome economic deprivation, thus
laying a stronger basis for civic engagement. In Chapter 14, Implications of EGovernment in Botswana
R
in the Realm of EParticpation: Case of Francistown, Mbako Vako, Bwalya Kelvin Joseph, Tanya Du
Plessis, and Chris Rensleigh present the intervention strategies towards robust egovernment development
P
in Botswana where egovernment is still at the very initial stages. Many of the egovernment strategies
being planned in Botswana have often inadequately considered the eparticipation component and this is
L
negatively impacting the overall anticipated value prepositions for egovernment implementation. Based
on an exploratory and empirical study of Francistown and surrounding rural areas, the chapter presents
A
a critical analysis of the state of egovernment preparedness and the current status of egovernment
adoption in Botswana.
B
In Chapter 15, Impact of Internet Use on Civic Engagement in Chinese Rural Areas: A Preliminary
Research, JianChuan Zhang and Ying Qin explore the relationship between Internet usage and civic
engagement in rural China. Based on the surveys implemented by the China Internet Network Informa
O
tion Center (CNNIC), the authors find that Internet does enhance the level of civic engagement among
L
rural users and has the potential to enable active engagement in public affairs in the future. In Chapter
16, Rural EGovernance through the ‘Panchayat Raj’ Institutions in India: Prospects and Challenges,
Malathi Subramanian examines the role of local selfgovernment Institutions (Panchayats) in rural e
G
governance in India. The Panchayats are particularly helpful in simplifying civic governance, by making
I
government more democratic, inclusive, and more accessible to the citizens at the local village level.
In Chapter 17, EEngaging India: EDemocracy Strategies for Empowerment and Civic Participation,
Kavita Karan examines the egovernance and edemocracy strategies, and new media technologies used
I G
by political parties, industrial corporations, and other organizations in India. The chapter particularly
examines the recent elections that witnessed a surge in the use of new Internet technologies, social net
working and mobile technologies, along with the traditional forms of electioneering.
In Chapter 18, EGovernment Policy Implementation in Brunei: Lessons Learnt from Singapore,
Mohammad Habibur Rahman, Patrick Kim Cheng Low, Mohammad Nabil Almunawar, Fadzliwati
Mohiddin, and SikLiong Ang examine egovernment strategies in Brunei in the light of policy success
in Singapore. Based on their empirical research in these two SouthEast Asian nations, this chapter high
lights the factors that have enabled egovernment policies to be successfully implemented in Singapore
and proposes potential success ingredients for the implementation of similar strategies in Brunei. In
Chapter 19, Elucidating Online Structure for Democratic Legitimacy: Case of Local Government Online
Structure in JavaIndonesia, Djoko Sigit Sayogo and Taewoo Nam explore the online communicative
structures among local governments in Java, Indonesia. Based on an analysis of local government web
sites, the study reveals that the levels of democratized Internet mediated human interactions through
xvii
local government online structures are restricted. The questions specifically addressed in this study are:
to what extent would egovernment implementation change the communication structure between local
government and the citizens of Indonesia? Are citizens able to generate opinions and attitudes that will
affirm or challenge the affairs of state? Is the local government able to promote democratic legitimacy
in Indonesia through the design, control, and filter of their online structure?
F
In Chapter 20, Citizen Participation Through Municipal Websites: A Global Scorecard, Alicia
Schatteman, Deborah MohammedSpigner and George Poluse introduce a model to explain why some
countries provide better online citizen participation opportunities than others. Based on the global study
O
of municipal websites, the chapter specifically addresses two primary questions: 1. What are the op
portunities for online participation in the most populous cities globally? 2. What factors are associated
O
with opportunities for online citizen participation through municipal websites? In Chapter 21, Stepwise
EParticipation: Good Practice from the Regional Level in Europe, Francesco Molinari, Mateja Kunstelj
R
/%;+2F(=G$+@$;$)$><3*+;*<#(<<+15"+)"<(81<+$-+15"+0HI62AIJ+=)$F"#1B+*%+45*#5+15)""+I()$="/%+!"'*$%<+
iTuscany, Catalonia, and PoitouCharentes have involved citizens (and particularly young people) in
P
discussing and deliberating on the priorities of the new climate change agenda of the European Parlia
ment. These deliberations are supported by two distinct ICT instruments a social networking platform
L
and a panEuropean virtual town meeting.
In Chapter 22, Open Governance, Civic Engagement and New Digital Media, EleniRevekka Staiou
A
and Dimitris Gouscos highlight and discuss the concepts of egovernance, open governance, and civic
engagement enabled by technologies such as Web 2.0, social media, and usergenerated content. The
B
focus of discussion is placed on common founding premises and adoption factors that are reproduced
at multiple levels, from that of the underlying technology up to end services and interaction patterns. A
number of governance initiatives and services are used as working examples, with a view to providing
O
readers with an improved understanding of technological principles and functional capabilities that can
L
attract citizen participation and encourage civic engagement. In Chapter 23, Social Media Corporate
Policies for Government Organizations: Lessons Learnt from the United Arab Emirates, Al Shair, Salem
and Ibrahim Elbadawi, present the key lessons learnt from the process of formulating a governmentwide
G
social media policy in the United Arab Emirates. The chapter discusses the main barriers to the success
I
ful adoption of social media along with providing recommendations for future research.
In Chapter 24, TT Connect – The Gateway to Enhanced Service Delivery, Charlene M. L. Roach
examines the Trinidad and Tobago (TT) Pilot Portal site, also known as ttconnect, which provides a
I G
gateway to access the services of the twentytwo TT government ministries. The chapter explains that
in using the portal design, TT’s government is attempting to shift to a new paradigm in its service deliv
ery, improving public outreach and citizens’ responsiveness. The chapter also reviews TT government’s
macro policies, called Vision 2020 and Fastforward, the Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) strategy, which are being used as policy instruments to enable TT to reach developed nation status
by the year 2020. In Chapter 25, A Glimmer of Hope in Mass Media in Liberal Democracy: istanbul
rumazinligi.comB+K*8;/%+L/5.(1$M8(+"E/.*%"<+/+4"7<*1"+8/(%#5";+79+15"+N)""3+.*%$)*19+*%+O<1/%7(8+A+
istanbulrumazinligi.com. The chapter examines how a minority group can find a place in national public
sphere? Particulary, how does the new media provide solutions for the problems of national integrated
public sphere through opening new spaces? The findings are analyzed by the terms of engagement to
democracy, public sphere, minority culture and edemocracy, and edeliberation. In Chapter 26, Debate
on EDebate: Between Acceptance and Refusal, Ewa KrzatalaJaworska examines the factors that in
fluence the acceptance or refusal of eparticipation tools by local government stakeholders. Based on a
xviii
case study of a French Municipality of 50,000 inhabitants, the findings show that the attitude towards
eparticipation by local councilors depends largely on the degree of control they have over the vision of
local democracy. The hypothesis of this study is that the decision of local officials to involve citizens in
the policy process via the Internet depends not only on the rational balance between gains and costs, but
also on the beliefs of the local councilors. In Chapter 27, Conceptualization of Trust in the eGovernment
F
Context: A Qualitative Analysis, Hisham Alsaghier and Rahim Hussain provide an indepth understand
ing of the citizens’ perception of egovernment adoption based on a qualitative approach using focus
groups. The study identifies the critical factors that affect citizens’ trust in egovernment and provide a
O
comprehensive guide to governments on how to improve citizens’ trust and enhance their engagement
in the egovernment initiatives.
R O
L P
B A
LO
I G
I G
1
Chapter 1
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+
Information Linking
O F
O
with Accountability:
R
Reporting and Internal Management
Étienne Charbonneau
École Nationale D’administration Publique, Canada
Younhee Kim
L P
A
East Carolina University, USA
B
ABSTRACT
O
Over the past decade, performance information has been widely available to citizens along with the
2D$81,.&1'&5'2EB&+2*1=213/'F<.G<'<8,'=8B1.C2)'G&==#1.G83.&1,'623F221'G.3.H21,'81)'B&+2*1=213'8,'
L
well as citizen direct participation in government business. If citizens are informed more about govern
ment performance, citizen trust in government should improve. However, there is, in effect, little use
G
of performance information by citizens, since availability to citizens is not very visible. To disseminate
the results of performance measurement effectively, government should pay attention to the improve
I
ment of performance measurement systems and performance reporting systems with citizencentered
approaches. Userfriendly reporting should not just simplify the multilayers of performance measure
G
ment for improving performance itself. Rather, this chapter suggests applying different approaches to
I
present complicated performance information to citizens. Performance reporting should be constructed
in modernized, innovative, and userfocused ways to stimulate the use of performance information by
external stakeholders, which can promote government accountability.
INTRODUCTION government business. Egovernment has become

the most effective channel for government to
In the past two decades, information dissemination communicate with citizens. The magnitude of
through an egovernment platform has offered public reporting has been further expanded by
tremendous opportunities for agencies to improve egovernment in not only performance improve
trust in government and for citizens to engage in ment but also performance accountability after the
Government Accounting Standards Board (1987)
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch001
Copyright © 2012, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
established a connection between performance and measures are available in a report, accountability
accountability. The more citizens are informed is largely achieved. When citizens are aware of
about government performance information, the performance information at large, accountability
more they can actively participate in democratic can be optimized (Simon & Ridley, 1938). Behn
processes using such information. Public report (2008) asserted the importance of performance
F
ing, thus, should be a proactive government action reporting to citizens through analysis of the Bal
to present performance information to citizens timore CitiStat performance measurement initia
O
in an approachable manner. As Coy and Dixon tive. He found that citizens pay less attention to
(2004) asserted, the reporting of comprehensive government managerial strategies. Instead, they
government information to citizens mirrors pub care about the results of those strategies. Ber
O
lic accountability. Substantial reporting systems man (2006) reconfirmed the interests of citizens
should help public agencies to improve their is in knowing more about their government.
R
accountability. “Managing for results” information, however, is
The emphasis of performance management hard to obtain in a way that can be understood by
P
linking with accountability has been changed citizens. The general public has neither the time
from controlling internal functions to improving nor the background to interpret statistical tables
L
the quality of government services. The concept in an intelligent manner. Reporting performance
of performance measurement has been expanded measurement to citizens should be tailored using
A
to improve not only effectiveness and efficiency an explanatory method.
but also accountability (Ammons, 1996; Kelly,
B
2002; Wholey & Newcomer, 1997). Performance Understanding Performance
measurement is a pragmatic informationbased Measurement
management tool used to simplify complex ad
O
ministrative reality into a tangible dimension. The Performance measurement is widely credited with
L
importance of such measured performance infor improving performance and increasing account
mation is able to disseminate rapidly to outside ability. The timely flux of information is key to
government by the expansion of egovernment. understanding performance measurement, since
G
Egovernment initiatives stimulate innovative performance measurement is the “regular and
I
delivery of public reporting responsibilities to careful monitoring of program implementation
build trust in government. This chapter reviews and outcomes,” which regularity is a different
G
various cases to understand connections between requirement comparing to program evaluation (de
I
performance measurement and performance LancerJulnes, 2006, p.223). Since government
information in order to promote communication agencies often find themselves in monopolistic
between citizens and government. positions, performance indicators would carry
information, in similar ways as prices do in the
private sector (Johnsen, 2005). Performance
PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT measurement would be an outcomebased man
LINKING WITH ACCOUNTABILITY agement tool that could at times complement,
and at times compete, with more process based
Do citizens care about what their government management tools like budgets. Based on the
does? Performance information can fill the gap findings of previous studies, the central argument
between government and citizens since it brings of this chapter is that performance measurement,
citizens’ attention and interest to government. It especially if it is to rise up to budgets, could gain
is often taken for granted that once performance to be more complex. Added complexity would
2
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
provide public managers with sophisticated in part of practitioners, for example Chief Police
formation needed to enable an improvement of Inspectors (Rogerson, 1995). From the public
performance. At present, a number of performance sector performance literature, de Bruijin (2002,
initiatives are kept purposefully simplistic because pp. 580581) finds three recurrent benefits of
they are aimed at accountability to citizens and performance measurement that are identified:
F
not performance improvement. performance measurement brings transparency;
In the United States, managers would like to performance measurement is an incentive for out
O
see performancebased management tools disap put; performance measurement is an elegant way
pear (Behn, 2008), as management by objectives, of shaping accountability. Without discrediting the
zerobased budgeting, performancebased bud bases used to identify the benefits of performance
O
geting, total quality management, the balanced measurement altogether, one has to acknowledge
scorecard and the organizational dashboards that benefits found with deductive reasoning are
R
have either dissolved, or are spottily applied and more convincing to performance measurement
used (Moynihan, 2008; Poister & Streib, 1999; proponents than opponents.
P
Steinhardt, 2008). At the municipal level, budgets McGowan and Poister (1985) examined the
were no longer resisted as complex management impacts of performance measurement using
L
tools in the beginning of the twentieth century International City/County Management Associa
(Bruère, 1915). Almost a hundred years later, the tion survey data, which collected the nationwide
A
same could not be said for municipal performance surveys from 460 of 1,062 public managers in
measurement (e.g., Schatteman, 2009; Charbon municipal and county governments. They found
B
neau, 2010). Contrary to budgets, the complexity that managers felt that performance measurement
of performance measurement has not increased had some influence in “modifying program objec
substantively in the last century. What changed tives (51%), altering work standards (53%), and
O
most is the way in which reports are dissemi setting individual performance targets (49%)”
L
nated. Early calls for more complexity, like the (McGowan & Poister, 1985, p. 537). The study
inadequacy of per capita indicators (Kilpatrick, also explained that 61% of respondents found
1936; Ridley, 1927), adjusting measures for lo that the benefits of performance measurement
G
cal characteristics (Ridley, 1927), or establishing outweighed the cost of collecting data, while only
I
minimal standards (Kilpatrick, 1936) have gener less than 1% of county managers felt inexpensive
ally not yet been implemented. data collection (McGowan & Poister, 1985).
G
Recently, Poister and Steib (1999) found that
I
Benefits of Performance most managers indicated that their performance
Measurement measures improved decisions at least moderately
and reported at least moderate changes in budget
The benefits of performance measurement include allocations. Berman and Wang (2000), using 209
helping public agencies to monitor, penalize, and surveys from county managers in the US, identi
reward contractors (Page & Malinowski, 2004). fied the extent to which managers found the fol
According to these authors, “good measurement lowing benefits to be present in their county as
systems help break the cycle of lowbid/lowqual a result of the use of performance measurement.
ity procurement by rewarding highperforming In general, performance measurement received
contractors with contractor extensions and other limited credits for variations of program outcomes.
preferences” (Page & Malinowski, 2004, p. 32). The results of public managers’ opinions on the
Benefits like ‘overtly prioritizing tasks’ have also potential benefits of performance measurement
been uncovered by deductive reasoning on the are summarized in Table 1.
3
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
Table 1. Summary for the benefits of performance measurement
Category Benefit Response rate

Accountability & commitment Increased awareness about the need for accountability 48.0%
Improved accountability of program performance 35.6%
Increased commitment to excellence 31.5%
F
Goal & objective Established performance target levels for programs/services 40.0%
Clarified agency or program goals and objectives 37.2%
Capacity & decision making Achieving improvements despite resource constraints 32.5%
O
Improving group decisionmaking capabilities 26.6%
Determined longterm budget needs 23.6%
Elimination of no longer needed services 16.1%
O
Improved timeliness of management decisions 15.5%
Service delivery Increased ability to determine service efficiency 45.0%
Increased ability to determine service effectiveness 43.0%
R
Increased ability to determine service effectiveness 40.0%
Source: Berman & Wang (2000), p.417
Accountability and Performance

Improvement
P+
L P
Accountability is living up to performance
standards that existed when the use of re
sources/authority was authorized.
A
Reporting is not only an essential pillar of perfor P+ Accountability is primarily about relation
mance management, it is also one of the functions ships: Who is superior to whom? Who is
B
of the chief executive, as identified in 1937 by answerable to whom? What must be re
Gulick’s POSDCORB. Reporting is the vehicle ported and who decides it?
O
through which public accountability is made P+ Productivity is more than keeping with past
possible. This heightened accountability, would trends or marginally improving on them.
L
be one of the main benefits of performance mea P+ Productivity relates to progress, innova
surement (Berman & Wang, 2000; Carvalho et al., tion, and change, preferably moving to a
G
2006; de Bruijin, 2002), alongside performance higher curve rather than moving to a higher
improvement. The shortcomings of transparency point on the same productivity curve.
I
in reporting received less coverage. P+ Productivity is about management, adap
Transparency and performance improvement tation, creativity, and breaking away from
G
are two expected benefits of performance mea the past or from the group, while account
I
surement that are often mentioned and included ability is about staying within the four cor
in official policies (e.g., Wilson, 2004, pp. 3738). ners of the contract.
Some question if transparency and performance P+ Productivity results from thinking outside
improvement can be achieved simultaneously the box, while from an accountability point
(Trosa & Williams, 1996). An argument is made in of view, all such activities suggest devia
many cases, that a single set of performance mea tion and a disregard for the rules.
sures could not be often used for both objectives. P+ Productivity involves feeling good about
One reason is that transparency/accountability is alleged results and having a sense of
conceptually opposed to performance/productiv achievement, whereas accountability is
ity. Halachmi (2005) proposed incompatibility of about feeling right, safe, and capable of
accountability and performance improvement for ;"-"%;*%'+/%+$-&#*/8+Q-$)./8R+)"#$);?
measurement:
4
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
P+ Productivity has to do with a continuous the case study method for three local social services
freeform process of selfexamination and departments in Utrecht, Eindhoven, and Gronin
an internal search for new insight, whereas gen, all located in the Netherlands, the author tried
accountability involves external scrutiny to explain the low level of usage of performance
and a relatively rigid use of preestablished measurement. Jansen (2008) found that in the
F
legal or professional standards. (Halachmi, three cases, the needs of managers and politi
2005, pp. 261262) cians are so different that they received separate
O
performance reports. Even within management,
PERFORMANCE REPORTING Managing Directors of the municipality’s Social
LINKING WITH PERFORMANCE Services Department hardly use the performance
O
INFORMATION report prepared by their department: the reports
contain too many details and are tailored to the
R
A recent study on Dutch public schools and hospi information needs of the production managers.
tals found that citizens had little interests in the use The result of having performance reports with a
P
of electronic performance data to facilitate choice single set of precise measures geared internally for
of schools and hospitals (Meijer, 2007). Citizens performance improvement meant that managing
L
simply accessed the information on the Internet directors and politicians had limited use of the
without utilizing such information for actual deci performance reports (Jansen, 2008). Managing
A
sions. Meijer (2007) suggested educating citizens directors would palliate this situation by collect
to improve the use of performance information in ing their own performance information on an ad
B
making decisions. Table 2 presents key features of hoc basis, as a replacement of the information
each performance information and performance provided by the performance report. All in all,
reporting. In general, performance information politicians and directors, because of their need
O
is prepared largely to control operations and to be accountable, wanted to know the extent to
L
measure activities for internal stakeholders, while which the organization has succeeded in meeting
performance reporting focuses on enhancing ac its plans. Melkers and Willoughby (2005) were
countability for citizens. able to conclude that “measures that are included
G
in documentation simply to support reporting
I
The use of Performance Information protocols may not prove useful or effective for
decision making” (p.188). To that regard, Am
G
Managers, elected officials, and citizens have mons and Rivenbark (2008) went further to state
I
different needs when it comes to performance that, according to their observations in North
information (Smith, 2005; Wisniewski & Stewart, Carolina, performance management initiatives
2004). Jansen (2008) examined the difference geared toward reporting are unlikely to foster
between the needs and the use of performance performance improvement. The same conclusion
information for politicians and managers. Using
Table 2. Key features of performance information and reporting
Performance Information Performance Reporting

Priority Internal management, external oversight Accountability
Target stakeholder Elected officials, legislators Citizens
Operational focus Data collection Information presentation
5
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
was reached in the context of police and health of information by patients who underwent coro
services in England (Micheli & Neely, 2010). nary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Given
A possible response to the gap between mea the dramatic nature of CABG, one would expect
sures that are internally and externally relevant that a patient planning such a surgery would be
to an organization, compounded by the cost of particularly motivated to use available informa
F
collecting data, incorporates the development of tion in the Consumer Guide to Coronary Artery
a generic set of performance measures intended Bypass Graft Surgery: a riskadjusted guide that
O
to satisfy different groups (managers, elected received extensive media coverage. Schneider
officials, and citizens) and their differing require and Epstein (1998) described this guide as being a
ments. The danger of such an approach, accord widely distributed, disseminated among hospitals,
O
ing to Wisniewski and Stewart’s (2004) study of surgeons, public libraries, business groups, and
local authorities in Scotland, is that such generic the media. Individuals could, at the time of their
R
measures will satisfy no one, as the measures study, freely order one of the 15,000 available
will not accommodate anyone’s proper needs. A copies. Schneider and Epstein (1998) interviewed
P
second alternative is to overtly choose a set of 474 Pennsylvanians who underwent a CABG
performance measures for either a goal of perfor surgery. The results of this study are similar to
L
mance improvement or a goal of accountability. Meijer’s study in which service users did not use
However, what can come of it is the unofficial available performance information to make their
A
implementation of a parallel measurement system choices. The major findings are that about 80% of
to cover the other function, which would bring the patients did not know about the existence of
B
confusion and resource strain on organizations available performance information and only 2%
(Moxham, 2009). A third alternative considered of the patients were influenced by performance
by Snohomish County, Washington is to operate information in the choice of hospitals (Schneider
O
a dashboard of performance measures for collect & Epstein, 1998). Contrary to many public ser
L
ing two sets of data: the first dataset is about the vices that are paid for indirectly through taxes and
public’s interests for information, and the second dispensed to a limited portion of the population,
dataset is about performance and managing to cardiac surgeries concern one individual, and in
G
outcomes (Stein, 2007). A fourth alternative is to the US, are paid for through individual insurance.
I
collect only one set of data, but to present data Only one percent of postsurgery patients could
in different formats for different users (Smith, accurately recall performance information for
G
2005). However, it is not clear if pursuing this such a service.
I
strategy will not end up facing the same dangers
of offering a generic set of measures. Accessibility of Performance
Studies on the actual use of performance infor Information
mation by citizens in North America exist in the
health care sector. Schneider and Epstein (1998) Proponents of transparency are often quick to of
studied the influence of performance measurement fer syllogisms about the virtues of transparency
in the choice of a cardiac surgeon in the state of on performance or ethics. While the argument
Pennsylvania. The main difference between the that performance would be improved as a result
Meijer study (2007) and the Schneider and Epstein of increased scrutiny might appear convincing at
study (1998) is the nature of the sample in both face value, it is difficult to assess it empirically.
countries: public healthcare in the Netherlands, A methodologically convincing way to test this
and private health care in the United States. hypothesis requires comparative data of agreed
Schneider and Epstein (1998) analyzed the use upon measures of performance among units of gov
6
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
ernment. At the macrolevel, Hauner and Kyobe et al. (2005) offered that “complexity or difficulty
(2008) compiled the first large crosscountry of public understanding should never be an excuse
panel dataset of public sector performance and for insufficiency of analysis” (p. 19). This includes
efficiency. Their sample includes 114 countries having performance measures that take into ac
on all income levels from 1980 to 2006. The count the socioeconomic characteristics that are
F
authors used a sample of about 1,800 country outside of public managers’ control. This lack of
year observations for education, and about 900 acknowledgement of complexity can ultimately
O
observations for health. Openness was not among doom a performance measurement initiative, as
the factors that explained achieved performance managers will not use simplistic performance
levels. Hauner and Kyobe (2008) found that there measures. A recent study of local managers in
O
is no tested significance between openness and the province of Quebec, Canada, found that one
performance in trade liberalization, while open frequent comment from managers is that they do
R
ness can be expected to promote performance not use and use only seldom, performance infor
and efficiency through stimulating competition. mation (Charbonneau, 2010). Perceived simplistic
P
Numerous studies questioning if transpar performance measures were one of the reasons
ency and openness promote better performance for the demise of the (defunct) Law Enforcement
L
at the micro level exist in the healthcare sector. A Assistance Administration’s Standards and Goals
systematic review of fortyfive healthcare studies Program that occurred in the 1970’s American
A
on transparency and performance published from criminal justice system (Zedlewski, 1979).
1986 to 2006 found scant evidence supporting the The lack of recognition in complexity of
B
transparencyperformance link at the hospital and performance measures by incorporating perfor
health systemlevel (Fung et al., 2008). mance measures is also problematic. The most
extreme case is the report cardtype assessment
O
Barriers for Measuring of an entire municipal government with a single
L
Performance Information measure, often a letter grade. For all its intricacy
of the evaluation scheme, the early versions of
Performance measures would need to be fine the (now defunct) Comprehensive Performance
G
adjusted for managers to be able to act upon Assessment (CPA) system in Britain ultimately
I
them. However, when it comes to measuring the boiled down the measures of a municipality on
performance of complex operations in the public a single measure. Reporting “single snapshot
G
sector, there is considerable pressure on public judgments of the performance of the whole
I
organizations to use a few simple measures that authority, on the apparent assumption that that
can be easily reported to politicians and citizens. performance will be uniform across its dozens
A common way to make performance information of service areas and thousands of employees”
accessible for reporting to lay people is to assess (Game, 2006, p. 472), went against the spirit of
performance in a holistic manner, and/or report the measurement before the index: the painstaking
data with easily categorical interpretations of what performance measurement of the many services,
the results mean. The latter often takes the form the inspections of the Best Value system, and the
of arrows, traffic lights and smiling faces; the auditing. Coming up with a single amalgamated
former results in aggregating multiple measures score for the performance of a municipality rests
into indices. Again, this form of performance mea on the assumption that the services are correlated
sures designed for external accountability makes among themselves. Boyne (1997) described that
it difficult, if not impossible for managers to act performance is a tendency of specific service
on this information to improve performance. Bird departments rather than general characteristics
7
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
of local organizations. Besides, this assumption to weight an index is outside the scope of this
of correlated performance in services, an overall chapter. The argument is that complexity might
performance assessment, especially if it is naïvely be the first victim of crudely fabricated measures
weighted, means that a very poor performance in for reporting purposes to nonexperts like politi
one service can be balanced by one or more highly cians and citizens.
F
performing services.
Simple Measurement Indicators
O
Weights
Specific services are often measured by simple
To fulfill goals of reporting to nonspecialists, performance measures. One example of this
O
performance measures are sometimes summed up phenomenon is the measurement of overall per
in indices. The straightforwardness of the amal formance of police services in Swedish municipali
R
gamating process takes away, at times, from the ties with a color code. Color coded performance
complexity of what is being measured. Nowhere measures might ease reporting to lay people, but
P
is this more patent than in the weighting process. it provides little help for managers to foster per
The tendency to weighted measures was first formance improvement. Carmona and Grönlund
L
recognized by Ridley (1927) who proposed mod (2003) discussed how measuring policies just
est weight application on policing performance by color indicators may obstruct understanding
A
measures. His suggestion is that different levels richness and variety of police works based on in
of crime should be weighted on the basis of its terviews of municipal police services in Sweden.
B
seriousness rather than comparing frequency of Interviewed police chiefs evaluated that the use
crime. Naively weighted measures are the ex of simple color codes for performance measures
plicit or implicit practice of using the arithmetic was very impractical since they could not get any
O
average of all components of an index which all additional information for improving a condition.
L
values have on an equal footing in determining The use of crude measures like traffic lights and
the total measurement. Straight (2000) indicated smiling faces is not limited to Sweden. ‘Happy
that equal weights do not reflect managers’ desires smiling faces’ and ‘sad faces’ have been used to
G
and generate wrong signals to the workforce when measure improving and deteriorating performance
I
some measures are prioritized. in municipal public housing in Wales (Davies,
The choice of a weighting system, or more 2004, p.37). Academics are sometimes the ones
G
possibly the lack of reflection on it, can have a calling for or supporting such measures (Voyer,
I
significant impact on the values taken by the index 1999, pp. 263264).
(Stone & Davis, 2007). This may create a distorted It would be unfair to bestow the sole respon
image of organizational performance. A wrong sibility of neglecting complexity on citizens and
practice that an organization’s managers can do politicians, for whom managers would have to
is to recognize the simple nature of a composite greatly simplify the measures by which per
performance measure and ignore it, or take ac formance will be judged. There is at least one
tions on an index that does not truly reflect the reported case where managers were unwilling
performance of an organization. To palliate to this to reach further than the most easily accessible
problem, Jacobs and Goddard (2007) suggested data. Based on assessment of the interviews from
that in the face of an ad hoc, arbitrary choice of state government budget officers in Georgia, Lu
weight, “greater attention should be paid to the (2008) reported that budget officers were strictly
origin and nature of weights and the sensitivity of unwilling to measure performance if “a measure
composites to changes in the weighting structure” needs a substantial amount of administrative work
(p. 109). The methodologically proper directions in collecting data” (p. 17).
8
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
NonLinearity cies stand, matters. It is very different to improve

performance in a poorly performing agency than
Despite many warnings from the literature, the to make an excellent agency even better: “Organi
very nature and shape of performance is often over zations at the bottom end of the distribution have
looked in performance measurement initiatives a lot of room for improvement, whereas those at
F
geared for the public. The result is that complexity the top end may need disproportionate managerial
is disregarded. The former Minnesota Statewide skill or effort to perform even better” (Boyne &
O
Transportation Plan, which ended in 2003, is Chen, 2007, p. 461).
a patent example of the implicit performance The nonlinear shape of performance is not
linearity assumption that goes on in many public often acknowledged in research settings. For
O
sector performance measurement initiatives. In example, the impracticality to infinitely increase
its tenpoint policy, the Minnesota Department performance has been expressed or identified for
R
of Transportation (2003) ranked 8 out of the municipal government (Behn, 2008; Boyne &
10 point system that indicates seeking continu Chen, 2007; Higgins, 2005), policing (Loveday,
P
ous improvement for the Department’s Internal 2006), fire services (Wallace, 1977), passports and
Management and Program Delivery. The 2003 visas processing (Jones, 2001), public hospitals
L
plan demonstrates that continuous performance finances (Alexander, Weiner, & Griffith, 2006),
improvement is achievable. Consistent with this and public health (Castelli et al., 2007). Jones
A
proposition, performance improvement is thought (2001) argued about the effect of the linearity as
to be linear. Linearity, in a performance setting, sumption of improvement targets, which is where
B
means that no matter the performance at a given significant advances have already been made; it
time, tx, it is possible to increase performance, becomes more difficult to continue to accomplish
tx+1, at an equal rate than between tx+1 and tx+2. ever higher targets within existing resource avail
O
Moreover, this means that the same effort, no ability. This phenomenon is known in econom
L
matter the performance baseline at tx, will yield ics as “decreasing marginal rate.” Similarly to
the same gains in performance. This assumption other simplistic assumptions about performance
has important consequences for the setting of reviewed earlier in this research, the linearity
G
targets and for citizen satisfaction derived from assumption can have important consequences on
I
expected and observed performance. administrative operations (Boyne, Meier, O’Toole,
The assumption of linearity is difficult to cor & Walker, 2006).
G
rect in a single agency performance measurement Conscious about overpromising systems and
I
and improvement initiative: there is little infor unrealistic performance goals, two researchers
mation to determine the relative performance of from Idaho National Laboratories tried to ex
the agency when it lacks external data. However, plain how performance actually improves over
even in complex municipal benchmarking systems time. Harbour and Marple (2005) attempted to
such as the ‘Best Value’ component of the former answer this basic question by plotting around
English CPA system, diminishing returns in perfor 1,200 data sets of individual performance records
mance improvement can be ignored and constant from diverse settings, such as records from sports
improvement can be expected (seeBowerman, event, global public health care and offshore oil
Ball, & Francis, 2001, p. 324). This assumption discovery. Harbour and Marple (2005) asserted
that performance improvements can be attained in that a steep increase in performance gain is often
constant strides becomes even less realistic when followed by a pronounced slowdown. Such re
multiple agencies are evaluated with a given set sultant slowdowns create a steplike or a flattop
of criteria. In terms of performance, where agen appearance in a curve form. These findings about
9
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
the nonlinearity of performance corroborate the than traditional channels for delivering govern
observations of public administration researchers ment information to citizens (e.g., Government
in fields of municipal government, policing, fire Paperwork Elimination Act of 1998). Horrigan
services, passports and visas processing, public (2004) asserted that Americans have heavily
hospitals finances, and public health presented relied on government websites for searching and
F
above, an others (Bititci, Turner, & Begemann, requesting information. Since the Internet has
2000; Kelman & Friedman, 2009; Yang, Hsieh, been broadly utilized in the US, information savvy
O
& Li, 2009). citizens are likely to access more performance
Given the widespread presence, in performance information on how government businesses have
measurement initiatives, of more obvious simplis operated. The egovernment platform has taken a
O
tic devices like naïve weights, arrows, traffic lights serious responsibility to disseminate information
and smiling faces, it should not be surprising that in effective and timely manners (Moon, 2002;
R
few practitioners take into account diminishing re West, 2008). Oldfashioned hardcopy perfor
turn. Even when some accommodations are made mance reports appear to be not as attractive to
P
for the curvilinear shape of performance, like New the citizenry since these reports are not easily
York City’s City Performance Reporting (CPR) customized for responding the different layers of
L
performance measurement system, the formula is citizens’ needs. Egovernment is able to construct
not fitted to specific services. New York City CPR modernized and userfocused reporting systems
A
is an example that is particularly interesting for in order to inform government performance more
this research. The CPR system tracks variations effectively. As a result, egovernment is a “new
B
in performance, allowing some room for non face of government” (Morgeson & Mithas, 2009,
linearity, as it considers that performance improv p. 741) to communicate with the citizenry regard
ing or stable is green. Furthermore, performance ing government performance and services, which
O
decreases can be either yellow or red. Complexity can eventually establish “new forms of public
L
is denied, as all 44 departments and agencies in accountability” (Margetts, 2003, p. 374).
New York City are publically evaluated with the Ereporting is “a tool of edemocracy” (Lee,
same cookie cutter slide rule. Quite arbitrarily, a 2004, p. 11), and thus the priority of ereporting
G
negative performance variation of less than 10% is to provide more relevant, understandable, and
I
is deemed yellow and more than 10% is deemed timely information for presenting the fulfill
red. This example is an illustration that some ment of government responsibilities to internal
G
aspects of complexity can be taken into account and external stakeholders. The major benefits
I
while others go unnoticed. of ereporting are the ability to increase the use
of performance information by citizens and to
Ereporting promote an interaction with citizens in inexpen
sive, uptodate, and accurate manner. Uploading
The Government Performance and Results Act reports on government websites is not an option
(GPRA) has pushed the practice of performance anymore at all levels of governments. Rather, e
reporting to guide and educate citizens since reporting appears to be a requirement to stimulate
1993. Connecting the principles of GPRA and e accomplishment of governmental goals and to
government initiatives, a government website has enhance democratic accountability (Lee, 2004).
been a convenient instrument for collecting data Critical matters of current ereporting are to what
and disseminating information. The expansion of extent performance data and information should
egovernment has mandated federal agencies to be presented and what kinds of reporting formats
use electronic techniques and formats more heavily should be applied to be understood effectively by
10
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
citizens. Ereporting of performance information Therefore, egovernment initiatives should fa

should pay attention to decisions on presenting op cilitate the creation of an innovative ereporting
erations (e.g., visual formats, easytounderstand system for active information dissemination,
statistics, notmuchtextoriented explanation), which have to shift from the stationary informa
while general performance measurement largely tion listsbased to the customized intentionsbased
F
focuses on decisions on appropriate measures interface (Holzer, Manoharan, & Kim, 2009). The
(e.g., inputs, outputs, outcomes). guiding principles of egovernment developed
O
Lee (2004) suggested the major features of by UN and ASPA (2001) are still applicable to
ereporting to present performance information frame an ereporting system, such as building
to all stakeholders after reviewing hundreds of performance reports around citizen’s choices,
O
government websites: be relevant to the casual making government performance report more
and general interests; be easy to understand us accessible, providing information responsibility,
R
ing basic quantitative functions; focus on key and using performance information efficiently.
areas of performance activity; apply standardized
P
categories of performance information; be able
to compare this year’s performance information CONCLUSION
L
with data from several previous years; and avoid
to make unnecessary work for the agency (p. 27). Performance measurement somewhat tends to
A
To respond these requirements of performance simplify a complex reality into a manageable
reports, the ereporting system should prepare number of tangible measures. Previous research
B
a systematic process utilizing egovernment. asserts that different approaches should be applied
Schatteman (2010) developed the four stages of to measure government activities for internal
ereporting lining with the egovernment stage performance improvement and to report such per
O
models: Stage 1 for posting reports, Stage 2 for formance information for accountability. Although
L
publishing data, Stage 3 for realtime data, and some studies argue possible tradeoffs between
Stage 4 for data evaluation in realtime. This linear simple performance measurement practice for
model of ereporting presents a step by step guide reporting and complex situations for performance
G
from uploading a summary report and data to improvement, it should not be a conflict situation
I
updating realtime information and performance between measuring performance and reporting
evaluation. The stage 4 requires not only posting performance information to external stakehold
G
performance evaluation from the government side ers. Presenting performance information in easy
I
but also commenting feedback from the citizen to understand formats by citizens does not mean
side. She, however, found that no ereporting sys public agencies have to simplify or minimize
tem adopted to allow citizens’ feedback regarding performance measures. Government should
government performance. adopt dynamic and multilayers of performance
Passively provided performance information measurement systems to evaluate government
in an analogy reporting system can be actively activities more comprehensibly. When such per
utilized in a digital reporting system through formance information disseminates to citizens,
engaging more citizens in government. As e it should be tailored in the ways of presenting
government has rapidly progressed in delivering easy to understand, customized information, and
government business for 24 hours a day and seven attractive formats.
days a week under a uniformed frame, ereporting Having a dual system for measuring perfor
should parallel the nature of egovernment in mance and reporting information is not a recom
sharing performance information with citizens. mended option. Rather, this chapter suggests
11
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
that government has to understand and specify Ammons, D. N., & Rivenbark, W. C. (2008).
different needs and usability of performance Factors influencing the use of performance
information by both internal stakeholders and data to improve municipal services: Evidence
external stakeholders. As this chapter discussed from the North Carolina Benchmarking Project.
previously, there are major challenges to collect Public Administration Review, 68(2), 304–318.
F
performance data and measure performance itself doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2007.00864.x
due to multifaceted government operations in
Ball, A., Bowerman, M., & Hawksworth, S.
O
terms of assigning weights (Jacobs & Goddard,
(2000). Benchmarking in local government
2007), selecting indicators (Carmona & Grönlund,
under a central government agenda. Bench
2003), and incorporating nonlinearity paths
O
marking: An International Journal, 7(1), 20–34.
(Jones, 2001). Without rigorous processes and
doi:10.1108/14635770010314927
requirements to measure performance internally,
R
meaningful performance reports for citizens could Behn, R. D. (2008). What all mayors would like
not be prepared. In this case, both performance to know about Baltimore’s CitiStat performance
P
measurement and performance reporting are mis strategy. Washington, DC: IBM Center for The
conducted to achieve goals, and then become less Business of Government.
L
useful. Therefore, government should strategically
Berman, B. J. C. (2006). The voices of the people:
systematize an entire performance measurement
Missing links in performance measurement and
A
process from collecting data to reporting infor
management. Government Finance Review, 22(3),
mation to external stakeholders before releasing
16–20.
B
performance information, and find out effective
ways to connect every step in innovative and Berman, E., & Wang, X. (2000). Performance
preferred channels, such as the egovernment measurement is U.S. counties: Capacity for reform.
O
platform. Although incompatibility between Public Administration Review, 60(5), 409–420.
L
performance improvement and accountability still doi:10.1111/00333352.00104
exists (Halachmi, 2005), there is no doubt when
Bird, S. M., Cox, D., Farewell, V. T., Goldstein,
citizens are able to experience noticeable advan
G
H., Holt, T., & Smith, P. C. (2005). Performance
tages from the use of performance information,
indicators: Good, bad, and ugly. Journal of the
I
public agencies will obtain tremendous credits
Royal Statistical Society. Series A (General),
through positive citizen opinions.
168(1), 1–27.
I G
Bititci, U. S., Turner, T., & Begemann, C.
REFERENCES (2000). Dynamics of performance measurement
systems. International Journal of Operations
Alexander, J. A., Weiner, B. J., & Griffith, J. (2006). & Production Management, 20(6), 692–704.
Quality improvement and hospital financial per doi:10.1108/01443570010321676
formance. Journal of Organizational Behavior,
27(7), 1003–1029. doi:10.1002/job.401 Bowerman, M., Ball, A., & Francis, G. (2001).
Benchmarking as a tool for the modernisation of
Ammons, D. (1995). Accountability for perfor local government. Financial Accountability &
mance: Measurement and monitoring in local Management, 17(4), 321–329. doi:10.1111/1468
government. Washington, DC: International City/ 0408.00136
County Management Association.
12
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
Boyne, G. A. (1997). Comparing the performance Charbonneau, É. (2010). Use and sensemaking
of local authorities: An evaluation of the Audit of performance measurement information by lo
Commission indicators. Local Government Stud cal government managers: The case of Quebec’s
ies, 23(4), 7–43. doi:10.1080/03003939708433884 Municipal Benchmarking System. Newark, NJ:
School of Public Affairs and Administration,
F
Boyne, G. A., & Chen, A. A. (2007). Performance
Rutgers University.
targets and public service improvement. Journal
of Public Administration: Research and Theory, Coy, D., & Dixon, K. (2004). The public ac
O
17(3), 455–477. doi:10.1093/jopart/mul007 countability index: Crafting a parametric dis
closure index for annual reports. The British
Boyne, G. A., Meier, K. J., O’Toole, L. J. J., &
O
Accounting Review, 36(1), 79–106. doi:10.1016/j.
Walker, R. M. (2006). Public management and or
bar.2003.10.003
ganizational performance: An agenda for research
R
. In Boyne, G. A., Meier, K. J., O’Toole, L. J. J., & Davies, M. (2004). Performance measurement in
Walker, R. M. (Eds.), Public service performance: the UK public sector: Understanding performance
P
Perspectives on measurement and management indicators. Journal of Finance and Management
(pp. 295–311). New York, NY: Cambridge Univer in Public Services, 3(2), 31–47.
L
sity Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511488511.016
de Bruijin, H. (2002). Performance measurement
Bruère, H. (1915). The budget as an administrative in the public sector: Strategies to cope with the
A
program. The Annals of the American Academy risks of performance measurement. International
of Political and Social Science, 62, 176–191. Journal of Public Sector Management, 15(6/7),
B
doi:10.1177/000271621506200118 578–594. doi:10.1108/09513550210448607
Carmona, S., & Gronlund, A. (2003). Measures vs de LancerJulnes, P. (2006). Performance measure
O
actions: The balanced scorecard in Swedish law ment: An effective tool for government account
L
enforcement. International Journal of Operations ability? The debate goes on. Evaluation, 12(2),
& Production Management, 23(12), 1475–1496. 219–235. doi:10.1177/1356389006066973
G
doi:10.1108/01443570310506722
Fung, C. H., Lim, Y.W., Mattke, S., Damberg, C.,
Carvalho, J., Fernandes, M., Lambert, V., & Laps & Shekelle, P. G. (2008). Systematic review: The
I
ley, I. (2006). Measuring fire service performance: evidence that publishing patient care performance
A comparative study. International Journal of data improves quality of care. Annals of Internal
G
Public Sector Management, 19(2), 165–179. Medicine, 148(2), 111–123.
I
doi:10.1108/09513550610650428
Game, C. (2006). Comprehensive performance
Castelli, A., Dawson, D., Gravelle, H., Jacobs, R., assessment in English local government.
Kind, P., & Loveridge, P. (2007). A new approach International Journal of Productivity and
to measuring health system output and productiv Performance Management, 55(6), 466–479.
ity. National Institute Economic Review, 200(1), doi:10.1108/17410400610682497
105–117. doi:10.1177/0027950107080395
Government Accounting Standards Board. (1987).
Concepts statement no. 1: Objectives of financial
reporting. Norwalk, CT: Government Accounting
Standard Board.
13
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
Halachmi, A. (2005). Performance measurement: Jones, D. S. (2001). Performance measurement

Test the water before you dive in. International Re and budgetary reform in the Singapore civil ser
view of Administrative Sciences, 71(2), 255–266. vice. Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting &
doi:10.1177/0020852305053884 . Financial Management, 13(4), 485–511.
F
Harbour, J. L., & Marble, J. L. (2005). How per Kelly, J. M. (2002). Why we should take perfor
formance improves. Performance Improvement, mance measurement on faith (Facts being hard
44(8), 14–19. doi:10.1002/pfi.4140440805 to come by and not terribly important). Public
O
Performance and Management Review, 25(4),
Hauner, D., & Kyobe, A. (2008). Determinants of
375–380. doi:10.1177/15357602025004009
government efficiency. Unpublished manuscript,
O
Washington, DC. Kelman, S., & Friedman, J. N. (2009). Perfor
mance improvement and performance dysfunc
R
Higgins, P. (2005). Performance and user satis
tion: An empirical examination of distortionary
faction indicators in British local government.
impacts of the emergency room waittime target
P
Public Management Review, 7(3), 445–464.
in the English National Health Service. Journal
doi:10.1080/14719030500181102
of Public Administration: Research and Theory,
L
Holzer, M., Manoharna, A., & Kim, Y. (2009). 19(4), 917–946. doi:10.1093/jopart/mun028
What do CIOs need to know about performance
Kilpatrick, W. (1936). Classification and measure
A
measurement of Egovernance? In Shark, A. R.
ment of public expenditures. The Annals of the
(Ed.), CIO leadership for cities and counties:
American Academy of Political and Social Science,
B
Emerging trends and practices (pp. 155–168).
183(1), 19–26. doi:10.1177/000271623618300104
Washington, DC: Public Technology Institute.
Lee, M. (2004). Ereporting: Strengthening
O
Horrigan, J. B. (2004). How Americans get in
democratic accountability. Washington, DC: IBM
touch with government. Washington, DC: Pew
L
Center for The Business of Government.
Internet & American Life Project.
Loveday, B. (2006). Policing performance: The
G
Jacobs, R., & Goddard, M. (2007). How do
impact of performance measures and targets on
performance indicators add up? An examina
police forces in England and Wales. International
I
tion of composite indicators in public services.
Journal of Police Science & Management, 8(4),
Public Money & Management, 27(2), 103–110.
282–293. doi:10.1350/ijps.2006.8.4.282
G
doi:10.1111/j.14679302.2007.00565.x
I
Lu, Y. (2008). Managing the design of perfor
Jansen, E. P. (2008). New public management:
mance measures: The role of agencies. Public
Perspectives on performance and the use of per
Performance & Management Review, 32(1), 7–24.
formance information. Financial Accountability
doi:10.2753/PMR15309576320101
& Management, 24(2), 169–191. doi:10.1111/
j.14680408.2008.00447.x Margetts, H. (2003). Electronic government: A
revolution in public administration? In Peter,
Johnsen, Å. (2005). What does 25 years of ex
B. G., & Pierre, J. (Eds.), Handbook of public
perience tell us about the state of performance
administration (pp. 366–376). Thousand Oaks,
measurement in public policy and management?
CA: Sage.
Public Money & Management, 25(1), 9–17.
14
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
McGowan, R. P., & Poister, T. H. (1985). Im Morgeson, F. V., & Mithas, S. (2009). Does e
pact of productivity measurement systems on government measure up to ebusiness? Comparing
municipal performance. Policy Studies Review, end user perceptions of U.S. federal government
4(3), 532–540. doi:10.1111/j.15411338.1985. and ebusiness websites. Public Administration
tb00253.x Review, 69(4), 740–752. doi:10.1111/j.1540
F
6210.2009.02021.x
Meijer, A. J. (2007). Publishing public perfor
mance results on the internet: Do stakeholders Moxham, C. (2009). Performance measure
O
use the internet to hold Dutch public service ment: Examining the applicability of the exist
organizations to account? Government Informa ing body of knowledge to nonprofit organisa
O
tion Quarterly, 24(1), 165–185. doi:10.1016/j. tions. International Journal of Operations &
giq.2006.01.014 Production Management, 29(7), 740–763.
R
doi:10.1108/01443570910971405
Melkers, J., & Willoughby, K. (2005). Models of
performancemeasurement use in local govern Moynihan, D. P. (2008). The dynamics of per
P
ments: Understanding budgeting, communica formance management: Constructing informa
tion, and lasting effects. Public Administration tion and reform. Washington, DC: Georgetown
L
Review, 65(2), 180–190. doi:10.1111/j.1540 University Press.
6210.2005.00443.x
New York City City Performance Reporting.
A
Micheli, P., & Neely, A. (2010). Performance mea (2009). Agency performance report of the Depart
surement in the public sector in England: Search ment of Homeless Services. Retrieved October 6,
B
ing for the golden thread. Public Administration 2009, from http://www.nyc.gov/html/ops/ cpr/
Review, 70(4), 591–600. doi:10.1111/j.1540 html/home/home.shtml
O
6210.2010.02180.x
Page, S., & Malinowski, C. (2004). Top 10 perfor
L
Minnesota Department of Transportation. (2003). mance measurement dos and don’ts. Government
2003 statewide transportation plan. Retrieved Finance Review, 20(5), 28–32.
G
October 1, 2009, from www.dot.state.mn.us/
Poister, T. H., & Streib, G. (1999). Performance
planning/ stateplan/03plan.html
measurement in municipal government: Assessing
I
Minnesota Department of Transportation. (2009). the state of the practice. Public Administration
Minnesota statewide transportation policy plan: Review, 59(4), 325–335. doi:10.2307/3110115
G
20092028. Retrieved October 1, 2009, from
I
Public Administration Select Committee. (2003).
http://www.dot.state.mn.us/planning/stateplan/
On target? Government by measurement. London,
Final%20Plan%20Documents/Policy%20Plan/
UK: House of Commons.
Entire/Minnesota%20Statewide% 20Transporta
tion%20Policy% 20Plan_20092028.pdf Ridley, C. E. (1927). Measuring municipal gov
ernment: Suggested standards for measuring the
Moon, M. J. (2002). The evolution of egovern
results of fire, health, police and public works
ment among municipalities: Rhetoric or reality?
departments. Syracuse, NY: School of Citizenship
Public Administration Review, 62(4), 424–433.
and Public Affairs, Syracuse University.
doi:10.1111/00333352.00196
15
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
Rogerson, P. (1995). Performance measurement Trosa, S., & Williams, S. (1996). Benchmarking
and policing: Police service or law enforcement in public sector performance management, per
agency? Public Money & Management, 15(4), formance measurement in government. Occasional
25–30. Paper No. 9. Paris, France: OECD.
F
Schatteman, A. M. (2009). Public performance United Nations and the American Society for
reporting: Determinants of excellence. Newark, Public Administration. (2001). Global survey of
NJ: Rutgers University. egovernment. Retrieved from http://www.unpan.
O
org/ egovernment2.asp
Schatteman, A. M. (2010). Information technology
and public performance management: Examining Voyer, P. (1999). Tableaux de bord de gestion et
O
municipal ereporting . In Shea, C. M., & Garson, indicateurs de performance. 2nd édition. Québec,
G. D. (Eds.), Handbook of public Information Canada: Presses de l’Université du Québec.
R
Systems (3rd ed., pp. 431–442). Boca Raton, FL:
Wallace, R. J. (1977). Productivity measurement
CRC Press. doi:10.1201/EBK1439807569c26
P
in the fire service. Public Productivity Review,
Schneider, E. C., & Epstein, A. M. (1998). Use of 2(3), 12–36. doi:10.2307/3380221
public performance reports: A survey of patients
L
West, D. M. (2008). State and federal electronic
undergoing cardiac surgery. Journal of the Ameri
government in the United States, 2008. Gover
can Medical Association, 279(20), 1638–1642.
A
nance Studies at Brookings. Washington, DC:
doi:10.1001/jama.279.20.1638
The Brookings Institution.
B
Simon, H. A., & Ridley, C. E. (1938). Trends in
Wholey, J. S., & Newcomer, K. E. (1997). Clarify
municipal reporting. Public Opinion Quarterly,
ing goals, reporting results . In Newcomer, K. E.
2(3), 465–468. doi:10.1086/265213
O
(Ed.), Using performance measurement to improve
Smith, P. C. (2005). Performance measurement public and nonprofit programs. New directions
L
in health care: History, challenges and prospects. for evaluation (pp. 91–98). San Francisco, CA:
Public Money & Management, 25(4), 213–220. JosseyBass.
G
doi:10.1111/j.14679302.2005.00476.x
Wilson, D. (2004). Which ranking? The impact of
I
Stein, B. (2007). Budgeting for outcomes: The a valueadded measure of secondary school per
right results for the right price. Government Fi formance. Public Money & Management, 24(1),
G
nance Review, 23(5), 58–60. 37–45. doi:10.1111/j.14679302.2004.00391.x
I
Steinhardt, B. (2008). Lessons learned for the next Wisniewski, M., & Stewart, D. (2004). Perfor
administration on using performance information mance measurement for stakeholders: The case
to improve results. Washington, DC: United States of Scottish local authorities. International Journal
Government Accountability Office. of Public Sector Management, 17(2), 222–233.
doi:10.1108/09513550410530153
Stone, M., & Davis, J. (2007). Weighting and
scoring’ in theory and in practice. Public Money Yang, K., Hsieh, J. Y., & Li, T. S. (2009). Con
& Management, 27(3), 215–222. doi:10.1111/ tracting capacity and perceived contracting per
j.14679302.2007.00582.x formance: Nonlinear effects and the role of time.
Straight, R. L. (2000). Performance metrics:
doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2009.02017.x
Avoiding the pitfalls. Public Administration
Quarterly, 23(4), 495–516.
16
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
Zedlewski, E. W. (1979). Performance measure Bolton, M., & Mills, J. (2003). Public sector
ment in public agencies: The law enforcement performance measurement: Delivering greater
evolution. Public Administration Review, 39(5), accountability. Work Study, 52(1), 20–24.
488–493. doi:10.2307/3109924 doi:10.1108/00438020310458697
F
Bouckaert, G., & van de Walle, S. (2003). Compar
ing measures of citizen trust and user satisfaction
ADDITIONAL READING as indicators of ‘good governance’: Difficulties
O
in linking trust and satisfaction indicators. In
Ammons, D. A. (2002). Performance measure ternational Review of Administrative Sciences,
O
ment and managerial thinking. Performance 69(3), 329–343.
& Management Review, 25(4), 344–347.
Bourne, M., Neely, A., Platts, K., & Mills, J.
R
doi:10.1177/15357602025004003
(2002). The success and failure of performance
Askim, J. (2004). Performance management and measurement initiatives: Perceptions of participat
P
organizational intelligence: Adapting the balanced ing managers. International Journal of Operations
scorecard in Larvik municipality. International & Production Management, 22(11), 1288–1310.
L
Public Management Journal, 7(3), 415–438. doi:10.1108/01443570210450329
Becker, T. (1993). Teledemocracy: Gathering Breul, J. D. (2003). The government performance
A
momentum in state and local governance. Spec and Results Act10 years later. The Journal of Gov
trum: The Journal of State and Government, ernment Financial Management, 52(1), 58–62.
B
66(2), 14–19.
Brusca, I., & Montesinos, V. (2005). Are citizens
Behn, R. D. (2002). The psychological barriers significant users of government financial infor
O
to performance management: Or why isn’t ev mation? Public Money & Management, 26(4),
L
eryone jumping on the performancemanagement 205–209. doi:10.1111/j.14679302.2006.00526.x
bandwagon? Public Performance & Management
Review, 26(1), 5–25. doi:10.2307/3381295 Collier, P. M. (2001). Police performance measure
G
ment and human rights. Public Money & Manage
Behn, R. D. (2003). Why measure performance? ment, 21(3), 35–39. doi:10.1111/14679302.00272
I
Different purposes require different measures.
Public Administration Review, 63(5), 586–606. Cozzens, S. E., & Melkers, J. E. (1997). Use
G
doi:10.1111/15406210.00322 and usefulness of performance measurement
I
in state science and technology programs.
Benton, J. E., & Daly, J. L. (1993). Measuring Policy Studies Journal: the Journal of the
citizen evaluations: The question of question Policy Studies Organization, 25(3), 425–435.
order effects. Public Administration Quarterly, doi:10.1111/j.15410072.1997.tb00032.x
16(4), 492–508.
de Lancer, J. P. (2001). Does participation in
Berman, B. J. C. (2008). Involving the public in crease perceptions of usefulness? An evaluation
measuring and reporting local government per of a participatory approach to the development
formance. National Civic Review, 97(1), 3–10. of performance measures. Public Performance
doi:10.1002/ncr.198 & Management Review, 24(4), 403–418.
Berman, E. (2002). How useful is performance mea doi:10.2307/3381227
surement? Performance & Management Review,
25(4), 348–351. doi:10.1177/15357602025004004
17
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
de Lancer, J. P., & Holzer, M. (2001). Promot Lee, M. (1996). Empirical experiments in public
ing the utilization of performance measures reporting: Reconstructing the results of sur
in public organizations: An empirical study of vey research, 194142. Public Administration
factors affecting adoption and implementation. Review, 66(2), 252–262. doi:10.1111/j.1540
Public Administration Review, 61(6), 693–709. 6210.2006.00577.x
F
doi:10.1111/00333352.00140
Lee, M. (2004). Public reporting: A neglected
Feit, D. (2003). Measuring performance in the aspect of nonprofit accountability. Nonprofit
O
public sector. Cost Management, 17(2), 39–45. Management & Leadership, 15(2), 169–185.
doi:10.1002/nml.60
Glaser, M. A., & Denhardt, R. B. (2000). Local
O
government performance through the eyes of O’Looney, J. (2004). Using technology to increase
citizens. Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting citizen participation in government: The use of
R
& . Financial Management, 12(1), 49–73. models and stimulation. Arlington, VA: IBM
Endowment for The Business of Government.
P
Hatry, H. (2006). Performance measurement:
Getting results (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: The Plant, T., & Douglas, J. (2006). The performance
Urban Institute Press. management continuum in municipal government
L
organizations. Performance Improvement, 45(1),
Ho, A. T.K., & Coates, P. (2002). Citizen partici
43–48. doi:10.1002/pfi.2006.4930450109
A
pation: Legitimizing performance measurement
as a decision tool. Government Finance Review, Schachter, H. L. (1995). Reinventing govern
B
18(2), 8–10. ment or reinventing ourselves: Two models
for improving government performance. Pub
Holzer, M., & Yang, K. (2004). Performance
lic Administration Review, 55(6), 530–537.
O
measurement and improvement: An assess
doi:10.2307/3110344
ment of the state of the art. International Re
L
view of Administrative Sciences, 70(1), 15–31. Stout, R. V. (2000). What city officials need to
doi:10.1177/0020852304041228 know about GASB’s new reporting model. IQ
G
Service Report, 32(12), 1–15.
Hyndman, N. S., & Anderson, R. (1995). The use
I
of performance information in external reporting: Streib, G. D., & Poister, T. H. (1999). Assess
An empirical study of UK executive agencies. ing the validity, legitimacy, and functional
G
Financial Accountability & Management, 11(1), ity of performance measurement systems in
I
1–17. doi:10.1111/j.14680408.1995.tb00158.x municipal government. American Review
of Public Administration, 29(2), 107–123.
Kelly, J. M. (2002). If you only knew how well
doi:10.1177/02750749922064300
we are performing, you’d be highly satisfied with
the quality of our service. National Civic Review, Swindell, D., & Kelly, J. M. (2000). Linking
91(3), 283–292. doi:10.1002/ncr.91307 citizen satisfaction data to performance mea
sures: A preliminary evaluation. Public Perfor
Kudo, H. (2008). Does egovernment guarantee
mance and Management Review, 24(1), 30–52.
accountability in public sector? Experiences in
doi:10.2307/3381075
Italy and Japan. Public Administration Quarterly,
32(1), 93–120.
18
!"#$%&'()*%'+,")-$)./%#"+0%-$)./1*$%+2*%3*%'+4*15+6##$(%1/7*8*19
Van Ryzin, G. G. (2007). Pieces of a puzzle: Link KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
ing government performance, citizen satisfaction,
and trust. Public Performance & Management Accountability: A responsibility to be answer
Review, 30(4), 521–535. doi:10.2753/PMR1530 able or to render a full accounting of activities
9576300403 for resources entrusted to government and the
F
application of those resources by government.
Van Ryzin, G. G., & Immerwahr, S. (2004). De Effectiveness: The extent to which an activ
rived importanceperformance analysis of citizen ity is able to achieve goals or desired outcomes.
O
survey data. Public Performance and Management Efficiency: A measureable concept determined
Review, 27(4), 144–173. by the ratio of the service provided to possible
O
Walters, J. (1998). Measuring up: Governing’s output.
guide to performance measurement for geniuses Ereporting: Proving fulfillment informa
R
(and other public managers). Washington, DC: tion about government activities to internal and
Governing Books. external stakeholders in electronic formats using
P
information technologies.
West, D. M. (2004). Egovernment and the trans Input: Resources used to produce outputs
formation of service delivery and citizen attitudes.
L
and outcomes.
Public Administration Review, 64(1), 15–27. Outcome: Expected or promised impacts or
doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2004.00343.x
A
results of activities.
Wholey, J. S., & Newcomer, K. E. (1997). Output: Activities and services delivered.
B
Clarifying goals, peporting results. In K. E. New Performance Measurement: A process of
comer (Ed.), Using performance measurement measuring government performance by tracking
to improve public and nonprofit programs. New progress toward specific quantitative and qualita
O
directions for evaluation, 9198. San Francisco, tive outcomes.
L
CA: JosseyBass. Performance Reporting: A process for col
lecting and distributing performance information.
Williams, D. W. (2003). Measuring government
G
in the early twentieth century. Public Administra
tion Review, 63(6), 643–659. doi:10.1111/1540
I
6210.00329
G
Wray, L., & Hauer, J. (1997). Performance mea
I
surement to achieve quality of life: Adding value
through citizens. Public Management, 79(8), 4–8.
19
20
Chapter 2
E-Gov and Transparency
in NJ Counties:
O F
O
Providing Information to Citizens
Deborah MohammedSpigner
NJ Common Cause, USA
Daniel Bromberg
P R
L
Western Carolina University, USA
A
Marc Fudge
California State University, San Bernardino, USA
B
Neil Coleman
New Jersey Taxpayers’ Association, USA
ABSTRACT
LO
This chapter presents research on transparency in county government. It is argued that through the use
G
of information and communication technologies, citizens can gain more access to government, hence
I
keeping government more accountable. The research demonstrates that counties are utilizing information
and communication technologies to increase transparency in a range of modes. That being said, the use
G
of such technologies continues to remain in its infancy at the countygovernment level.
I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter aims to show the direct benefits that

information and communication technologies
(ICTs) give to citizens. We argue that greater ac
ies on egovernment, the use of ICT’s to deliver
services to citizens, have been done by examining
how technologies such as the use of websites,
have improved and enhance government’s service
delivery (cite). In this study, the authors evalu
cess to information through ICT allows greater ate the extent that NJ counties provide access to
transparency, hence increasing accountability and information through the use of their web portals.
effectiveness of government. A number of stud The impact of technology on government to
citizens (G2C) relationships as well as citizens
to government (C2G) interactions was addressed
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch002
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
in the following remarks from Robert O’Neill, the methodology, the results of the study, and
Jr., President of the National Academy of Public concluding thoughts.
Administration. He said, This research remains in an exploratory stage;
nevertheless, important research questions are
The (new) technologies will allow the citizen new addressed. Primarily, this research asks whether
F
access to the levers of power in government. As county governments use ICTs to present their
more information reaches the citizen, the greater information online. Limited research has explored
O
the potential for them to influence and make in this question from a county perspective. Therefore,
formed choices regarding how government touches this study supplements the research previously
their lives. That potential gives new meaning to done by incorporating a statespecific county
O
a “government of the people, by the people, and perspective. Exploratory in nature, this study may
for the people.” (O’Neill, 2001, p. 6) help point future research in ICT.
The need for citizens to be active participants

in government is inherent to democratic ideals.
Even within a representative democracy, citizen
P
BACKGROUND
R
L
participation in government can be seen as an in Many feel that it is in the hands of the public
tegral check on the integrity of that representation. administrator to increase communication be
A
One major trend over the last century —starting tween citizens and government, leading to a clear
in the New Deal era—was the growth of govern mandate that public administrators can fulfill.
B
mental bureaucracies. This placed a great deal of Bingham, Nabatchi, and O’Leary (2005) wrote,
power outside of the representatives’ control and “…public administrators have a unique opportu
into the hands of public administrators. In access nity to become the direct conduit for the public’s
O
ing government services, this creates remarkable voice in policy making, implementation, and en
L
challenges for citizens to make substantial changes forcement…” (p. 550). Smith and Ingram (2002)
in their own government. Often unaware of how wrote, “American democracy is an unfinished and
to access the bureaucratic structures, citizens are openended project.” They continued, “Especially
G
left disenchanted and disengaged with govern during times in which patterns of governance are
I
ment. There are many avenues in which public undergoing fundamental change, it is important
administrators and citizens may reengage in col to examine carefully whether expansion or con
G
laborative governance. traction of democracy is taking place” (p. 567).
I
This paper presents research on one basic Opening government information up to citizens
step that public administrators may take to en could be seen as a key to expanding democracy,
hance their relationship with citizens—primarily since citizens need knowledge—derived from
thorough transparency that is aided by advances having information—in order to participate ef
information technology. More specifically, this fectively in the democratic process. Having access
paper addresses the levels of transparency that to better information not only provides citizens
county governments display in providing infor with the tools they need to participate in their
mation online for citizen and stakeholder access. government’s decision making but helps open up
Initial attention is paid to the access to information governmental processes to public scrutiny. From
law and specifically the law in New Jersey that James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick
governs such access. Next, the paper addresses Henry to Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis
specific issues relating to access to information and into the present, despite divergent views on
and service delivery. The authors then turn to many aspects of government, there has been an
21
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
unshakable belief that democracy depends on Some FOI laws distinguish between passive
an informed electorate (Feinberg, 1997, p. 376). and active information (OECD, 2001). Although
Public administrators may play an integral most FOI laws focus on the state’s passive obliga
role in ensuring that this information reaches its tion to provide information upon demand, laws
primary audience—citizens. Among their many in some countries (e.g., Finland, New Zealand,
F
duties, one may be providing citizens with access Spain) also require public administrators to
to information so they might meaningfully partici disclose certain information without prompting.
O
pate in processes of government. This access is Information falling under the latter category of
not only incumbent upon public administrators but active disclosure includes organizational struc
is increasingly being required by law—generally tures, services provided, and rules and procedures
O
identified as Freedom of Information (FOI) laws. (OECD, 2001).
Writing on the global explosion of FOI, Having access to information is also seen
R
Banisar (2004) noted that access to government as improving the functioning of government. A
information is an essential requirement for modern common assumption underlying FOI is that open
P
government to facilitate public knowledge and government leads to better government (Aman,
discussion. It provides an important guard against 2000). The U.S. FOI Act (FOIA) enforces the
L
abuses, mismanagement, and corruption. It can rights of citizens to two types of information that
also be beneficial to government itself—openness are pertinent to the functioning of a government
A
and transparency in the decisionmaking process agency:
can assist in developing citizen trust in government
B
actions and in maintaining a civil and democratic 1. Agency operation: what actions it has been
society (Banisar, 2004). The following section taking, how it has been spending its money,
looks more closely at these laws that provide a and what statistics and other information it
O
basis for access to information by citizens. has collected on any subject.
L
2. Records relating to public health, environ
mental hazards, consumer safety, govern
MAIN FOCUS OF THE CHAPTER ment spending, labor relations, business
G
decisions, taxes, history, foreign policy, na
I
Issues, Controversies, Problems tional defense, and the economy (Kennedy,
1996).
What are FOI Laws?
I G
Further, the FOIA defines records as final de
The global attention to FOI laws in recent years cisions in particular administrative cases, policy
has been based on philosophical arguments to sup statements that the agency uses but has not pub
port the rights of citizens not only to participate lished in the Federal Register, internal manuals
in a democracy but to do so in a meaningful way written for the agency’s staff that affect the public,
through the ability to access government informa and an index of the kinds of information that must
tion. Countries that have an accesstoinformation be made public. The law also allows the public to
law are seen generally as more transparent (Islam, see other types of records not enumerated above,
2003). However, simply having an FOI law does and the courts have interpreted this broadly. The
not automatically make a government transparent. law allows anyone to find out how an agency is
Various provisions of the law can affect the law’s spending its money as well as the reasoning behind
overall effectiveness, and its actual implementa its policies and their intended effect. This broad
tion can also present obstacles. spectrum of agency records significantly affects
22
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
citizens’ access to government information, which does not foster accountability, nor does it enhance
furthers the goals of democratic governments as a evidencebased planning, budgeting, and decision
precondition to achieving governmental transpar making (National Performance Management
ency and accountability. Advisory Commission, 2010). When government
Today, FOI laws are seen as necessary not information is made available to a wide array of
F
only to democratic values but for the facilitation stakeholders, both internal and external, it facili
of globalized markets. This view is widely held tates communication that may lead to improve
O
and is expressed in the many studies conducted performance, increasing the potential for improved
on the global spread of FOI. Florini (2002) stated resource management and policy decisions.
that information is seen as the lifeblood of democ More so than in the past, the concept of transpar
O
racies and explained that “without information, ency has become a focal point, in part because of
citizens have no basis upon which to evaluate their public sector corruption, inflated deficits, and the
R
representatives or voice their opinions, and both overall belief that government is inefficient and
elections and the very process of representation ineffective. Many believe that for government to
P
become a meaningless sham.” Florini also recog become effective, a higher level of transparency
nized the importance of information (access) as will lead to more accountability, yielding the re
L
vital to markets, noting, “Without information, the sults citizens want. To them, accountability can
financial markets upon which modern economics be obtained by improving access to information,
A
depend become irrational exercises of guesswork, such as posting of information, data, policies,
and governmental regulators cannot hope to carry laws, meeting schedules and minutes, and contact
B
out their responsibilities” (p. 3). information online (Tolbert & Mossberger, 2006).
Tan, Pan, and Lim (2007) found that a pri
ICT Facilitates Access to Information mary concern of many citizens was the lack of
O
transparency in the information management
L
The adoption of ICTs in public administration has process. Specifically, citizens did not have a clear
certainly enhanced efficiency and transparency in understanding of many of the laws and policies
many countries, yielding significant benefits…that that would have a direct effect on them. In light
G
are powerful tools in achieving “public adminis of this concern, and because the Internet makes it
I
tration in citizens” (Suk Kim, 2005). easier to transmit information to a large number of
ICTs have the potential to greatly increase people, more websites are being used proactively.
G
citizens’ access to governmentproduced informa At the local level of government, many municipali
I
tion (budgets, meeting minutes, services, agendas, ties allow users to view policy meetings via the
etc.). Therefore, ICT serves to enhance legisla internet or local cable television, thus removing
tion, such as FOI laws, which already exists to the opaqueness that often surrounds public sector
promote such access. The value of ICT alone is service delivery. Additionally, websites may also
limited. Rather, the value of ICT is demonstrated make information searches easier for citizens.
when it is coupled with another tool of govern Thus transparency makes accountability to the
ment—in this case, FOI laws. Hence, ICT takes public possible, increasing institutionalbased trust
on the democratic values of FOI—transparency (Tolbert & Mossberger, 2006). While providing
leading to accountability. transparent information online can improve trust, it
The term transparency refers to the idea that also has the potential to increase the administrative
information is made available, wellorganized, capacity of the state, county, or city; empower its
readily accessible, and easy to understand. Infor citizens; and reinvigorate democratic processes
mation that is known only to internal stakeholders (Brewer, 2007).
23
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
From the citizen’s perspective, the value of sponsiveness and empower individual citizens.
government transparency is multidimensional. When government financial information is made
Citizens may perceive government as more re available using ICTs, the public can continuously
sponsive through improved communication and assess a government agency through everyday
interaction (Tolbert & Mossberger, 2006). For interaction (RodriguesBolivar et al., (2007). This
F
example, users value highly the ability to com activity can be seen as a promising start. Citizens
municate directly with bureaucrats and elected are provided with information detailing how much
O
officials by email. Therefore, technology such is allocated for particular services. Further, it al
as online bulletin board systems, chat rooms, lows citizens to “watch” what is and what is not
and social network sites are examples of how being done for them with the resources allocated
O
governmenttocitizen (G2C) communication can by government. Citizen participation in budget
be increased. Nevertheless, in many cases public and financial decisions is only enhanced when
R
administrators do not provide email addresses policy meetings are made available online.
online or only provide forms to submit requests. However, how well does the average citizen
P
Oneway communication with government does understand the complexity of budgeting and public
not foster trust and suggests that government is sector finance? The problem is that this partici
L
not responsive to the public’s needs. pation is typically uninformed and not made in
While the use of ICTs remains promising, re engagement with those who have the expertise
A
search suggests that many municipalities are still to ensure that decisions being made are informed
at an early stage of egovernment development decisions (Beckett & King, 2002). Further, for
B
(Moon, 2002), hence, not meeting the needs of those who do have an understanding in this area,
citizens. The speed at which municipalities are the question becomes, are their opinions and views
adopting high levels of egovernment does not truly utilized by managers in the decisionmaking
O
seem proportionate to the emerging rhetoric about process? Is access to information an end unto itself?
L
egovernment (p. 429). This seems to apply to
many New Jersey county government websites. Access to Information
Transformative movements appear to hap
G
pen in stages (Beckett & King, 2002). In the When government places information online,
I
first stage, parties acknowledge that a change is it simply increases the number of people who
indeed needed. During this stage, the questions can access it. As more people begin to rely upon
G
of “why” or “whether” get answered (Beckett & the Internet for information, this increases the
I
King, 2002). importance of government’s providing reliable
The second stage of transformation asks ques sources of information that meets citizen needs
tions such as “how,” “who,” “in what,” “where,” and also delivers services to them. According to
and “when” (Beckett & King, 2002). Specifi the most recent American Customer Satisfaction
cally, to what extent should citizens participate Index (ACSI) released in 2010, the EGovernment
in the decisionmaking process with government? Satisfaction Index shows citizens are exceptionally
Public administrators may provide information pleased with improved transparency, navigation,
to citizens, yet deny them active input into the and functionality of federal government websites
decisionmaking process. (Nichols, 2010). The overall EGovernment score
One manner in which government has cho was 75.2 out of 100. The index represents an
sen to engage citizens is by allowing citizens to improvement in citizens’ perception and use of e
participate in budgeting and financial matters. government. It is also positive feedback for public
New technologies can improve government re administrators and web developers of government
24
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
websites to consider when implementing digital Government institutions are increasingly utilizing
democracy features. The results of the ACSI sup democratic principles in governance by exploiting
port the contention that citizens are interested in ICTs to enable various practices such as evoting,
participating with the government, and this occurs econsultation, epetitioning, ediscussion forums,
with greater frequency at the local and county and online registration of questions and complaints
F
levels of government. (Gibson et al., 2002). No longer is it a question
Access to information is a basic right that not of whether a county government has a website,
O
only opens up the process of government and poli for they are expected to. Further, government
tics but provides citizens with the tools necessary websites that do not allow citizens to pay tickets
to take part in these arenas. Civic involvement in and bills, to obtain licenses, and to communicate
O
the political process is crucial in strengthening directly with elected officials are viewed as out
and reinventing democracy, the future of which dated and archaic.
R
will depend on whether society can deepen and Municipal governments are increasingly mov
extend the capacity for civic innovation that will ing towards openness and transparency by making
P
solve major public problems and transform the available fundamental information to its citizens.
way we do politics (Sirianni & Friedland, 2001). Moreover, many of these “trailblazing” govern
L
Information access is therefore crucial to build ments are utilizing the Internet to highlight their
ing this capacity (Lindblom, 1990). The author accomplishments and more important, to keep
A
pointed out that inadequate knowledge may be a citizens informed. Whether their actions have
factor that prevents the adoption of solutions to been spurred by the political motives of elected
B
social problems (p. 1). His focus was on how not officials, embarrassment from the fact that other
only officials but ordinary people make use of nearby counties are now offering more informa
information in formulating problems, the positions tion to their citizens, or a desire to appear more
O
they take, and the production and dissemination legitimate is not clear. Regardless of their motiva
L
of information (and misinformation) (p. 3). tions, it is an important step towards improving
Further, Gauthier (1999) underscored the government transparency and accountability.
importance of the right to know in facilitating The U.S. Federal Government has recently
G
freedom of the press, through which citizens developed a resource at www.data.gov where state,
I
are informed about political and social issues. county and municipal governments can provide
Gauthier noted that the media present before the data that allows users to retrieve information on
G
public the issues of the day and set the agenda various topics such as healthcare, population
I
for inquiry, debate, and discussion; he argued growth, education and employment. On December
that the purpose of the right to know is to enable 8, 2009 the White House issued a directive to all
informed decision making so that citizens may federal agencies that requires them to “take im
exercise their constitutionally protected rights (p. mediate, specific steps to achieve key milestones
198). Citizens in a democracy need information in transparency, participation, and collaboration.”
to monitor their government’s actions, to knowl
edgably participate in government through voting An underlying goal of the Open Government
and other mechanisms, and to effectively exercise Initiative is to change the culture of information
free speech through radio talk shows, newspaper dissemination, institutionalizing a preference for
editorials, and other media. making Federal data more widely available in
When government utilizes features of digital more accessible formats. As one of the flagships
democracy and is highly transparent, it may be of the Open Government Initiative, Data.gov is de
considered as responsive and open to citizens. signed to facilitate access to Federal datasets that
25
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
increase public understanding of Federal agencies Review transparency checklist are listed with
and their operations, advance the missions of the rationale for why these items should be on
Federal agencies, create economic opportunity, every government website. (See Appendix A.)
and increase transparency, accountability, and The project noted, however, that as technology
responsiveness across the Federal Government. advances, so will these lists adapt to the needs of
F
http://www.data.gov/open the people. For county governments, the Sunshine
Review checklist included access to government
O
Initiatives like data.gov and others are consid records and public documents listed below:
ered forms of egovernance or digital democracy.
Digital Democracy refers to the ability to practice P+ The county website should include com
O
democracy without the limits of time, space, and prehensive information about how citizens
other physical conditions. “Without the limits of can obtain access to public records in the
R
time” refers to users’ being able to offer opinions custody of the county.
on online political forums, “voice” support or op P+ S5"%+ /+ #*1*C"%+ 4/%1<+ 1$+ &8"+ /%+ $="%+ )"
P
position to issues through ereferenda, and watch cords request, which employee handles
public meetings online at the user’s convenience. those requests?
L
Benton (2002) stated that among the many P+ What is that employee’s contact
roles of county government, counties traditionally information?
A
performed statemandated duties, which included P+ The county website should make this in
assessments of property, record keeping, main formation easytolocate.
B
tenance of rural road, administration of election P+ The county website should lay out the pro
and judicial functions, and relief for the poor. cedure for a citizen to request access to
Today, counties are moving into other areas (child public records.
O
welfare, consumer protections, economic develop P+ The information should be userfriendly.
L
ment, employment/training, planning, zoning, and P+ The county website should include an an
water quality). Benton emphasized, however, that nual rating of its FOIA compliance: How
there is wide variation among counties in terms many requests it received in a given year,
G
of service delivery responsibilities. The disparity how many it complied with, the average
I
was demonstrated by a review of individual states time required for compliance, and reasons
and the percentage (of total expenditures) their for denials. If the county is currently be
G
counties spent on various services. ing sued for failure to provide public docu
I
The Sunshine Review project1 listed 10 ar ments, this information should be included.
eas that provide a baseline of information that P+ If the county has been ordered by a judge or
government entities should provide online to public records ombudsman to provide doc
its citizens. The project identified areas that are uments it refused to produce in response to
unique to the government entity being evaluated a public records request, this information
such as county, municipal, state, or school board. should be a permanent record posted on the
The responsibility for providing information falls city’s website.
on the government entity, which should partici
pate in affirmative disclosure. Having an access Based on its transparency checklist, the Sun
to information law (FOI), however, facilitates shine Review conducted the My Government
more open government. Ten areas that provide a Website project to evaluate the information
baseline of information that government entities governments post on their websites. The check
should provide online according to the Sunshine list for counties included 10 broad categories of
26
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
information, including meeting minutes, budgets, upon request. Facilitated by the citizenoriented
audits, and how to contact elected officials. Each GRC, OPRA can lessen government corruption
state was evaluated according to the information by revealing information that can be used to show
provided by its counties, with 100% being given how government is doing business.
for each area where the information was available New Jersey had, for a very long time, an ar
F
from a given county and 0% where it was not. chaic righttoknow law that was filled with more
New Jersey ranked in the top 10 states although exceptions to public access and that the media
O
its overall score was 47.6%. (See Appendix B for and government watchdog groups often called
checklist.) The top state, Arizona, had an overall nonprogressive. As a result of pressure from
score of 65.5%. these groups and years of lobbying for a more
O
One primary factor that may inhibit county progressive opengovernment law, the legislature
governments from acting progressively and pro passed a more progressive law (OPRA). Unlike
R
viding detailed information to citizens is concern earlier laws, this new statute detailed exactly what
over the privacy and security of the information was a public record and what was not. Before,
P
that is now available for all. Obviously, privacy those curious about a government action in most
and security are concerns but perhaps not as much cases had to rely on the officials who created a
L
as one would expect. Schwester (2009) found that record to decide if it could be released. The old
online security was not a key factor in prohibiting law covered only a limited range of documents.
A
local governments from implementing innovative OPRA expands the public’s right of access
egovernment initiatives. Increased access to in to government records and facilitates the way in
B
formation has many ramifications, including an which that access is provided by the custodian
expectation by citizens that indepth and detailed of those records (State of New Jersey, 2006).
information would be supplied. Accordingly, gov New Jersey’s OPRA deems all government re
O
ernment websites must provide more than static cords—both paper and computerized—open to
L
information and permit communication through the public unless specifically exempt by law or
multiple channels by numerous users. As the other governmental actions; it sets a time limit
capabilities of ICTs grow, so do the expectations for officials to produce public documents; and it
G
of citizens. protects the socalled common law, which allowed
I
citizens and media outlets to sue in court to open
New Jersey up records that the government deems offlimits
G
(D’Ambrosio, 1999).
I
New Jersey, whose counties are the focus of this Another first for New Jersey is a time limit for
study, has implemented several measures affect responding to public records requests. Govern
ing access to information. New Jersey passed its ments must respond within seven days, although
Open Public Records Act (OPRA) in 2002. This an agency can ask for more time if the request
made government records the property of the involves a complicated search or a large number
citizens, with few exceptions. The law was mod of records. The law does not require a fee; costs
eled on Connecticut’s FOIA and thereby formed can be recovered for copying large volumes or
the second quasijudicial body in the nation—the oversized items like maps. Further, the open re
Government Records Council (GRC). This body cords law allows for civil penalties against local
consists of three private citizens and two govern officials who refuse to comply in a reasonable
ment officials who resolve complaints from the manner.
public against government agencies and other After many years of struggle with opposition
entities that do not provide government records from government, the efforts by citizens and
27
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
advocacy groups were successful in passing the municipalities and over 600 school districts. A
updated law. However, the law took effect only look at the general transparency in the counties
after an aboutface by Democratic Governor James is seen as a first step and an instrumental one in
E. McGreevey. In early July 2002, citing terrorism determining overall transparency of New Jersey’s
concerns, McGreevey signed an executive order local government bodies.
F
listing 483 exemptions to the new law, which had This research focused on assessing New Jersey
just taken effect and which gave the public and county websites’ provision of detailed and timely
O
the media unprecedented access to government information to the public. Groups concerned with
records. Later, he narrowed that list of exemptions transparency in government worked together to
to 75 and committed his administration to open develop a checklist of government information
O
ness and accessibility (Davis, 2003). that should be readily available on the Internet to
The state commission—the GRC—was set its citizens. Measures were loosely based on other
R
up within the Department of Community Affairs. transparencyingovernment projects such as the
The GRC meets monthly to adjudicate complaints Sunshine Review. These lists were modified to
P
brought by citizens and citizen groups against reflect the unique services and function of New
government agencies about the lack of cooperation Jersey county governments. Further, a draft of the
L
in providing government records. This provides a resulting list of questions for county governments
forum for citizens to seek redress and for govern was sent to various groups that are involved in
A
ment officials to explain their actions. Since the or concerned with the overall transparency of
implementation of the law, the GRC has heard government issues and policies in the state. (See
B
and closed more than 466 cases. Appendix C for a list of groups.)
The two lead groups—New Jersey Tax Payers
Methodology Association and Common Cause New Jersey—
O
then worked with researchers from the Rutgers
L
This research differs from other studies because School of Public Affairs and Administration to
it does not focus on one assessing web content of refine the criteria and develop the evaluation tool.
only one particular agency or department (Meijer, This tool focused on five areas: the availability of
G
2007). Second, it examines transparency within contact information for county officials; contact
I
county governments, not state or municipal, by information for county employees; public meeting
evaluating the content of their websites. A great information; details of how the counties allocate
G
deal of research in egovernment examines the resources; equipment issued to employees, such as
I
municipal, state, and federal levels. Although county cars; and descriptive details of the work
the Sunshine Review county project evaluated ings of county departments. The evaluation areas
states across the US, this study looks specifically were based upon the literature provided above,
at New Jersey and examined the broad areas of along with input from stakeholder groups. (See
information in more detail. It is important to study Appendices C and D for the Evaluation Tool.)
the county level of government because it has the These areas were then broken down into 49
ability to impact many more people. This study criteria, which were utilized for the evaluation.
examines the level of transparency within each They ranged from routine matters such as timely
of the counties in New Jersey, thus capturing the posting of meeting agendas, annual budgets, and
entire state population. audits, to information on procurement, collective
County government was chosen because of bargaining, and employee perquisites.
the relative ease of data collection. There are
21 counties in New Jersey, compared to 566
28
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
TimeFrame for Research on its website, legal law suits (one of the measures
included in the study). See Appendices D and E.
The evaluations of the websites were conducted in
December 2009 and February 2010. Each website Research Questions
was evaluated by a Master’s student enrolled in a
F
Public Administration Ethics course at the Rutgers This research was exploratory in nature; however,
School of Public Affairs and Administration. To it addressed several important questions regarding
O
ensure validity in the research, each website was county government information posted online for
evaluated by two students and then reviewed by citizens and other stakeholders. Primarily, it asks,
one of the professors on the research team. If the Are county governments using ICT to present their
O
two scores for a county were at least 10 points information online? Are they simply using static
different, then the lead researchers (either doctoral information on the website or does the site allow
R
students or professors) reevaluated the website a users to enter queries and search data based upon
third time. In all cases, the highest score was used neighborhood location? Also, do various agencies
P
for the final results. The rationale for this meth or departments provide information on their own
odology is that it is more likely that an evaluator web pages or is it combined into one comprehen
L
would identify features that were present than sive county government report? Essentially, this
not present. After reading through the websites to research demonstrated the scope and variety of
A
gain familiarity, the researchers evaluated them online information provided to citizens by county
for overall content and usability, whether the sites governments.
B
are easily navigable, and how much information Other research questions that arose from this
is readily accessible. study have yet to be explored:
The findings were then distributed to each
O
of the 21 counties, giving them an opportunity P+ What are the factors that prompt coun
L
to review results and provide counter informa ty governments to provide information
tion prior to public release (which resulted in online?
our receiving comments and concerns from five P+ Are those factors based upon the overall
G
counties: Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Union, income of the residents, their level of edu
I
and Warren). cation, or demographic characteristics? Or
/)"+#$(%1*"<+*%D("%#";+79+<="#*&#+#5/)/#
Verifying Results
G
teristics of the local government?
I
County comments led to adjustments in the evalu Findings/Implications of Research
ations but did not change the overall rank of the
counties. Highlighting those that rank high in terms As shown in Tables 15 and Figure 1, there was
of the measures chosen for transparency, resulted a wide range in the results of the study. The scale
in the opportunity for other county governments of the Transparency Index ranged from 0 to 49.
to learn what citizens see as important for infor Of the counties surveyed, Hunterdon scored the
mation access and service delivery. highest, attaining 31 points, while the minimum
Subsequent to the study, the highestranking score of 15 was attained by Passaic and Salem.
county, Hunterdon, notified the collaborators that Three counties are clustered within five index
to achieve a full score on transparency, it was ad points of Hunterdon County, while another seven
dressing some of the measures that were missing. are within 10 index points. Therefore, out of the
As such, that county passed a resolution to include 21 counties indexed, 50% are clustered within 10
29
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
Table 1. New Jersey counties’ transparency indices
County Index
Atlantic 22
Bergen 25
F
Burlington 19
Camden 29
Cape May 20
O
Cumberland 17
Essex 18
O
Gloucester 17
Hudson 18
R
Hunterdon 31
Mercer 16
P
Middlesex 17
Monmouth 23
L
Morris 22
Ocean 17
A
Passaic 15
Salem 15
B
Somerset 21
Sussex 26
O
Union 24
Warren 21
Rank
L
Table 2. Three highest political contact information scores for New Jersey counties
G
County Score
I
1 Cape May 7
1 Sussex 7
G
3 6 counties tied 6
Rank
1
2
I
Table 3. Government employment information score
Hunterdon
3 counties tied
County
9
7
Score
3 Camden 6
index points of the leading county. Nevertheless, Politician Contact Information

none of the counties was within 15 index points Providing political contact information was the
of the maximum possible score. index category in which counties surveyed scored
30
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
Table 4. Government meeting score
Rank County Score

1 Camden 7
2 3 counties tied 6
F
3 4 counties tied 5
O
Table 5. Government finances score
Rank County Score
O
1 Hunterdon 5
2 3 counties tied 4
R
3 2 counties tied 3
P
Figure 1. Counties’ total score by category
A L
OB
G L
G I
I
31
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
the highest. Seven counties scored within three Equipment Issued/Leased

index points of the highest possible category Only one county, Union, provided information
score of 10. Eighteen counties provided the email online regarding the issuance and leasing of
addresses of elected officials, affording citizens equipment.
and others with the opportunity to communicate
F
directly with their county representative. Government Departments
Only one county, Salem, did not provide informa
O
Government Employees
tion describing the different county departments.
Studies have shown that lack of trust in govern
ment often stems from citizens’ inability to com
O
Additional Findings
municate with elected officials and bureaucrats.
R
Our research found that 13 of the 21 counties Overall, the findings indicate that most counties
provide the names of all government employees scored well in providing contact information,
P
on their websites. Lack of this information inhib whether for political officials or government em
its citizens’ ability to communicate directly with ployees. However, most counties scored poorly in
government employees on typical issues such
L
providing information on finance issues such as
as garbage and leaf pickup, obtaining permits posting the budget, providing information about
and licenses, and property taxes. We found that bids and contracts, and providing audit reports.
A
only five counties provide the email addresses of
government employees. Limitations to the Research
B
Government Meetings Another important component related to transpar
O
Another measure was whether counties provide ency in government is performance measurement.
citizens and other stakeholders with access to Specifically, as government continues to increase
L
public meetings. We found that all counties its overall reliance upon performance measure
provided an online schedule of monthly public ment information to assess progress and growth,
G
meetings and that 20 counties provided the meet providing performance data to the public gives
ing agendas online. On the other hand, we found citizens the perception that the government is open
I
that only six counties provided an archived audio and willing to share information. Schwartz and
or video recording of the meetings and that only Mayne (2005) said that performance data are meant
G
three provided live audio or video online. to inform legislatures, managers, stakeholders, and
I
the general public and to provide information on
Government Finances how well various programs within an organization
Regarding the area of government finances, we are doing and whether they are accomplishing
specifically were interested in features related to what they have set out to accomplish.
sharing resource allocation information online. Providing relevant performance data to citizens
We found that 17 counties provide access to their online is a natural step in the progression of e
annual budgets online and that only two counties governance. This study did not specifically look
provided more detailed information such as a copy at this type of data.
of the monthly variance report and a copy of the As public administrators seek new methods
monthly check register. Additionally, only three to engage citizens, providing them with more
counties provided information online on unused information is a logical starting point. It rings
sick and vacation time. hollow when elected officials say that citizens
32
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
are not interested in the nuances of government. districts. Evaluating each of their websites would
Although this may have been true in the past, entail considerable time and resources.
it is unlikely that it remains accurate today. In
light of political scandals, unethical behavior,
and challenging economic circumstances, it CONCLUSION
F
is more likely that citizens may want to know
how government is operating. To this end, it is Drawing on the findings, we can reach a number
O
critical to assess which county governments are of conclusions. First, it is clear that NJ county
effectively engaging their citizens through the government can improve significantly in providing
use of technology. Some county governments are information to stakeholders online. On a 49point
O
beginning to rely upon the perspectives of citizens scale, Hunterdon County scored the highest at 31
to help them determine whether they are meeting points. Moreover, 50% of the counties surveyed
R
their needs and expectations. One such method to scored under 40% of the maximum possible score.
improve citizen engagement is to simply provide Second, it appears that NJ counties are very
P
performance data and methods to increase G2C good at providing some basic information on
communication on their websites. This approach line about government employees and political
L
allows citizens to see what is being accomplished representatives. However, counties did poorly
and what is not, and it also allows citizens the in providing more substantive information on
A
opportunity to provide feedback. line such as budgets and financial information.
This limits citizens’ access to information and
B
ultimately limits the role that citizens may play
FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS in government.
This research sought to examine current
O
The collaborators of this project hope to conduct features of transparency on New Jersey county
L
a similar study in 2011 to assess whether counties government websites. Although our research
in New Jersey are working towards improving found that the majority of counties do provide
transparency to their citizens. The intention is to online the email addresses and the biographies of
G
perform the same type of evaluation after first elected officials, a copy of the annual budget, and
I
introducing an intervention. Three months prior a schedule of monthly meetings, they can improve
to the evaluation, the researchers will share with transparency by better utilizing information and
G
the counties the measures that will be examined. communication technologies. For example, only
I
This will give the county governments a chance five counties provided online the voting records
to enhance and improve their transparency so as of county freeholders. Similarly, only six counties
to score higher. Additional collaborators, such provided online access to public meetings—infor
as the New Jersey Association of Counties, will mation likely to improve communication between
be invited to help in identifying and distributing citizens and government and thereby making
score sheets, etc. to counties so that each county the public aware of various issues, including the
has an equal chance of participating and complet allocation of resources. Features that increase
ing the study. C2G communication ultimately increase transpar
Similar projects could be done at the local ency. The cost of implementing features online
level, including municipal or local school boards. that inform the public of government activities
As noted at the beginning of this chapter, New and administration is relatively small, but when
Jersey has 566 municipalities and over 600 school implemented have the potential to greatly impact
the decisionmaking process because more people
33
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
become aware of what government is doing, Islam, R. (2003). Do more transparent govern
making it more accountable and thus improving ments govern better? World Bank Policy Research
government performance. Working Paper, No. 3077, June. Washington, DC:
The World Bank Institute.
F
Lindblom, C. E. (1990). Inquiry and change. New
REFERENCES
York, NY: Yale University Press.
Banisar, D. (2004). The freedominfo.org global
O
Meijer, A. (2007). Publishing public performance
survey: Freedom of information and access to gov results on the Internet—Do stakeholders use the
ernment records laws around the world. Retrieved Internet to hold Dutch public service organizations
O
from http://www.freedominfo.org/ documents/ to account? Government Information Quarterly,
global_survey2004.pdf 24, 165–185. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.01.014
R
Beckett, J., & King, C. (2002). The challenge to Moon, M. J. (2002). The evolution of eGovern
P
improve citizen participation in public budget ment among municipalities: Rhetoric or reality?
ing: A discussion. Journal of Public Budgeting, Public Administration Review, 62(4), 424–433.
Accounting & . Financial Management, 14(3), doi:10.1111/00333352.00196
L
463–485.
National Performance Management Advisory
A
Bingham, L., Nabatchi, T., & O’Leary, R. (2005). Commission. (2010). A performance management
The new governance: Practices and processes for framework for state and local government: From
B
stakeholder and citizen participation in the work of measurement and reporting to management and
government. Public Administration Review, 65(5), improving. Chicago.
547–558. doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2005.00482.x
O
RodriguesBolivar, M. P. (2007). Egovernment
Carrizales, T. (2009). Critical factors in an elec and public financial reporting: The case of
L
tronic democracy: A study of municipal managers. Spanish regional governments. American Re
Electronic . Journal of EGovernment, 6(1), 23–30. view of Public Administration, 37(2), 142–177.
G
Denhardt, R. B., & Denhardt, J. V. (2000). The doi:10.1177/0275074006293193
I
new public service: Serving rather than steering. Schwartz, R., & Mayne, J. (2005). Quality mat
Public Administration Review, 60(4), 549–559. ters. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
doi:10.1111/00333352.00117
G
Schwester, R. (2009). Examining the barriers to
I
Feinberg, L. E. (1997). Open government and egovernment adoption. Electronic . Journal of
freedom of information. Fishbowl accountabil EGovernment, 7(1), 113–122.
ity? In Cooper, P. E., & Newland, C. A. (Eds.),
Handbook of public law and administration. San Sirianni, C., & Friedland, L. (2001). Civic in
Francisco, CA: JosseyBass Publishers. novation in America. Community empowerment,
public policy, and the movement for civic renewal.
Gibson, (2002). UK political participation online: University of California Press.
The public response. A survey of citizens’ politi
cal activity via the internet. Salford, UK: ESRI. Smith, S., & Ingram, H. (2002). Policy tools and
democracy . In Salamon, L. (Ed.), The tools of
government: A guide to the new governance (pp.
565–584). New York, NY: Oxford University
Press.
34
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
Tan, C., Pan, S., & Lim, E. (2007). Managing Bertot, J. C., Jaeger, P. T., & Grimes, J. M.
stakeholder interests in egovernment imple (2010, July 01). Using ICTs to create a culture
mentation: Lessons learned from a Singapore of transparency: Egovernment and social media
egovernment project. International Journal of as openness and anticorruption tools for societ
Electronic Government Research, 3(1), 61–84. ies. Government Information Quarterly, 27(3),
F
doi:10.4018/jegr.2007010104 264–271. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2010.03.001
Tolbert, C., & Mossberger, K. (2006). The effects Blanton, T. (2002). The world’s right to know.
O
of egovernment on trust and confidence in gov Foreign Policy, 131, 50–58. doi:10.2307/3183417
ernment. Public Administration Review, 66(3),
Box, R. (1999). Running government like a
O
354–369. doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2006.00594.x
business: Implications for public administration
theory and practice. American Review of Public
R
Administration, 29.
ADDITIONAL READING
P
Brewer, G. A., Neubauer, B. J., & Geiselhart, K.
Al, A. A., & AlBastaki, Y. A. L. (2011). Hand (2006). Designing and implementing egovernment
systems: Critical implications for public adminis
L
book of research on eservices in the public sec
tor: Egovernment strategies and advancements. tration and democracy. Administration & Society,
38(4), 472–499. doi:10.1177/0095399706290638
A
Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.
Aman, A. C. Jr. (2000). Information, privacy and Calista, D., Melitski, J., Holzer, M., & Manoharan,
B
technology: citizens, clients or consumers? In A. (2010, January 1). Digitized government in
Beatson, J., & Cripps, Y. M. (Eds.), Freedom of worldwide municipalities between 2003 and 2007.
International Journal of Public Administration,
O
expression and freedom of information: Essays
in honour of Sir David Williams. Oxford, UK: 33, 12–13. doi:10.1080/01900692.2010.513881
L
Oxford University Press. Chen, Y. (2007). Electronic government imple
Armstrong, C. L. (2011, January 01). Providing mentation: A comparison between developed and
G
a clearer view: An examination of transparency developing countries. International Journal of
Electronic Government Research, 3(2), 45–61.
I
on local government websites. Government In
formation Quarterly, 28(1), 11–16. doi:10.1016/j. doi:10.4018/jegr.2007040103
giq.2010.07.006
G
D’Ambrosio, P. (1999). A new right to know bill
I
Arnstein, S. (1969). A ladder of citizen participa due. Asbury Park Press.
tion. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Davis, C. (2003). 2003 FOI updates, the states. The
35, 216–224. doi:10.1080/01944366908977225 First Amendment Center. Retrieved from http://foi.
Barber, B. R. (2001). Which technology for which missouri.edu/ statefoinews/ 2003foiupdate.html
democracy? Which democracy for which technol Feltey, K., King, C., & Susel, B. (1998). The
ogy? International Journal of Communications . question of participation: Toward authentic
Law & Policy, 6(Winter). public participation in public administration.
Benton, Edwin, J. (2002). County service delivery: Public Administration Review, 58, 317–326.
Does government structure matter? Public Admin doi:10.2307/977561
istration Review, 62, 471–479. doi:10.1111/0033
3352.00200
35
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
Fiorino, D. (1990). Citizen participation and en Kennedy, G. (1996). How Americans got their
vironmental risk: A survey of institutional mecha right to know: Getting Congress to guarantee ac
nisms. Science, Technology & Human Values, cess to federal information through FOI 30 years
15, 226–243. doi:10.1177/016224399001500204 ago was a press triumph. Retrieved from http://
www.johnemossfoundation.org/ foi/kennedy.htm.
F
Fischer, F. (1993). Citizen participation and the
democratization of policy expertise: From theo Kim, S., Kim, H. J., & Lee, H. (2009, January
retical inquiry to practical cases. Policy Sciences, 1). From implementation to adoption: Chal
O
26, 165–187. doi:10.1007/BF00999715 lenges to successful egovernment diffusion. An
institutional analysis of an egovernment system
Florini, A. M. (2002). Increasing transparency
O
for anticorruption: The case of OPEN. Gov
in government. International Journal on World
ernment Information Quarterly, 26(1), 42–50.
Peace, 19(3).
R
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2008.09.002
Garson, G. D. (2006). Public Information Tech
Lando, T. (1999). Public participation in local gov
P
nology and egovernance: Managing the virtual
ernment: Points of view. National Civic Review,
state. Raleigh, NC: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
88, 109–122. doi:10.1002/ncr.88204
L
Lord, K. M. (2006). The perils and promise of
global transparency: Why the information revo
A
state. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
lution may not lead to security, democracy, or
Gauthier, C. C. (1999). The right to know, press peace. State University of New York Press. Miri,
B
freedom and public discourse. Journal of Mass J., & Taylor, P. (2008). Performance matters:
Media Ethics, 14(4), 197–212. doi:10.1207/ Toward transparent, accountable, and effective
O
S15327728JMME1404_1 delivery of public services. Chicago: Center for
Digital Government.
L
Hatry, H. (2006). Performance measurement—
Getting results. Washington, DC: The Urban Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
G
Institute Press. Development. (2001). Citizens as partners: In
formation, consultation and public participation
Hollis, A., Johnstone, K., & Warfield, T. (1999).
I
in policymaking. Paris, France: OECD.
Corporate reporting on the Internet. Account
ing Horizons, 13(3), 241–257. doi:10.2308/ PaskalevaShapira, K. (2006). Transitioning from
G
acch.1999.13.3.241 egovernment to egovernance in the knowledge
I
society: The role of the legal framework for en
Holzer, M., & Kim, S. Y. (2003). Digital gover
abling the process in the European Union’s coun
nance in municipalities worldwide: An assessment
tries. The Electronic Journal of EGovernment,
of municipal web sites throughout the world. New
151, 181–191.
ark, NJ: National Center for Public Productivity.
Pina, V., Torres, L., & Royo, S. (2010, Febru
Justice, J., Melitski, J., & Smith, D. (2007, July
ary 01). Is egovernment leading to more ac
1). Egovernment as an instrument of fiscal ac
countable and transparent local governments?
countability and responsiveness: Do the best
An overall view. Financial Accountability &
practitioners employ the best practices. Sage
Management, 26(1), 3–20. doi:10.1111/j.1468
Public Administration Abstracts, 34, 2.
0408.2009.00488.x
36
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
Reddick, C. G. (2010). Citizens and egovernment: Wong, W., & Welch, E. (2004). Does egovernment
Evaluating policy and management. Hershey, PA: promote accountability? A comparative analysis of
Information Science Reference. doi:10.4018/978 website openness and government accountability.
1615209316 Governance: An International Journal of Policy,
Administration and Institutions, 17(2), 275–297.
F
Romzek, B. S., & Dubnick, M. J. (1987). Ac
doi:10.1111/j.14680491.2004.00246.x
countability in the public sector: Lessons from
the Challenger tragedy. Public Administration
O
Review, 47(3). doi:10.2307/975901
ENDNOTES
Rosener, J. (1978). Citizen participation: Can
O
we measure its effectiveness? Public Adminis 1
The My Government Website Project –http://
tration Review, (September/October): 457–463.
R
sunshinereview.org/index.php/Transpar
doi:10.2307/975505 ency_checklist. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
P
Suk Kim, P. (2005). Introduction: Challenges and Last Modified, April 6, 2010.
opportunities for democracy, administration and
2
The My Government Website Project –http://
law. International Review of Administrative Scienc sunshinereview.org/index.php/Transpar
L
es, 71, 99–108. doi:10.1177/0020852305051686 ency_checklist. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
Last Modified, April 6, 2010.
A
United Nations. (2010). United Nations egov 3
My Government Website. County Evalu
ernment survey 2010: Leveraging egovernment ations Completed. Retrieved June 26,
B
at a time of financial and economic crisis. New 2010. http://sunshinereview.org/index.
York: United Nations. php/Portal:My_Government_Website. Last
O
Vaughn, R. G. (2000). Transparency—The mecha modified, October 9, 2009.
nisms: Open government and accountability.
L
Issues of Democracy, 5(2).
G
Vigoda, E. (2002). From responsiveness to col
laboration: Governance, citizens, and the next
I
generation of public administration. Public Admin
istration Review, 62, 527–540. doi:10.1111/1540
G
6210.00235
37
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
APPENDIX A: TRANSPARENCY CHECKLIST: SUNSHINE REVIEW2
P+ Budgets: The website should include the current budget. Bonus points if the website shows the
budgets for previous years, and a graph showing increases or decreases over time to help citizens
evaluate and understand trends in local government spending. The checkbook register and credit
F
card receipts should also be posted.
T Rationale: Budgets show the big picture of what goals and priorities the government estab
O
lished for the year. Budget details also serve as a way for taxpayers to determine how the
government performed in relation to past years.
P+ Openmeeting laws should include notices about public meetings of its governing board and min
O
utes of past meetings. Also check for meeting agendas for future or past meetings.
T Rationale: Meetings are one of the few ways the public can engage in true dialogue with
R
representatives. Given the reality of busy schedules, governments should offer an alternative
to meeting attendance by posting meetings, agendas, locations, and minutes on their website.
P
P+ @5"+4"7<*1"+<5$(8;+*%#8(;"+"8"#1";+$-&#*/8<U+%/."<+/%;+#$%1/#1+*%-$)./1*$%B+*%#8(;*%'+"./*8+/;
dresses, as well as voting record.
L
T Rationale:+V-&#*/8<+/)"+"8"#1";+1$+)"=)"<"%1+15"*)+#$%<1*1("%1<?+0%+$);")+1$+;$+<$+"--"#1*>"89B+
they should be engaged in regular dialogue and be as accessible as possible by providing a
A
variety of ways to be contacted.
P+ 6;.*%*<1)/1*>"+$-&#*/8<+<5$(8;+7"+8*<1";+$%+'$>")%."%1+4"7<*1"<?+@5"+4"7<*1"+<5$(8;+*%#8(;"+3"9+
B
administrators’ names and contact information, including email addresses.
T Rationale: Administrative staff are knowledgeable resources, provide constituent services,
and often enforce ordinances. Because of these roles, it is imperative for them to be available
O
to constituents by providing contact information for the heads of each department and not
L
just general information.
P+ Building permits and zoning: At the very least, permit applications should be available for down
loading. In addition, constituents should be able to submit applications and track the process
G
online.
I
T Rationale: Almost all government application processes are already digitalized. By facili
tating the process online, government should cut down on cost and time barriers as well as
G
improve communication and service to their constituents.
I
P+ Audits: The website should include regular audit information, including report results, audit
schedules, and performance audits for government programs.
T Rationale: Whereas budgets give the big picture to constituents, an audit reveals how well
15"+'$>")%."%1+/#5*">"<+*1<+'$/8<?+6%+/(;*1+)">"/8<+5$4+#8$<"89A"8"#1";+$-&#*/8<+3"=1+15"*)+
promises, enabling constituents to hold them accountable.
P+ Contracts: The website should include rules governing contracts posted online, including bids
and contracts for purchases over $10,000 and the vendor’s campaign contributions posted with
contract.
T Rationale: Contracts should be available for review so the people can evaluate if the contract
was a nobid replacement or if the government chose the best solution for its constituents.
P+ Lobbying: If the unit of government belongs to any taxpayerfunded lobbying associations that it
helps to fund by paying association or membership dues, that information should be disclosed on
the government unit’s website.
38
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
T Rationale: Almost all government entities have lobbyists on retainer or are members of an
association that lobbies on their behalf. This information should be disclosed to constituents,
<$+15"9+#/%+./3"+<()"+45/1+*<+7"*%'+8$77*";+7"%"&1<+15"+#$..(%*19?
P+ ,(78*#+)"#$);<:+@5"+4"7<*1"+<5$(8;+*%#8(;"+15"+%/."+$-+45$+*<+*%+#5/)'"+$-+-(8&88*%'+$="%A)"#$);<+
requests, along with contact information for that person.
F
T Rationale: The government is obligated by law to answer FOIA requests. Posting an indi
vidual contact creates an avenue that should ease the way for constituents and displaces ill
O
will often caused by a confusing process.
P+ Taxes: The website should include a central location for all tax information, including state “fees”
<(#5+/<+;)*>")<U+8*#"%<"<B+1/E+;$#(."%1<+-$)+/88+"8"#1";+$-&#*/8<B+/%;+"/#5+/'"%#*"<U+<$()#"<+$-+
O
revenue.
T Rationale: Tax information should be available to those looking to move or sell residences
R
*%+15"*)+;*<1)*#1?+H*<#8$<*%'+1/E+7();"%<+/##()/1"89+)"D"#1<+15"+#$<1+$-+8*>*%'?
APPENDIX B: TOP TEN STATES IN COUNTY

TRANSPARENCY: SUNSHINE REVIEW PROJECT3
L P
B A
APPENDIX C: ORGANIZATIONS IN NEW JERSEY CONCERNED WITH
TRANSPARENCY
O
P+ New Jersey Tax Payers Association, Board of Directors
Rank State Budget
G L
Meetings Elected
officials
Admin.
officials
Permits
zoning
Audits Contracts Lobbying Public
records
Taxes Overall
trans
parency
I
1 Arizona 87% 100% 93% 86% 80% 54% 14% 0% 47% 94% 65.5%
counties
2 California 86% 100% 86% 36% 83% 76% 57% 3.5% 40% 76% 64.35
G
counties
I
3 Florida 71% 91% 85% 69% 76% 49% 34% 1.4% 4.4% 82% 56.28%
counties
4 Washington 64% 79% 69% 90% 79% 41% 0% 0% 59% 69% 55%
counties
5 Maryland 88% 88% 83% 92% 79% 29% 12.5% 0% 25% 29% 52.55%
counties
6 New York 82% 87% 93% 98% 18% 32% 5% 0% 44% 50% 50.9%
counties
7 Virginia 46% 51% 81% 81% 77% 53% 10% 14% 9% 70% 49.2%
counties
8 New Jersey 81% 86% 76% 95% 0% 14% 0% 0% 76% 48% 47.6%
counties
9 North Caro 62% 84% 79% 78% 51% 55% 0% 0% 1% 44% 45.4%
lina counties
10 Wisconsin 59% 76% 90% 88% 68% 26% 4% 0% 7% 10% 42.8%
counties
39
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
P+ New Jersey Taxpayers Alliance (includes other organizations)

P+ New Jersey Foundation for Open Government, Board (includes other organizations)
P+ Common Cause New Jersey
P+ Americans for Tax Reform (Center for Fiscal Accountability)
P+ Asbury Park Press (Data Universe administrator)
F
P+ Two Monmouth County Freeholders
P+ Middletown town councilman
O
P+ Parsippany town councilman
P+ Miscellaneous interested individuals
APPENDIX D: NEW JERSEY TRANSPARENCY

INDEX: MEASURES OF TRANSPARENCY
R O
POLITICIAN INFORMATION
P+ Are the Freeholders’ names available on the website?
L P
A
P+ Are the Freeholders’ work addresses available on the website?
P+ Are the Freeholders’ work email addresses available on the website?
B
P+ Are the Freeholders’ work phone numbers available on the website?
P+ Are the Freeholders’ biographies available on the website?
P+ Are the Freeholders’ voting records available on the website?
O
P+ 6)"+15"+W)""5$8;")<U+&%/%#*/8+;*<#8$<()"+)"#$);<+/>/*8/78"+$%+15"+4"7<*1"X
L
P+ Are the Freeholders’ tax records available on the website?
P+ Are the Freeholders’ vendor contribution records available on the website?
I
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
G
G
P+ Are all gov’t employees’ names available on the website?
I
P+ Are all gov’t employees’ email addresses available on the website?
P+ Are all gov’t employees’ phone numbers available on the website?
P+ 6)"+/88+'$>U1+".=8$9""<U+Y(/8*&#/1*$%<Z)"<(."+/>/*8/78"+$%+15"+4"7<*1"X
P+ Does the website list employees by Department?
P+ Are the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) available online?
P+ Are individual employee contracts available online?
P+ Does the website provide Monthly Hiring / Retirement / Headcount Change information?
P+ Does the website provide employment (job openings) information?
P+ Does the website provide volunteer opportunities?
P+ Does the website provide a contact for Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests?
40
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
GOVERNMENT MEETINGS
P+ Does the website provide a monthly schedule of public meetings?

P+ Does the website provide agendas of meetings? (Provided when?)
P+ Does the website provide meeting minutes? (Provided when?)
F
P+ Does the website provide purchase resolutions? (Provided when?)
P+ Does the website provide other resolutions? (Provided when?)
O
P+ Does the website provide live audio/video of meetings?
P+ Does the website provide archived audio/video recording of meetings?
P+ Does the website provide information on paid association memberships?
GOVERNMENT FINANCES
R O
P
P+ Does the website provide a copy of the annual budget? (Provided when?)
P+ Does the website provide a copy of the monthly variance report? (Provided when?)
L
P+ Does the website provide a copy (in MS Excel format) of the monthly check register? (Provided
when?)
A
P+ Does the website provide a copy of the monthly T&E reports (individual & summary)?
P+ Does the website provide a copy of the Bonding Report? (Provided when?)
B
P+ Does the website provide a copy of the Annual Audit Report? (Provided when?)
P+ Does the website provide information on bids & contracts over $100,000?
P+ Does the website provide information on Unfunded Liabilities (unused sick and vacation time)?
EQUIPMENT ISSUED
LO
G
P+ Does the website list who is issued automobiles?
I
P+ Does the website list who is issued laptops or computer equipment?
P+ Does the website list who is issued cell/mobile phones
G
P+ Does the website list who is issued information on pagers?
I
P+ Does the website list who is issued credit cards?
P+ Does the website list who is issued gasoline?
P+ Does the website list who is issued PDAs (e.g., Blackberry)?
GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS
P+ Does the website list and describe the individual Departments?
MISCELLANEOUS/CONTENT/USABILITY
P+ 0<+15"+4"7<*1"+"/<9+1$+%/>*'/1"+1$+&%;+*%-$)./1*$%X
41
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
P+ Does the website provide links to other relevant websites?

P+ Does the website provide a calendar of events?
P+ Does the website provide a County Code Book?
P+ Is there a person to contact for website issues?
APPENDIX E: NEW JERSEY OPEN PUBLIC RECORDS ACT
http://www.state.nj.us/grc/act.htmRetrieved October 21, 2008.
O F
Open Public Records Act
P.L. 2001, CHAPTER 404
N.J.S. 47:1A1 et seq.
R O
P
Legislative policy C.47:1A1 Legislative findings, declarations.
declaration
The Legislature finds and declares it to be the public policy of this State that:
L
All records shall be +++++P+N$>")%."%1+)"#$);<+<5/88+7"+)"/;*89+/##"<<*78"+-$)+*%<="#1*$%B+#$=9*%'B+$)+"E/.*%/1*$%+79+15"+#*1*C"%<+$-+15*<+[1/1"B+4*15+
accessible certain exceptions, for the protection of the public interest, and anylimitations on the right of access accorded by P.L.1963, c.73
(C.47:1A1 et seq.) as amended and supplemented, shall be construed in favor of the public’s right of access;
A
All records public un +++++P+688+'$>")%."%1+)"#$);<+<5/88+7"+<(7F"#1+1$+=(78*#+/##"<<+(%8"<<+"E".=1+-)$.+<(#5+/##"<<+79:+,?2?\]^_B+#?`_+Qa?b`:\6A\+"1+
less meets a permitted seq.) as amended and supplemented; any other statute; resolution of either or both houses of the Legislature; regulation promul
B
exemption gated under the authority of any statute or Executive Order of the Governor; Rules of Court; any federal law, federal regulation, or
federal order;
+++++P+6+=(78*#+/'"%#9+5/<+/+)"<=$%<*7*8*19+/%;+/%+$78*'/1*$%+1$+</-"'(/);+-)$.+=(78*#+/##"<<+/+#*1*C"%U<+=")<$%/8+*%-$)./1*$%+4*15+
which it has been entrusted when disclosure thereof would violate the citizen’s reasonable expectation of privacy; and nothing
O
contained in P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A1 et seq.), as amended and supplemented, shall be construed as affecting in any way the
common law right of access to any record, including but not limited to criminal investigatory records of a law enforcement agency.
L
Definitions C.47:1A1.1 Definitions.
As used in P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A1 et seq.) as amended and supplemented:
G
“Biotechnology” means any technique that uses living organisms, or parts of living organisms, to make or modify products, to
improve plants or animals, or to develop microorganisms for specific uses; including the industrial use of recombinant DNA, cell
fusion, and novel bioprocessing techniques.
I
Defines custodian of “Custodian of a government record” or “custodian” means in the case of a municipality, the municipal clerk and in the case of
records any other public agency, the officer officially designated by formal action of that agency’s director or governing body, as the case
may be.
G
“Government record” or “record” means any paper, written or printed book, document, drawing, map, plan, photograph, micro
I
film, data processed or image processed document, information stored or maintained electronically or by soundrecording or in
a similar device, or any copy thereof, that has been made, maintained or kept on file in the course of his or its official business
by any officer, commission, agency or authority of the State or of any political subdivision thereof, including subordinate boards
thereof, or that has been received in the course of his or its official business by any such officer, commission, agency, or authority
of the State or of any political subdivision thereof, including subordinate boards thereof. The terms shall not include interagency
or intraagency advisory, consultative, or deliberative material.
Records that are A government record shall not include the following information which is deemed to be confidential for the purposes of P.L.1963,
exempt c.73 (C.47:1A1 et seq.) as amended and supplemented:
Legislative records +++++P+0%-$)./1*$%+)"#"*>";+79+/+.".7")+$-+15"+2"'*<8/1()"+-)$.+/+#$%<1*1("%1+$)+*%-$)./1*$%+5"8;+79+/+.".7")+$-+15"+2"'*<8/1()"+
concerning a constituent, including but not limited to information in written form or contained in any email or computer data base,
or in any telephone record whatsoever, unless it is information the constituent is required by law to transmit;
+++++P+6%9+.".$)/%;(.B+#$))"<=$%;"%#"B+%$1"<B+)"=$)1+$)+$15")+#$..(%*#/1*$%+=)"=/)";+79B+$)+-$)B+15"+<="#*-*#+(<"+$-+/+.".7")+$-+
the Legislature in the course of the member’s official duties, except that this provision shall not apply to an otherwise publicly
accessible report which is required by law to be submitted to the Legislature or its members;
Medical examiner +++++P+6%9+#$=9B+)"=)$;(#1*$%+$)+-/#<*.*8"+$-+/%9+=5$1$')/=5B+%"'/1*>"+$)+=)*%1B+*%#8(;*%'+*%<1/%1+=5$1$')/=5<+/%;+>*;"$1/="<+$-+15"+
records body, or any portion of the body, of a deceased person, taken by or for the medical examiner at the scene of death or in the course
of a post mortem examination or autopsy made by or caused to be made by the medical examiner except:
+++++P+S5"%+(<";+*%+/+#)*.*%/8+/#1*$%+$)+=)$#"";*%'+*%+15*<+[1/1"+45*#5+)"8/1"<+1$+15"+;"/15+$-+15/1+=")<$%B
continued on following page
42
:;<$=+/%>+?)/%@A/)"%#9+*%+BC+D$(%1*"@
Open Public Records Act

P.L. 2001, CHAPTER 404
N.J.S. 47:1A1 et seq.
+++++P+W$)+15"+(<"+/<+/+#$()1+$-+15*<+[1/1"+=").*1<B+79+$);")+/-1")+'$$;+#/(<"+5/<+7""%+<5$4%+/%;+/-1")+4)*11"%+%$1*-*#/1*$%+$-+15"+
request for the courtorder has been served at least five days before the order is made upon the county prosecutor for the county in
which the post mortem examination or autopsy occurred,
F
+++++P+W$)+(<"+*%+15"+-*"8;+$-+-$)"%<*#+=/15$8$'9+$)+-$)+(<"+*%+.";*#/8+$)+<#*"%1*-*#+";(#/*$%+$)+)"<"/)#5B+$)
+++++P+W$)+(<"+79+/%9+8/4+"%-$)#"."%1+/'"%#9+*%+15*<+[1/1"+$)+/%9+$15")+<1/1"+$)+-";")/8+8/4+"%-$)#"."%1+/'"%#9c
Criminal investigation +++++P+a)*.*%/8+*%>"<1*'/1$)9+)"#$);<c
O
Victims records +++++P+K*#1*.<U+)"#$);<B+"E#"=1+15/1+/+>*#1*.+$-+/+#)*"+<5/88+5/>"+/##"<<+1$+15"+>*#1*.U<+$4%+)"#$);<c
Trade secrets and pro +++++P+@)/;"+<"#)"1<+/%;+=)$=)*"1/)9+#$..")#*/8+$)+-*%/%#*/8+*%-$)./1*$%+$71/*%";+-)$.+/%9+<$()#"?+W$)+15"+=()=$<"<+$-+15*<+=/)/
prietary information graph, trade secrets shall include data rocessing software obtained by a public body under a licensing agreement which prohibits
O
its disclosure;
Attorney client +++++P+6%9+)"#$);+4*15*%+15"+/11$)%"9A#8*"%1+=)*>*8"'"?+@5*<+=/)/')/=5+<5/88+%$1+7"+#$%<1)(";+/<+"E".=1*%'+-)$.+/##"<<+/11$)%"9+)+
R
privilege consultant bills or invoices except that such bills or invoices may be redacted to remove any information protected by the attorney
client privilege;
Computer security +++++P+6;.*%*<1)/1*>"+$)+1"#5%*#/8+*%-$)./1*$%+)"'/);*%'+#$.=(1")+5/);4/)"B+<$-14/)"+/%;+"14$)3<+45*#5B+*-+;*<#8$<";B+4$(8;+
P
jeopardize computer security;
Building security +++++P+I.")'"%#9+$)+<"#()*19+*%-$)./1*$%+$)+=)$#";()"<+-$)+/%9+7(*8;*%'<+$)+-/#*8*19+45*#5B+*-+;*<#8$<";B+4$(8;+F"$=/);*C"+<"#()*19+$-+
the building or facility or persons theren;
L
Security measures and +++++P+["#()*19+."/<()"<+/%;+<()>"*88/%#"+1"#5%*Y("<+45*#5B+*-+;*<#8$<";B+4$(8;+#)"/1"+/+)*<3+1$+15"+</-"19+$-+=")<$%<B+=)$=")19B+
techniques electronic data or software;
Advantage to bidders +++++P+0%-$)./1*$%+45*#5B+*-+;*<#8$<";B+4$(8;+'>"+/%+/;>/%1/'"+1$+#$.="1*1$)<+$)+7*;;")<c
A
Public employee +++++P+0%-$)./1*$%+'"%")/1";+79+$)+$%+7"5/8-+$-+=(78*#+".=8$9")<+$)+=(78*#+".=8$9""<+*%+#$%%"#1*$%
related
B
+++++P+S*15+/%9+<"E(/8+5/)/<<."%1+#$.=8/*%1+-*8";+4*15+/+=(78*#+".=8$9")+$)
+++++P+S*15+/%9+')*">%#"+-*8";+79+$)+/'/*%<1+/%+*%;*>*;(/8+$)
O
+++++P+S*15+#$88"#1*>"+%"'$1*/1*$%<B+*%#8(;*%'+;$#(."%1<+/%;+<1/1"."%1<+$-+<1)/1"'9+$)+%"'$1*/1*%'+=$<*1*$%
Risk management +++++P+0%-$)./1*$%+45*#5+*<+/+#$..(%*#/1*$%+7"14""%+/+=(78*#+/'"%#9+/%;+*1<+*%<()/%#"+#/))*")B+/.*%*<1)/1*>"+<")>*#"+$)'/%*C/1*$%+$)+
L
risk management office;
Court orders +++++P+0%-$)./1*$%+45*#5+*<+1$+7"+3"=1+#$%-*;"%1*/8+=()<(/%1+1$+#$()1+$);")c+/%;
Honorable discharge +++++P+6%9+#$=9+$-+-$).+HHAd\bB+$)+15/1+-$).B+*<<(";+79+15"+J%*1";+[1/1"<+N$>")%."%1B+$)+/%9+$15")+#")1*-*#/1"+$-+5$%$)/78"+;*<
G
certificates charge, or copy thereof, from active service or the reserves of a branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, or from service
in the organized Militia of the State, that has been filed by an individual with a public agency, except that a veteran or the veteran’s
spouse or surviving spouse shall have access to the veteran’s own records; and
I
Personal identifying +++++P+@5/1+=$)1*$%+$-+/%9+;$#(."%1+45*#5+;*<#8$<"<+15"+<$#*/8+<"#()*19+%(.7")B+#)";*1+#/);+%(.7")B+(%8*<1";+1"8"=5$%"+%(.7")+$)+
information driver license number of any person; except for:
G
+++++P+J<"+79+/%9+'$>")%."%1+/'"%#9B+*%#8(;*%'+/%9+#$()1+$)+8/4+"%-$)#"."%1+/'"%#9B+%+#/))9*%'+$(1+*1<+-(%#1*$%<B
I
+++++P+V)+/%9+=)*>/1"+=")<$%+$)+"%1*19+/#1*%'+$%+7"5/8-+15")"$-B
+++++P+V)+/%9+=)*>/1"+=")<$%+$)+"%1*19+<""3*%'+1$+"%-$)#"+=/9."%1+$-+#$()1A$);")";+#5*8;+<(==$)1c+"E#"=1+4*15+)"<="#1+1$+15"+;*<#8$
sure of driver information by the Division of Motor Vehicles as permitted by section 2 of P.L.1997, c.188 (C.39:23.4); and except
that a social security number contained in a record required by law to be made, maintained or kept on file by a public agency shall
be disclosed when access to the document or disclosure of that information is not otherwise prohibited by State or federal law,
regulation or order or by State statute, resolution of either or both houses of the Legislature, Executive Order of the Governor, rule
of court or regulation promulgated under the authority of any statute or executive order of the Governor.
43
44
Chapter 3
Transparency Issues
in E-Governance and
O F
O
Civic Engagement
Sherri Greenberg
The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Angela Newell
P R
L
The University of Texas at Austin, USA
ABSTRACT
B A
O
Today, people regularly debate the meaning of the term transparency relative to government. President
Obama has made transparency a prominent issue in the federal government with his directive to use
L
online resources to promote transparency. However, transparency is important at all levels of government,
$8*3.G#78*74'3*81,.3.&1.1B'5*&='2EB&+2*1=213'3&'2EB&+2*181G2I'(<.,'G<8$32*').,G#,,2,'3<2')2C1.3.&1'&5'
G
transparency related to egovernance and the implementation of transparency initiatives. The mission
is to set the standards for government transparency and citizen engagement with an online presence.
I
The standards and roadmap for achieving transparency in egovernance involve politics, policy, and
technology. This chapter outlines the necessary political, policy, technology, and transparency issues
G
.1'2EB&+2*181G2I'(<2').,G#,,.&1'81)'*2G&==21)83.&1,'G&+2*,'.,,#2,',#G<'8,'$&7.3.G87'F.77/'.1,#5CG.213'
I
knowledge, and fear. Also, recommendations address best practices in policy development and imple
mentation. The current applications and data recommendations cover technology developments.
INTRODUCTION ally, egovernment offers the unique capacity to

provide information via spreadsheets, documents,
Egovernment entails providing services via the and basic text to citizens related to the operations
Internet, ranging from vehicle registration and of government via an online format. Traditionally,
license renewals to paying taxes to commenting on these services have been provided to citizens
legislation in process and erulemaking. Addition through software and processes that have been
developed specifically for the government (ex.
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch003 TurboTax) or that are proprietary in nature (ex.
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
Adobe and Microsoft products). The focus of e BACKGROUND

government efforts was largely to provide services
in a more effective and efficient manner that took “Egovernment refers to one aspect of digital gov
out the government “middleman” and allowed for ernment: the provision of governmental services
transactions to occur online at the convenience of by electronic means, usually over the Internet.
F
the consumer. However, with the implementation Egovernance, in contrast, refers to a vision of
of newly developing Internet tools, there is an changing the nature of the state” (Garson, 2006).
O
opportunity for egovernment to evolve.
This evolution or transformation will be to a
system of egovernance where citizens can aid This chapter focuses on transparency issues in e
O
in the decision making process through online governance and civic engagement and the resultant
methods. Egovernance promotes and is driven changes in the nature of the state of government
R
by increased transparency and civic participation through transaction to governance through trans
through online tools developed in tandem with parency and participation. Egovernance involves
P
citizens. The tools and technology exist today for the ability of citizens and government to carry out
truly transparent online government. Raw data can the operations of governance including delibera
L
be provided in exportable, machinereadable for tion and decision making online and occurs in the
mats or with application programming interfaces transformational stage of egovernment.
A
(APIs). Untold applications enhance transparency The stages of egovernment are as follows:
and civic participation with mapping, visualiza
B
tion, analytical and personalized applications. P+ Website presence stage
Documents and data previously provided in a PDF P+ Interaction & Communication Stage
or other proprietary formats that do not provide P+ Transactional stage
O
for information exportation can be provided in P+ Transformational stage (Sood, 2000)
L
an open source format that allows for participa
tion via independent analysis of raw data. Using The website stage involves simply having an
Web 2.0 applications such as YouTube, Twitter Internet presence. The interaction and communica
G
and Facebook, citizens can interact virtually with tion stage entails email communication between
I
their governments in conversations and public government and citizens. The transactional stage
meetings and hearings. allows citizens to transact government business
G
Excellent, isolated examples exist at the fed such as renewing auto registration or paying taxes
I
eral, state and local levels here and abroad. True online. Most sizeable state and local governments
transparency requires public participation and have reached the transactional stage and some are
analysis with original applications. Hence, the entering the transformational stage by providing
status quo must transform from egovernment GIS, interactive, open source, and wireless ap
to egovernance allowing for participation and plications. Egovernance is more likely to occur
civic engagement. The next step is to explore and in the transformation stage.
recommend standards and a roadmap for govern EGovernment typically refers to having an
ments to achieve transparency in egovernance. online presence allowing interaction with the
Government officials must set the direction for public, such as document searches, transactions
policies to be implemented with the latest tech and online payments. Governments tend to think of
nology that maximizes government transparency egovernment as transacting government business.
and civic engagement. EGovernance, on the other hand, calls for public
participation in governmental decision making
45
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
via the Internet (Garson, 2006). Egovernment governance (Slaughter 2004, Blomgren Bingham,
traditionally entails online delivery of government Nabatchi, O’Leary 2005)
services and information to constituents such as Actual egovernment transformation leads to
renewing driver’s license online and providing egovernance with the following components:
documents which would fall within the transac
F
tional stage. Egovernance involves direct online P+ Go to the people
participation in government by constituents such P+ Communicate in real time
O
as creating applications with exportable, machine P+ Exportable, machine readable, searchable,
readable government data or virtual participation raw data
in a town hall meeting. Egovernance incorpo P+ Web 2.0: sharing, collaboration, creativity
O
rates the responsibility of government to provide P+ Blogs, Wikis, Mashups
relevant and timely information to citizens with P+ Podcasts, Webcasts, RSS (Really Simple
R
the ability for citizens to use that information in Syndication) Feeds
ways that aids in the decisionmaking or policy P+ Social Networking: Facebook, YouTube,
P
communication process. Twitter
What is transformation in government and P+ Datamining
L
in egovernment? Traditionally, transformation P+ Crowdsourcing
in government is characterized as improving P+ Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
A
service delivery, performance, efficiency and ef P+ Applications
fectiveness and reducing costs and being customer
B
centered. There are two kinds of egovernment These components underpin the increased
transformation: within government and between transparency and opportunities for civic engage
government and citizens. ment that ultimately change the nature of the state.
O
EGovernment transformation within govern The trends in egovernment transformation have
L
ment adheres to the traditional government view been to change the government business model
of egovernment as: improving management and reengineer government to be more efficient
within government, and providing online trans and client centered. Part of reengineering has
G
actions for the public. Traditional egovernment focused on eliminating government stovepipes
I
transformation examples are eprocurement and and providing more horizontal, cross agency IT
online budgeting and accounting systems. solutions with interoperability (Kettl and Fesler,
G
Egovernment transformation between govern 2005). The Geospatial OneStop (now geodata.
I
ment and the public focuses on online transactions gov) was the federal government’s first attempt
such as: auto registration, vital records and per to break down the agency silos and organize data
mits. Hence, we find governments adhering to the across agencies. In its initial stages, the geospatial
traditional ideal of egovernment transformation onestop acted as a repository for all agency col
between government and the public as transac lections of relevant latitude and longitude markers.
tional. Egovernance, online collaborations with Markers collected by the different agencies
the public, is the next wave of egovernment trans typically identified a property, site, operations or
formation. With the advent of egovernance, online other center for which the given agency had an
government will have reached the transformative interest or responsibility. Cross listing allowed
stage. In that transformative stage, the changing agencies access to a centralized resource center
nature of state is one that is more citizencentric for assets of the United States. This centralized
or the more horizontal state that is associated with repository was published to all agencies and to the
46
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
public allowing for easily accessible, consistent, Transparency, citizen collaboration and citizen
and transparent geo data. engagement are the current next wave and the
The current form of geodata.gov is a cen ultimate state transformation.
tralized repository for federal, state and local
government geographical data where differ
F
ence citizen groups, government groups and TRANSPARENCY, CIVIC
citizengovernment groups can upload, map and PARTICIPATION, EGOVERNANCE,
O
coordinate data to assist with disaster identifica AND THE CHANGING STATE
tion and relief, service provision, mapping and
other services. Governments at all levels seek to The United States has a long history of identifying
O
achieve similar cross agency cooperative efforts the means and methods for promoting transparency
to maximize government service provision driven and civic participation. The purpose of promoting
R
by transparency and interaction with citizens. It is transparency is largely to promote accountability
more horizontal in nature because nontraditional and trust in government. The purpose of develop
P
forms of governmenttogovernment, government ing new means for civic participation is to per
to citizen, and citizentocitizen relationships form petuate democratic ideals. Both transparency and
L
to enhance governance. civic participation are goals achieved with the aid
The federal egovernment Act of 2002 made of electronic devices and enhance the governance
A
citizencentric web sites a priority in the United structure. However, there are rarely agreed upon
States federal government (Industry Advisory definitions for transparency and civic engagement.
B
Council, 2005). Industry experts speak of hav In the book, Open Government: Collabora
ing citizencentric government and consider the tion, Transparency, and Participation in Practice,
United States Department of Agriculture Web author Aaron Swartz argues that transparency is
O
site, which has developed user personas, virtual simply a word that takes on the definition of the
L
representatives and performance measures, a “political thing that someone wants to promote.”
model of citizencentric government. He warns that those who would use the word in
Citizens are forcing a major change in the ways relation to policy may be trying to sell themselves,
G
government service has become institutionalized. rather than actually planning to enact a concept that
I
Citizens desire to be the drivers of the service de would enhance government information sharing
livery process, deciding the time, place and scope or information accessibility. Fellow Open Gov
G
of interaction through direct use of technology to ernment author Koelkebeck offers the insight that
I
interact with government (Ahmed, 2008). in order to be relevant, transparency is a concept
These nascent efforts exemplify the ultimate that must be applied to an audience and gives an
changes in state that are more horizontal and example of the definition of transparency as ap
citizencentric expected to be associated with plied internal to an organization versus applied
egovernance. The next wave of transformations externally (Lathrop, Ruma 2010). When applied
in egovernment increasingly will come from internally, transparency relates to the ability to
egovernance. Today, constituents, whether they answer a given question about the internal op
are state agencies, citizens or businesses, operate erations of an organization. An organization is
collaboratively online. People expect to interact transparent if that answer can be found within a
with government using the latest online applica more immediate colleague circle, than if a question
tions. Some federal agencies, states and cities “boomerangs” back to the seeker, after making a
have begun to recognize this and are beginning to wide sweep, empty.
disseminate information using the new channels.
47
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
In traditional economic terms, transparency required information to be open to the public for
deals with the concept of eliminating asymmetries the purposes of government accountability and
of information so that everyone makes decisions meeting the expectation of a citizen’s “right to
using the same information. From this perspec know.” (Public Law 89554, 80 Stat. 383, 1966)
tive, eliminating asymmetries within organizations With the exception of certain documents that
F
would allow for more efficiencies and knowledge pertain to national security or the personal details
transfer. Equally, Yochai Benkler argues that with of individuals, government bears the burden of
O
access and use of digital technologies, greater information sharing.
transparency occurs as people collaborate and Amendments to the Freedom of Information
negotiate. Information that would typically not be Act in the Electronic Freedom of Information Act
O
transparent that is related to individual assump of 1996, introduced the idea that the government
tions and perspectives moves to the foreground was also responsible for publishing information in
R
as people make their preferences clear (Benkler electronic formats to add increased accessibility
2006). Transparency becomes an outcome related to data and information related to the government
P
to the lowered transaction costs of collaborating for citizens (Public Law No. 104231, 110 Stat.
and negotiating online to achieve a decision. 3048, 1996). The Open Government Initiative of
L
Mathew Hindman refers to the formal and 2009 expanded the government’s data sharing ef
informal barriers in the architecture of the Internet forts with the express purpose of using interactive
A
that allow or do not allow certain citizens to access Internet tools to increase transparency and civic
certain information that may allow them to par participation (Obama 2009).
B
ticipate in the political process (Hindman 2009). To achieve transparency, government informa
He makes a direct link between the hierarchical tion must be accessible and usable via an online
nature of government information and the ability venue. Information must be readily identified and
O
of citizens to interact based on the level of infor accessible in a manner that allows for information
L
mation in the hierarchy. Transparency is related to be easily retrieved in a useful and exportable
to elimination of hierarchical barriers established format, much like raw data so that citizens can
within the information systems of government so readily identify pertinent information and connect
G
that citizens have access to information necessary it to a problem in need of solution or a decision
I
to participate in the governance process. making process. “Data transparency can spur
In Governance and Information Technology: economic, scientific, and educational innova
G
from Electronic Government to Information tion – as well as civic engagement – by making
I
Government, Lau contextualizes transparency in it easier to build applications, conduct analysis,
terms of good governance and sites the adoption by and perform research” (Orszag, 2009). Achieving
various governments of acts such as the Freedom government transparency online should not be
of Information Act (MayorSchonberger and Lazer an end in itself. The goal should be actual civic
2007). He argues that organizing government in engagement enabled online.
formation online for accessibility engenders trust True government transparency goes beyond
and accessibility to government. This increased simply providing information or data. First, the
accessibility and trust allow for better governance data must be accessible and useable. Second,
and national growth. providing data is not enough; the data must have
Historically, information was viewed as a context. Providing accessible data with context
national asset to be protected by the government. creates the environment for increased civic en
With the enactment of the Freedom of Information gagement that can have many benefits. To achieve
Act, that asset was declared a public asset which civic engagement and a more citizencentric
48
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
government, the information must be readily know equals transparency: the idea that simply
understood by providing context, such as reports disclosing information creates accountability. Ad
and enabling legislation. ditionally, transparency today is not just slapping
Civic engagement and collaboration are the up a PDF; those days are over. Of course, PDFs
major beneficiaries of transparency and transfor of government documents still are necessary.
F
mation. For our purposes the definition of civic However, transparency today is machinereadable,
engagement is as follows: raw data that is accessible and useable with the
O
Civic engagement means working to make a following attributes:
difference in the civic life of our communities and
developing the combination of knowledge, skills, P+ Data Exportable in: XLS, (Microsoft
O
values and motivation to make that difference. Excel), CSV (comma, separated values),,
It means promoting the quality of life in a com XML,(Extensible markup language), RSS
R
munity, through both political and nonpolitical (Really Simple Syndication)
processes (Ehrlich, 2000). P+ Open standards for holistic exportation of
P
Eckert and Henschel note in their chapter, raw data: APIs (Application Programming
“Supporting Community in the Digital Age”, Interfaces) allowing for full exportation
L
that the Internet allows people to interact with and database searches
information in new ways, and supports more
A
collaboration and democratization of information Furthermore, governments cannot simply
(Eckert and Henschel, 2000). Increased citizen provide raw data; to encourage civic engagement
B
engagement can cause greater government ac and collaboration, they must provide context and
countability and efficiency. Information is power make information understandable with maps,
and people can hold governments more account charts, reports, visualization and legislative and
O
able with increased information, but that should policy context.
L
not be the only goal. With more accessible and But whatever governments do, the presenta
useable online data and information, people can tion of endless facts can fall flat unless there are
create applications for governments at no cost to independent developers who know what to do
G
government. Moreover, true civic engagement with them. As Mr. Torkington admits, failing to
I
requires collaboration and a twoway street with grasp this point led to disappointing results in
government, rather than just receiving input from New Zealand. In his enthusiasm for technology,
G
constituents. he failed to think much about who would use the
I
As Tim O’Reilly states: data he was posting and why. A wad of facts was
dumped into cyberspace, with no instructions to
Participation means true engagement with citizens find good ways of using them. There they sit,
in the business of government, and actual collabo unread by any machine. Even the geekiest types
ration with citizens in the design of government can be nonplussed when they are presented with
programs. For example, the Open Government data but no purpose (Economist, 2010).
Brainstorming conducted by the White House is Successful governments must communicate
an attempt to truly engage citizens in the making effectively with people to be relevant, and people
of policy, not just to hear their opinions after the are demanding greater participation with their
fact (O’Reilly, 2010). governments. Increasingly, today that means com
municating using Web 2.0 channels that allow us
To achieve civic engagement, transparency ers to be content creators. Web 2.0 is described as,
also must go beyond the notion that the rightto “Internet usage that involves online collaboration,
49
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
networking between individual users, and user Examples of Web 2.0 activities include blogging
created content” (News Report, 2007). Web 2.0 and microblogging, creating shared content and
offers uniquely citizencentric opportunities for data sets, crowdsourcing, Second Life, MySpace,
development of applications and use of content. and YouTube, Flickr, and geospatial applications.
This development relies upon the government to The foundation of egovernance and Web
F
act as a primary information repositiry and source 2.0 tools relies upon the insurance that data are
for application development, while integrating highvalue or high quality with assurances of ac
O
citizens directly into the application and content curacy. Achieving egovernance through increased
development process. transparency, collaboration and civic engagement
entails politics, policy and technology. Having
O
accessible raw data is only the beginning: a
EGOVERNANCE AND WEB 2.0 multipronged approach including transparency
R
and participation is necessary. Examples of the
A Booz Allen Hamilton survey found, contrary to implementation of Web 2.0 systems in govern
P
popular belief, that Web 2.0 use is prevalent across ment are becoming more and more prevalent as
both genders and all age groups (News Report, we transition to egovernance.
L
2007). Similarly, Pew research suggests growing Cities and states across the country are begin
numbers of users of social media and other Web ning to make geospatial information available
A
2.0 tools across generations, doubling in those over online for the public to data mine and mash up.
the age of 50 in the past year alone (Pew 2010). Some of the results have been public assistance
B
Web 2.0 tools offer the traditional transactional with fire and flood victims, and crime solving.
tools of egovernment the opportunity to transform The country of Sweden has a virtual embassy in
to more engaging egovernance. Second Life, the Second House of Sweden, which
O
The following is a list of criteria describing is patterned after the reallife House of Sweden in
L
Web 2.0: Washington, D.C. (News Report 2007).
In the spring of 2008, Rep. Edward Markey,
P+ Weboriented architecture chairman of the United States House Subcom
G
P+ Shared content, shared tools mittee on Telecommunications and the Internet,
I
P+ “Mashup”: an individually determined mix held the first ever simulcast virtual Congressional
of tools and content hearing on Second Life. The simulcast hearing
G
P+ User participation and community even featured avatars of journalists, advocates
I
development and government employees on Second Life (News
P+ Ease of access and use Report 2008).
P+ “Permanent beta” (National Electronic Researchers from the University of California
Commerce Coordinating Council, 2007). at Davis put a 3D model of the California Expo
sition and State Fair in Second Life and trained
The difference between Web 2.0 tools and staff from the California Department of Health
other Internet tools is that they are interactive in Services on how to administer antibiotics from
nature—meaning that they require the participa the Strategic National Stockpile in the case of an
tion of people to grow and expand and that they anthrax attack (Raths 2008).
never really reach a final state. They change and Robert Furberg, a research analyst at the Center
grow based on the needs and desires of the users. for Simulator Technology in Research Triangle
Examples of Web 2.0 tools include wikis, inter Park, N.C., made the following comments regard
active programming interfaces, interactive rank ing virtual reality triage:
ing, data compilation and visualization systems.
50
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
A fullscale exercise takes a lot of advanced “Give Babies Room to Breathe”, and another on
preparation and requires daylong drills – it is abuse of elderly persons called, “Elder Abuse
expensive and time consuming, he said. With is Everyone’s Business” (Texas Department of
simulation, we can run through a mass casualty Family and Protective Services). The Texas De
event and change the parameters. Each case is a partment of Agriculture has Facebook, podcasts
F
little different, and it is available 24/7 (Raths 2008). and RSS and is one of many Texas state agencies
After Hurricane Katrina, the State of Louisiana using Twitter (Texas Department of Agriculture).
O
implemented a model collaborative GIS disaster The Texas Department of Parks & Wildlife uses
management program (Cassidy 2008). The pro Flickr for streaming video and YouTube for videos.
gram tracks people who have had to leave their (Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Photostream) (Texas
O
homes, and it also provides basic services to areas Parks and Wildelife’s Channel).
that do not have electricity or water. Crowdsourcing also can lead to increased
R
The City of Rowlett, Texas, population of government efficiency and cost savings when the
53,000, has fullscale online interactive mapping public can access and export raw data to create
P
with access to crime statistics, building footprints, useful applications. As noted, in an article in the
property for sale and sex offender data. Rowlett Economist, “Now that citizens’ groups and com
L
uses the North Texas Council of Governments’ panies have the raw data, they can use them to
(NTCOG) iCommunities for its online mapping. improve city services in ways that cashstrapped
A
According to Mack Maguire of NCTCOG, “It’s local governments cannot” (The Open Society,
taking information about a specific jurisdiction 2010). Examples of applications with crowdsourc
B
and providing that information across the Web ing include everything from application contests
for use by employees of that organization, and hosted by governments to government websites
also by citizens of that area” (Shared GIS Helps that allow the public to create applications to
O
Texas Cities Create Rich Online Maps). nonprofit organizations that create applications
L
Other communities and states are beginning using exported government data.
to use MySpace and YouTube to reach their con The City of Manor, Texas, has a unique crowd
stituents. The California Department of Motor sourcing forum for public input and collaboration
G
Vehicles provides drivers education on YouTube to develop new technology and applications for
I
and has a 24/7 question and answer service on the Manor website. The forum, Manor Labs, is a
MySpace (California Department of Motor Ve City of Manor website dedicated solely to public
G
hicles (video)). (California Department of Motor innovation and suggestions to improve Manor
I
Vehicles). A number of governments have web city government. People can go to the Manor
casts, podcasts and RSS feeds. Lab website and can view training videos and a
The new State of Texas website, texas.gov, user guide. They must register and sign in, and
has a social media presence among various state then they can begin submitting their own ideas
agencies encompassing the use of: Facebook, or review and comment on proposed solutions.
Flickr, Twitter, YouTube, Podcast and RSS. Ideas that people submit go through several stages
Specific examples from texas.gov include the of vetting and voting by other users. Manor Labs
Texas Department of Agriculture, Department participants earn points according to their level of
of Family & Protective Services, Department of participation. The points operate as an incentive,
Transportation, Department of Motor Vehicles, since different levels of points can be turned in for
Parks & Wildlife. The Texas Department of Family prizes such as “be mayor for a day”. Some ideas
& Protective Services has a number of YouTube have gone all of the way through the process and
videos in English and Spanish including one on Manor has adopted them (City of Manor, Manor
preventing sudden infant death syndrome called, Labs).
51
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
The City of Manor also uses See Click Fix, a “Portland’s TriMet opened its data to app
technology that enables residents to report non developers way back in 2005. Since that day,
emergency street, water and wastewater problems some 30plus apps have been developed. Some do
in their neighborhoods. Manor plans to expand simple tasks like adapt bus schedules read easier
the feature soon to include the Development Ser on the iPhone. But others are more complex,
F
vices and Police Department. People can report tracking your bus as you wait, and texting you the
problems online or by email or by using a mobile time you will actually arrive at your destination.
O
phone application (City of Manor, About). One app even sets off your phone’s alarm a few
Data.gov and Recovery.gov are websites that minutes before you reach your stop in case you
the federal government has created (data.gov) want to catch a quick nap while bussing across
O
(recovery.gov). Data.gov contains a raw data town” (Dillow 2009).
catalogue and a geodata catalogue. Furthermore, San Francisco and Washington D.C likewise
R
it has numerous applications in an apps showcase allow constituents to create applications from
with mashups and visualizations from federal gov their data banks. According to the San Francisco
P
ernment data. The recovery.gov website provides website:
data and tracks funding from the Recovery Act. DataSF is a clearinghouse of datasets available
L
Many states now have websites tracking Re from the City & County of San Francisco. The
covery Act spending in their states in some fashion. goal in releasing this site was:
A
The states vary widely in the amount of raw data
and applications they provide for stimulus track 1. Improve access to data
B
ing. Some states do not provide any mashups or 2. Help our community create innovative apps
data exportation. Others, for instance, the states 3. Understand what datasets you’d like to see
of Maryland and Kentucky use visualization via 4. Get feedback on the quality of our datasets
O
mapping to track stimulus funding down to the (datasf.org)
L
county level and provide machinereadable raw
data (statestat.maryland.gov) (kentuckyatwork. The San Francisco website has numerous
ky.gov). Also, both states use mapping to match downloadable datasets and an agency scorecard for
G
stimulus spending with areas of economic need agencies that make data public. Furthermore, the
I
in their state. Good Jobs First rated Maryland website has an App Showcase where constituents
number one and Kentucky number two in its can post applications they have developed using
G
January of 2010, stimulus website rankings. The the website’s datasets. The website states, “The
I
Connecticut stimulus website, number three in the DataSF App Showcase celebrates the innovators
Good Jobs First rankings, provided search and data and innovations who are championing the Mayor’s
exportation features (Mattera, McIlvaine, Lacy vision of a more collaborative and open govern
and Carcas, 2010) (recovery.ct.gov). ment” (datasf.org).
The United Kingdom (UK) website, data. The Washington D.C. website provides 435
gov.uk, allows constituents to create their own downloadable datasets in several formats and
applications using data from the extensive data links to create charts and graphs for visualization.
bank (data.uk.gov). The UK website has an ex The website has numerous geographic informa
tensive searchable function for raw data from the tion system (GIS) datasets that can be exported
data bank. Furthermore, people are encouraged to create mashups. Also, D.C. has an App Store
to submit the applications and mashups that they with applications created by D.C. and by the
create from the data so they can be shared with public (data.dc.gov).
other users. Also, the UK website contains a blog, Nonprofit organizations, such as the Sunlight
forum and wiki. Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation,
52
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
have websites with databanks of government New York City also recently held an applica
data. Additionally, they provide applications with tions contest, the Big Apps contest, which New
mashups and visualization. Sunlight Foundation York modeled after the Washington D.C. Apps
has datasets on its website containing state and for Democracy contest. The New York contest’s
federal campaign contributions with bulk down goal was to encourage people to develop web and
F
loads and APIs (TransparencyData). mobile device applications using New York City
The Kids Count Data Center of the Annie E. data available on its NYC Data Mine website.
O
Casey Foundation provides data by state with (http://www.nyc.gov/html/datamine/html/home/
community level data and data across states home.shtml). New York awarded $20,000 in prize
with comparisons. The data includes hundreds money to thirteen winners at the awards ceremony
O
of measure of child wellbeing. Users can create on February 4, 2010 (NYC BigAppps).
profiles, maps and rankings and access raw data On March 8, 2010, President Obama released a
R
(Kids Count Data Center). memorandum regarding “Guidance on the Use of
Additionally, organizations of all types, Challenges and Prizes to Promote Open Govern
P
including governments, increasingly are using ment”. Also, in March of 2010, the White House
contests for the public to develop applications, held a workshop for federal officials on conducting
L
products or solutions. The Sunlight Foundations online competitions. Various entities such as the
Apps for America 1 and Apps for America 2 set PepsiCo Foundation and the Sunlight Foundation
A
the standard for online application contests. In gave presentations regarding their successful ex
April of 2009, the Sunlight Foundation awarded periences with contests (Sternstein 2010).
B
prizes to six winners who developed applications On March 1, 2010, the U.S. Army launched
using government information. Apps for America “Apps for the Army Contest” which was open to
2, the current contest, challenges people to create all army personnel but limited to the first 100 to
O
apps using the federal Data.gov website. As Peter enroll with applications to be submitted by May
L
Orszag, the OMB Director, said regarding the con 15. The army will award cash prizes to winners
test: “The government doesn’t have a monopoly from a $30,000 pool (G6 Launches ‘Apps for
on best ideas. We look forward to unleashing the the Army Contest’). Furthermore, the Department
G
creativity of the American people to show us what of Education has an Open Innovation Portal for
I
is possible and help us find the innovative path the public to collaborate on education ideas and
forward” (Orszag, 2009). solutions (Open Innovation Portal).
G
Washington D.C. has been at the forefront of The majority of these efforts by government to
I
government technology application contests with incorporate Web 2.0 tools into their egovernment
its Apps for Democracy contest. In June of 2009, tools and transition to egovernance have been
Washington awarded $50,000 in prize money at successful with governments navigating the waters
a value of $2.3 million to the city (Apps for De of success with their constituents in beta mode.
mocracy). Winners included 47 Web, Facebook However, as with any transition in government
and iPhone apps which are available on the Apps or governance, bumps along the road, fear, and
for Democracy website. Now D.C. is launching mishaps occur. At this stage of development, few
its second contest with Community Edition, a steps in the transition are clear.
contest to develop a platform for submitting 311
requests to the city with $34,000 available for
prizes. Moreover, D.C. has created a guide for
other governments to develop their own contests
with a downloadable PDF on the Apps for De
mocracy Website.
53
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
WEB 2.0, GOVERNANCE, is familial, business or government. Real engage

AND CONTEXT ment requires mutual effort and collaboration, not
just making accusations and filing complaints.
A recent report from the LBJ School of Public With online collaboration and civic engagement
Affairs, noted that city officials in Kyle, Texas, both the public and governments can reap many
F
fear that the public could misunderstand online benefits. Constituents can obtain useful informa
information if the City provides the information tion and be involved in shaping their government
O
without context. The report further states that Kyle and collaborating on projects. Governments can
officials believe that context is necessary regard become more effective and efficient and provide
ing program details and comparisons among cities improved services through constituent involve
O
(Chapman and Greenberg, 2010). Additionally, at ment. Accessible raw data available online in
a related forum sponsored by the LBJ School of a useful format enables collaboration, such as
R
Public Affairs, on April 23, 2010, Dustin Haisler, crowdsourcing and the development of online
formerly of the City of Manor, Texas, reiterated government applications by the public.
P
this point in his remarks as a featured speaker. Likewise, we can be mislead by the notion of
Interaction requires both citizens and government participation to think that it is limited to having
L
in an open dialogue. government decisionmakers “get input” from
Some governments are concerned that the pub citizens. This would be like thinking that enabling
A
lic will use online information solely for catching comments on a website is the beginning and end
accountability blunders. Certainly, collaboration of social media! It is a trap for outsiders to think
B
is much more than looking for problems and civic that Government 2.0 is a way to use new technol
engagement should encompass the positive aspects ogy to amplify the voices of citizens to influence
of praising government accomplishments and those in power, and by insiders as a way to harness
O
looking for shared solutions. Just as governments and channel those voices to advance their causes
L
must engage constituents in a twoway street, (O’Reilly, 2010).
constituents must do the same with government.
Consequently, to encourage online transparency
G
and promote collaboration and civic engagement, EGOVERNANCE CURRENT STATUS
I
constituents must be actively engaged with gov
ernments in a productive manner. In their chapter, Individual entities at all levels of government,
G
“the dark side of open government”, Fung and federal, state and local, have made significant
I
Weil state: progress in opening up government data to the
public. However, some entities have been much
But the larger responsibility of citizens is not just more proactive than others. Several cities and
to judge when officials behave badly, but also to states have moved from the transaction stage to the
provide feedback on their performance in more transformation stage allowing for egovernance
nuanced ways, including registering approval with public collaboration and civic engagement.
when government performs well – when it protects Changes are occurring daily in the federal gov
people’s interests and solves public problems ef ernment and states and cities across the nation.
fectively and justly (Fung and Weil, 2010). We are seeing a variety of outcomes today
from governments providing machinereadable
As any parent or mediator knows, healthy data. The public and governments are beginning
relationships require cooperation and positive to engage in crowdsourcing and collaboration,
experiences. This is true whether the relationship particularly regarding creating applications. Civic
54
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
engagement has increased with wikis, blogs and SOLUTIONS AND

exporting raw data to create mashups, visualiza RECOMMENDATIONS
tions and applications.
Furthermore, governments are experiencing in There are numerous recommendations to encour
creased efficiencies, time savings and cost savings age increased transparency, collaboration and civic
F
from providing exportable, raw data to the public. engagement through egovernance. However,
According to a recent U.S. PIRG report, transpar these solutions do not come without implementa
O
ency saves money, bolsters citizen confidence and tion challenges.
increases civic engagement (Following the Money The following are recommended best practices
How the 50 States Rate in Providing Online Ac for governments to implement:
O
cess to Government Spending Data, 2010, p1).
The report sites City of Houston officials showing P+ Have champions and direction from
R
improved public confidence after launching the leadership
Houston transparency website (pp1, 2). Missouri’s P+ Provide onestop shop for exportable raw
P
transparency website, created with existing staff data
and appropriations, allows the public to search P+ Provide raw data in an open standard
L
more than $20 billion in annual state spending format
(p3). The Texas Comptroller reportedly saved P+ Provide data in: XLS, (Microsoft Excel),
A
$4.8 million from more efficient government two CSV (comma, separated values), XML,
years after launching its transparency website (p. (Extensible markup language), RSS
B
3). The State of Utah estimated that it has saved (Really Simple Syndication)
millions of dollars from reduced information re P+ Use APIs – Application Programming
quests since launching its transparency website (p. Interface: programming which allows oth
O
3). Additionally, the federal transparency website er software to interact
L
cost less than $1 million to create and allows the P+ Provide context for data
public to search more than $2 trillion in annual P+ Have the government and the public create
federal spending (p3). applications
G
States continue to improve their websites track P+ Create applications that are sustainable and
I
ing the Recovery Act dollars with several states relevant
leading the way. Today, we can see examples of
G
government websites that have features for map Create a system of recognition of the best ef
I
ping, visualization and exportable raw databases. forts. Various award and ranking programs provide
Governments are using crowdsourcing for col recognition to innovative government technology
laboration and civic engagement. Several cities solutions. These programs continue to be catalysts
have led the way with extensive machinereadable for governments’ development of exportable, raw
databanks and applications contests. However, databanks. Several of the entities with recognition
there is much more work to be done. How do we programs are as follows:
achieve the goal of using online transparency and
egovernance to achieve greater collaboration and
civic engagement? How do we insure that the
applications the public creates are relevant and Award Programs
sustainable? Will contests wear thin? Is there a
better model? P+ The Center for Digital Government
P+ Government Technology
55
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
P+ Federal Computer Week Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Aneesh

P+ Public Technology Institute Chopra (formerly State of Virginia Secretary of
P+ NASCIO Technology) as the federal Chief Technology
P+ The EGovernance Institute Officer (CTO).
States have had numerous officials as champi
F
Ranking Programs ons of online transparency, as well. The State of
Utah has had several champions including legis
O
P+ USPIRG lative leaders such as Rep. Steve Urquhart who
P+ Good Jobs First started a wiki, Politicopia. Also, the Utah Senate
P+ Rutgers University Majority implemented SenateSite.com with social
O
P+ Brown University networking (Fletcher in Lathrop, 2010). In New
York State, as Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo
R
CHALLENGES championed transparency, and in Missouri former
Governor Matt Blunt was a big proponent.
P
In the public policy arena, change does not just In Texas, State Representative Mark Strama
happen. Change requires knowledge, education, authored legislation in 2007, requiring the State of
L
and supporters who are “champions” for the Texas to post its checkbook online (Tax Spending
particular changes. You must have champions Transparency). Researchers at the LBJ School
A
to implement new public policies and officials of Public Affairs have been working with state
must have the political will to champion change. leaders in the Texas House of Representatives
B
Moreover, for change to be permanent, solutions and Senate, and agency officials with the Office
must be sustainable and relevant. of the Comptroller of Public Accounts, Depart
Elected officials and public servants must ment of Information Resources and the Legislative
O
have the political will to accomplish changes in Budget Board (Chapman and Greenberg). Some
L
public policy and those seeking public policy changes already have been implemented and in
changes must find leaders who will champion April of 2010, the Comptroller ‘s Office initiated
their causes. Whether, you are seeking changes in an online Open Data Center (Open Data Center).
G
a government’s budget or technology, champions Also, several committees in the Texas House of
I
still are necessary. Leaders exist who have been Representatives and Senate had interim committee
champions of change regarding transparency and study charges related to online transparency and
G
open data in federal state and local government. open data in Texas state and local government.
I
At the federal government level, although it Moreover, in the current Texas legislative session,
did not pass, Senators John McCain and Barack several legislators have filed related bills, and the
Obama displayed bipartisan support for gov Texas Speaker of the House and Lt. Governor
ernment data transparency by cosponsoring the have named committees with related missions.
Strengthening Transparency and Accountability In several cities, mayors and technology of
in Federal Spending Act of 2008. As one of his ficers have championed online raw data. The
first official presidential acts, President Obama City of New York initiated the NYC.gov portal.
released a memorandum regarding “Transparency In Washington D.C., Chief Technology Officer
and Open Government.” Additionally, President Vivek Kundra (now Federal CTO) and Mayor
Obama appointed two wellknown open data Adrian Fenty implemented the Apps for Democ
transparency advocates to important posts. He racy Contest, and in San Francisco, Mayor Gavin
appointed Vivek Kundra, (formerly Washington Newsom, Chief Information Officer, and Chris
D.C. Chief Technology Officer), as the federal Vein CIO implemented data.sf.
56
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
Champions for open data and transparency In future contests, the city hopes to produce
also can take the form of nonprofit organizations more sustainable prizes. “If we’re going to have
such as the Sunlight Foundation, the Annie E. an app contest, the winning application may not
Casey Foundation, and OMB Watch through their just get a prize,” Nath said. “We’re thinking about
advocacy activities. Finally, citizens can cham it as a way to find the best vendor and provide
F
pion open data and transparency online through them with a contract, a way to work with the city
participating in political campaigns and advocacy. for a year” (Do Apps for Democracy and Other
O
Another challenge to transparent raw data Contests Create Sustainable Applications?).
in government can be a lack of knowledge and Also, from a public policy standpoint, there
resources. Governments can get valuable applica remains the question of lasting civic engagement.
O
tions at no or very little cost through collaboration For instance, do people who participate in applica
and crowdsourcing. Elected officials and public tion contests or create mashups from open govern
R
servants must be educated and knowledgeable. Do ment data remain engaged in government, or is
not reinvent the wheel; use existing technology their civic engagement temporary and fleeting?
P
and free software and partners in government, pri
vate sector and foundations. This can save money
L
with transparency efforts. Manor Labs (the City FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS
of Manor, Texas) has partnered with the Stanford
A
University, Peace Dot program, lead by Persuasive There are several future research directions re
Technology Lab at Stanford University. The city garding transparency issues in egovernance and
B
of San Francisco DataSF has partnered with The civic engagement including cost issues associated
Center for Investigative Reporting’s California with the adoption of open databanks, performance
Watch reporting team, Spot.Us, Craigslist founder, measurement and maintaining public involvement.
O
Craig Newmark, MAPLight.org, the Gov 2.0 The following are areas for immediate research:
L
Summit, Sun Light Foundation and others.
Finally, governments face a real challenge in P+ Low cost methods for governments to
making data applications relevant and sustainable build the technology for providing raw da
G
and civic engagement and collaboration more tasets in machinereadable formats
I
than just a one time event. Bryon Sivak, Vivek P+ Metrics and tracking use of datasets and
Kundra’s successor as Washington D.C. CIO, has applications
G
discontinued the Apps for Democracy contest. P+ Development and adoption of benchmarks
I
If you look at the applications developed in both and performance measures
of the contests we ran, and actually in many of the P+ Continued exploration of ways to collabo
contests being run in other states and localities,” rate with the public
Sivak said, “you get a lot of applications that are P+ Exploration of the information communi
designed for smartphones, that are designed for ties that may develop with new methods
devices that aren’t necessarily used by the large and modes of collaboration
populations that might need to interact with these P+ Research on whether people have contin
services on a regular basis (New D.C. CTO Scraps ued civic engagement or not and the form
‘Apps for Democracy’). Furthermore, the sustain in which this engagement occurs
ability of citizendeveloped applications can be P+ Research on how to keep people who have
an issue. Jay Nath, the manager of Innovation for collaborated interested in civic engagement
San Francisco, is trying to address that problem
in future application contests.
57
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
CONCLUSION fewer costly information requests and they also

can reap the benefit of constituent developed ap
The landscape to achieve collaboration and civic plications at no cost.
engagement through egovernance and online However, government transparency with ac
transparency is full of opportunities and involves cessible raw data does not just happen. Govern
F
politics, policy and technology. How do we harness ments must have the knowledge and technical
these opportunities in a useful manner? capabilities. Also, elected and appointed govern
O
Government information can no longer ment officials must champion these policies for
simply be provided online as a PDF. Certainly, them to be implemented and become a reality.
PDFs of reports and documents are necessary, Furthermore, we must strive for relevant and
O
but constituents expect much more in the forum sustainable data and applications, and continued
of today. People are accustomed to accessing civic engagement. The creation of a short lived or
R
information in the form of exportable, raw data outdated application or the one time or infrequent
on business and social networking websites, and engagement of constituents is not the goal. The
P
they expect the same from government. We oper goal of transparency in egovernance is continued
ate in a world where transparency means raw data collaboration and lasting civic engagement. To
L
that is exportable from government databanks in realize the potential of open data and transparency
machinereadable formats. But, just providing for collaboration and civic engagement, we must
A
raw data is not in itself transparency. achieve continuing public participation.
Government raw data must be readily visible
B
and accessible to constituents. They must be able to
easily find and access it on a government website REFERENCES
in an intuitive fashion. Furthermore, government
O
must provide context for the data such as reports, Ahmed, R. (2008). The state IT master plan. State
L
maps, charts and directives. of Louisiana. Office of Information Technology.
To engage the public, raw data must be in Aichholzer, G., & Burkert, H. (2004). Public
teractive and there must be opportunities for
G
sector information in the digital age: Between
collaboration. Web 2.0 applications provide markets, public management and citizens’ rights.
I
civic engagement when constituents can interact Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.
virtually with their governments in conversations
Benkler, Y. (2006). The wealth of networks: How
G
and public meetings. Civic engagement occurs
I
with crowdsourcing when citizens independently social production transforms markets and Free
analyze the raw data and create mashups, visual dom. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University
izations and applications. Press.
Federal, state and local government agencies
Blomgren Bingham, L., Nabatchi, T., & O’Leary,
are beginning to engage citizens by collaborat
R. (2005). The new governance: Practices and
ing and crowdsourcing with the provision of
processes for stakeholder and citizen participation
exportable raw data. Some governments have
in the work of government. Public Administration
experimented with application contests where
Review, 65(5), 1–12.
constituents develop applications from online gov
ernment databanks. This type of civic engagement Brito, J., & Perraut, D. (2010). Transparency and
can provide efficiencies and save governments’ performance in government. North Carolina Jour
time and money. With raw data readily accessible nal of Law and Technology, 161. Retrieved from
and exportable to constituents, governments face http://cite.ncjolt.org/ 11NCJOLTOnlineEd161
58
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
Cassidy, J. (2008). Enterprise GIS strengthen Executive Office of the President, Office of
government operations. Government Technology. Management and Budget. (2010). Guidance on
Retrieved from www.govtech.com/gt/ print_ar the use of challenges and prizes to promote open
ticle.php?id=265061 government. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.
com/doc/28210000/ GuidanceontheUse
F
Center for Digital Government. (n.d.). Surveys
ofChallengesandPrizes toPromoteOpen
and awards. Retrieved from http://www.center
Government
digitalgov.com/ surveys.php?survey=cdg_bow
O
Freedom of Information Act, Public Law 89554,
Chapman, G., & Greenberg, S. (2010). Texas
80 Stat. 383 (1966)
financial transparency: Open and online. Austin,
O
TX: LBJ School of Public Affairs, The University Fung, A., & Weil, D. (2010). The dark side of open
of Texas at Austin. government . In Lathrop, D., & Ruma, L. (Eds.),
R
Open government collaboration: Transparency,
City of Manor. (n.d.). Labs. Retrieved from http://
and participation in practice (p. 107). Sebastopol,
P
cityofmanor.org/ wordpress/labs/
CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc.
City of Manor. (n.d.). About. Retrieved from http://
Garson, G. D. (2006). Managing information tech
L
cityofmanor.org/ wordpress/seeclickfix/about/
City of San Francisco. (n.d.). DataSF beta. state. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
A
Retrieved from http://www.datasf.org/ page.
Garson, G. D., & Pavlichev, A. (2004). Digital
php?page=about
B
government: Principles and best practices. Her
Dillow, C. (August 19, 2009). Five cities that got shey, PA: Idea Group Publishing.
civic apps before San Francisco (Sorry, Gavin).
O
Greenberg, S. (2007). State egovernment strate
Fast Company. Retrieved from http://www.fast
gies (Report to Congressional Research Service).
L
company.com/ blog/claydillow/culturebuffet/
Austin, TX: LBJ School of Public Affairs, The
sixcivicappswedseemore
University of Texas at Austin.
G
District of Columbia. (n.d.). Data.dc.gov. Re
Hartman, R. (October 16, 2009). Ways to make
trieved from http://data.dc.gov/
I
government data sing. OhMyGov. Retrieved from
Eckert, P., & Henschel, PeterP (2000). Supporting http://ohmygov.com/blogs/general_news/ ar
G
community in the digital age. In T. Ehrlich (Ed.), chive/2009/10/16/WaysToMakeGovernment
I
Civic responsibility and higher education (p. 200). DataSingwithmashups.aspx
Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press.
Hindman, M. (2008). The myth of digital democ
Ehrlich, T. (Ed.). (2000). Civic responsibility and racy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
higher education. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press.
Howe, J. (2006). The rise of crowdsourcing. Wired
Electronic Freedom of Information Act. Public Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/
Law No. 104231, 110 Stat. 3048. (1996). wired/ archive/14.06/crowds.html
Electronic Government and Information Technol Industry Advisory Council. (March 2005). eGov
ogy. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.usa.gov/ ernment Shared Interest Group, Best Practices
Federal_Employees/ Electronic_Government. Subcommittee. McLean, Virginia. iStrategyLabs.
shtml (n.d.). Apps for Democracy. Retrieved from http://
www.appsfordemocracy.org/
59
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
Kettl, D. F., & Fesler, J. W. (2005). The politics of National Electronic Commerce Coordinating
the administrative process (3rd ed.). Washington, Council. (2007). Government in the age of You
DC: CQ Press. Tube: The implications of Internet social networks
to government. eC3 Symposium White Paper,
Koelkebeck, T. (2010). Transparency inside out .
Austin, TX, Presented at the eC3 Annual Confer
F
In Lathrop, D., & Ruma, L. (Eds.), Open govern
ence, December 35, 2007.
ment, collaboration, transparency and participa
tion in practice (p. 11). Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Nichols, R. (July 11, 2010). Do Apps for America
O
Media, Inc. and other contests create sustainable applications?
Government Technology. Retrieved from http://
Lathrop, D., & Ruma, L. (Eds.). (2010). Open
O
www.govtech.com/ gt/articles/765522
government: Collaboration, transparency,
and participation in practice. Sebastopol, CA: NYC BigApps. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.
R
O’Reilly Media, Inc. nycbigapps.com/
P
Madden, M. (2010). Older adults and social O’Looney, J. A. (2002). Wiring governments:
media: social networking use among those ages Challenges and possibilities for public managers.
50 and older nearly doubled over the past year. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
L
Washington D.C.: Pew Internet and the American
O’Reilly, T. (2010). Government as a platform .
Life Project. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.
A
In Lathrop, D., & Ruma, L. (Eds.), Open govern
org/Reports/ 2010/ OlderAdultsandSocial
ment, collaboration, transparency and participa
Media.aspx.
B
tion in practice (p. 11). Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly
Mattera, P., Mcllavaine, L. C., & Cafas, T. (2010). Media, Inc.
Show us the stimulus (again): An evaluation of
O
Obama, B. (2009). Transparency and open govern
state government recovery act websites. Wash
ment. Washington, DC: White House. Retrieved
L
ington, DC.
from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_of
MayerSchönberger, V., & Lazer, D. (Eds.). (2007). fice/ TransparencyandOpenGovernment/
G
Governance and information technology: From
Of governments and geeks. (2010). The Economist,
electronic government to information government.
I
394(8668), 6566.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Orszag, P. (2009). The ingenuity of the American
G
Nagesh, G. (2010). New D.C. CTO scraps
people. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.
I
‘Apps for Democracy’. The Hill. Retrieved
gov/omb/ blog/09/09/09/ TheIngenuityoftheAm
from http://thehill.com/blogs/hilliconvalley/
ericanPeople/
technology/101779newdcctoscraps apps
fordemocracy Pinto, A. (June 15, 2010). Texas Gov website gets
a Texas size makeover: Search and citizen actions
National Association of State Chief Information
are centerpiece of new site. OhMyGov. Retrieved
Officers. (2009). A call to action for state govern
from http://ohmygov.com/blogs/general_news/
ment: guidance for opening the doors to state data.
archive/2010/06/15/ texasgovwebsitegetsa
Retrieved from http://www.nascio.org/publica
texas sizedmakeover.aspx
tions/ documents/NASCIODataTransparency.
pdf
60
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
Practices Subcommittee. (2005). Managing Service, N. Y. C. (n.d.). Everybody’s got something

citizencentric Web content. State of the practice to offer. Retrieved from http://www.nycservice.
white paper. McLean Virginia. Retrieved from org/ ?utm_source=nycgov&utm_medium=
http://www.actgov.org/knowledgebank/ whitepa nycservice&utm_campaign=redirect
pers/Documents/Shared% 20Interest%20Groups/
F
Slaughter, A.M. (2004). A new world order.
Collaboration% 20and%20Transformation%20
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
SIG/Managing% 20CitizenCentric%20Web%20
O
Content%20% 20CT%20SIG%20%2032305. Sood, R. (2000). The four phases of egovernment
pdf in the public sector market, (Gartner Group
Report, 2000, Resource ID: 308459). Pavlichev
O
President, T. (2008). Govt 2.0: The power of mass
and Garson.
collaboration is here, personal democracy forum.
R
Retrieved from http://techpresident.com/blog/ State of California. (n.d.). California Department
entry/ 23566/govt_2_0_the_power_of_ mass_col of Motor Vehicles (video). Retrieved from http://
P
laboration_is_here youtube.com/user/ CaliforniaDMV
Raths, D. (April 1, 2008). Virtual worlds help State of California. (n.d.). California Department
L
public safety officials practice for reallife threats. of Motor Vehicles. Retrieved from http://www.
Government Technology. Retrieved from www. myspace.com/ californiadmv
A
govtech.com/gt/ print_article.ph?id+261426
State of Connecticut. (n.d.). Recovery.ct.gov.
Recovery.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www. Retrieved from http://www.recovery.ct.gov/ re
B
recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx covery/site/default.asp
Report, News. (2007). Sweden inaugurates virtual State of Kentucky. (n.d.). Kentuckyatwork.ky.gov.
O
embassy. Government Technology. Retrieved from Retrieved from http://kentuckyatwork.ky.gov/
L
http://www.govtech.com/egovernment/ Sweden Pages/default.aspx
InauguratesVirtualEmbassy.html
State of Maryland. (n.d.). Statestat.maryland.
G
Report, News. (April 2, 2008). Congressional hear gov. Retrieved from http://statestat.maryland.gov/
ing simulcast in an Internetbased virtual world.
I
State of Texas. (n.d.). Social media presence.
Government Technology. Retrieved from www.
Retrieved from http://www.texas.gov/en/Connect/
govtech.com/gt/ print_article.php?id=281991
G
Pages/socialmedia.aspx
I
Report, News. (June 25, 2007). International
State of Texas. (n.d.). Tax spending transparency.
study urges organizations to adapt to Web 2.0
Retrieved from http://www.fiscalaccountability.
“phenomenon.” Government Technology. Re
org/ texasspendingtransparencya117
trieved from www.govtech.com/gt/ print_article.
php?id=125734 State of Virginia. (n.d.). Virginia emergency chan
nel (video). Retrieved from http://youtube.com/
Review, S. (n.d.). Establishing the standard for
user/ VAEmergency
government transparency. Retrieved from www.
sunshinereview.org/ Sternstein, A. (April 3, 2010). Corporate execs tell
White House about benefits of contests. Nextgov:
Technology and the business of government. Re
trieved from http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/
ng_20100430_9749.php
61
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
Stone, A. (February 14, 2008). Shared GIS helps Texas Parks and Wildlife. (n.d.). Texas Parks and
Texas cities create rich online maps. Government Wildlife’s photo stream. Retrieved from http://
Technology. Retrieved from: http://www.govtech. www.flickr.com/photos/ texasparkswildlife/
com/magazines/ gt/SharedGISHelpsTexas
The Annie E. Casey Foundation. (n.d.). Kids Count
CitiesCreate.html
F
Data Center. Retrieved from http://datacenter.
Swartz, A. (2010). When is transparency use kidscount.org/
ful? In Lathrop, D., & Ruma, L. (Eds.), Open
O
The open society. (2010). The Economist,
government, collaboration, transparency and
394(8671), 1112.
participation in practice (p. 11). Sebastopol, CA:
O
O’Reilly Media, Inc. Transparency, T. (n.d.). Open data. Retrieved
from http://www.texastransparency.org/ opendata/
Tapscott, D., & Williams, A. D. (2006). Wikinom
R
index.php?id=pageID.
ics: How mass collaboration changes everything.
New York, NY: Portfolio, Penguin Group (USA) TransparencyData. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://
P
Inc. transparencydata.com/#
Texas Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Mak Transparentgov. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://
L
ing Texas the nation’s leader in agriculture. www.transparentgov.com/
Retrieved from http://www.agr.state.tx.us/agr/
A
United Kingdom. (n.d.). Her Majesty’s govern
index/ 0,1911,1848_0_0_0,00.html
ment. Retrieved from http://www.data.gov.uk/
B
Texas Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Re home/
trieved from http://www.agr.state.tx.us/agr/index/
United States Army. (2010). G6 launches ‘Apps
0,1911,1848_0_0_0,00.html
O
for the Army’contest. Retrieved from http://www.
Texas Department of Family and Protective army.mil/news/2010/03/01/ 35148g6launches
L
Service’s Channel. (n.d.). Give babies room to appsforthearmycontest/
breathe (30 Sec). Retrieved from http://www.
G
United States Department of Education. (n.d.).
youtube.com/TexasDFPS
Open innovation portal: Join our online com
I
Texas Department of Family and Protective munity and help bring innovation to education.
Services. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved from http:// Retrieved from https://innovation.ed.gov/
G
www.youtube.com/TexasDFPS
United States Government. (n.d.). Data.gov.
I
Texas Department of Information Resources. Retrieved from http://www.data.gov/
(2007). The Texas transformation, delivery tech
United States Office of Management and Budget.
nology that matters. Retrieved from http://www1.
(n.d.). Featured articles. Retrieved from www.
dir.state.tx.us/pubs/ ssp2007/DIR2007ssp.pdf
ombwatch.org/
Texas Department of Information Resources.
United States PIRG Education Fund. (2010). Fol
(2009). Advancing Texas technology: Solutions
lowing the money: How the 50 states rate in provid
for state government. Retrieved from http://www.
ing online access to government spending data. Re
dir.state.tx.us/pubs/ ssp2009/ssp2009.pdf
trieved from http://cdn.publicinterestnetwork.org/
Texas Parks and Wildlife. (n.d.). Texas Parks and assets/b3ba157e28d82952ee5b7a3f84e88499/
Wildlife’s channel. Retrieved from http://www. FollowingtheMoneyUSPIRG.pdf
youtube.com/user/ TexasParksWildlife
62
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
Zagorin, E. A. (2010). A gold medal for Ehrlich, T. (Ed.). (2000). Civic responsibility and
better government. OhMyGov. Retrieved higher education. Oryx Press.
from http://ohmygov.com/blogs/general_news/
Fountain, J. (2001). Building the virtual state:
archive/2010/03/11/agoldmedalfor better
Information Technology and institutional change.
government.aspx
F
Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Garson, G. D. (2006). Managing Information
O
Technology and egovernance: Managing the
ADDITIONAL READING
virtual state. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett
Publishers.
O
Aichholzer, G., & Burkert, H. (2004). Public
sector information in the digital age: Between Garson, G. D., & Pavlichev, A. (2004). Digital
R
markets, public management and citizens’ rights. government: Principles and best practices. Her
Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc. shey, PA: Idea Group Publishing.
P
Barrett, K., & Greene, R. (2001). Powering up: Greenberg, S. (2007). State egovernment strate
How public managers can take control of informa gies. Austin, TX: LBJ School of Public Affairs,
L
tion technology. Washington, DC: Congressional The University of Texas at Austin.
Quarterly Press.
Howe, J. (2008). Crowdsourcing: Why the power
A
Bhatnagar, S. (2004). EGovernment: From vision of the crowd is driving the future of business.
to implementation: A practical guide with case Crown Publishing Group.
B
studies. New Delhi, India: Sage Publications.
Kettl, D. F., & Fesler, J. W. (2005). The politics of
Blackstone, E. A., Bognanno, M. L., & Hakim, S. the administrative process (3rd ed.). Washington,
O
(2005). Innovations in eGovernment: The thoughts DC: CQ Press.
L
of governors and mayors. Lanham, MD: Rowman
& Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Lathrop, D., & Ruma, L. (2010). Open government
collaboration, transparency, and participation in
G
Brito, J., & Perraut, D. (2010). Transparency and practice. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc.
performance in government. North Carolina Jour
I
nal of Law and Technology, 161. Retrieved from Mattera, P., Mcllavaine, L. C., & Cafas, T. (2010).
http://cite.ncjolt.org/ 11NCJOLTOnlineEd161 Show us the stimulus (again): An evaluation of
G
state government recovery act websites. Wash
I
Chapman, G., & Greenberg, S. (2010). Texas ington, DC.Beth Simone Noveck (Author) › Visit
financial transparency: Open and online. Austin, Amazon’s Beth Simone Noveck Page Find all
TX: LBJ School of Public Affairs, The University the books, read about the author, and more. See
of Texas at Austin. search results for this author Are you an author?
Curtin, G. G., Sommer, M. H., & VisSommer, V. Learn about Author Central
(2003). The world of egovernment. New York, Norris, D. F. (2007). Critical issues and trends in
NY: The Haworth Press, Inc. egovernment research. Hershey, PA: Cybertech
Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Bastow, S., & Tinkler, Publishing.
J. (2006). Digital era governance: IT corpora Noveck, B. S. (2009). Wiki government: How
tions, the state and egovernment. New York, NY: technology can make government better, democ
Oxford University Press Inc. racy stronger, and citizens more powerful. Har
risonburg, VA: R. R. Donnelley.
63
?)/%@A/)"%#9+0@@("@+*%+:;<$=")%/%#"+/%>+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1
O’Looney, J. A. (2002). Wiring governments: West, D. M. (2005). Digital government: Technol

Challenges and possibilities for public managers. ogy and public sector performance. Princeton,
Westport, CT: Quorum Books. NJ: Princeton University Press.
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The col
F
lapse and revival of American community. New
York, NY: Simon & Schuster. KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
O
Schedler, K., Summermatter, L., & Schmidt, B. Champions: Leaders who advocate for and
(2004). Managing the electronic government: implement policy changes
From vision to practice. Information Age Pub
O
EGovernance: Direct online participation in
lishing Inc. government by constituents
R
Shark, A. R., & Toporkoff, S. (Eds.). (2010). EGovernment: Online delivery of govern
Beyond egovernment measuring performance: ment services and information to constituents
P
A global perspective. Washington, DC: Public OneStop Shop: A website page that has
Technology Institute and ITEMS International. everything visible and clickable
Raw Data: Data that is exportable and
L
Surowiecki, J. (2005). The wisdom of crowds: machinereadable
Why the many are smarter than the few and how Transparency: Public participation and analy
A
collective wisdom shapes business, economies, sis with original applications
societies and nations. New York, NY: Anchor Visualization: Using interactive maps, charts
B
Books, a division of Random House, Inc. and graphs to display data
Tapscott, D., & Williams, A. D. (2006). Wikinom
O
ics: How mass collaboration changes everything.
New York, NY: Portfolio, Penguin Group (USA)
L
Inc.
I G
I G
64
65
Chapter 4
Measuring and Improving
Information-Based
O F
O
Government Websites:
R
A Suggested Framework
Laura Wesley
Industry Canada, Canada
L P
ABSTRACT
B A
(<.,'G<8$32*'$*2,213,'8'J2D.672'5*8=2F&*-'5&*'=28,#*.1B'25CG.21G4/'2552G3.+212,,/'81)'G.3.H21',83.,58G
O
tion with public sector websites. The framework uses research methods that measure the extent to which
L
online information advances organizational objectives, reaches its target audience, and meets users’
expectations for service and quality. By gathering and reporting on this information, public sector web
site performance can be continuously improved. The framework is presented in a format that facilitates
G
its evaluation. The design, implementation, and use of the performance measurement framework are
I
described in detail by presenting logic models that describe possible activities and expected outcomes
of each phase.
I G
INTRODUCTION
Public sector organizations face unique challenges

when measuring the success of their corporate
websites. Unlike the private sector, where the result
account their citizenfocused mandates to work
towards a “public good”.
This paper presents a flexible framework for
measuring the performance of informationbased,
public sector websites. It uses the principles and
of online communications can often be measured theories of resultsbased management to provide
in dollars and cents, governments and other public a practical framework focused on:
sector organizations must find ways to measure
their website’s performance which also take into P+ User satisfaction (by measuring the ex
tent to which the website meets user
expectations);
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch004
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
P+ Effectiveness (by measuring tasks that However, it is important to note that this
contribute to the advancement of the orga framework is not:
nizations mandate); and
P+ I-&#*"%#9+ Q79+ ."/<()*%'+ 15"+ #$<1+ $-+ P+ A crosschannel performance measure
managing the website in relation to other ment strategy;
F
activities). P+ An exhaustive list of everything that can be
collected or that organizations may want to
O
Over the long term, this framework will facili #$88"#1+1$+/%<4")+<="#*&#+Y("<1*$%<c
tate narrative, resultsfocused reporting on trends P+ A dashboard for technical web managers
that demonstrates and measures improvement that measures server load, quality assur
O
over time. In the case of the federal public ser ance, privacy or security;
vice in Canada, a multidimensional performance P+ An evaluation framework that measures
R
measurement system called the Management Ac relevance or impact of online communica
countability Framework exists to evaluate federal tion and services; or
P
departmental performance. The original four areas P+ The only way.
of management included in the framework are
L
shown in Figure 1. In 2010, federal departments
and agencies were evaluated on twenty areas of BACKGROUND
A
management, including CitizenFocused Service,
one of the original four. The performance mea The Government of Canada has long supported
B
surement framework presented here will provide the use of resultsbased management as a con
organizations with a method to measure the types ceptual framework as well as a suite of tools.
of longterm outcomes that must be reported on The term resultsbased management describes the
O
within the Canadian Management Accountability process of gathering information, analyzing and
L
Framework as well as those relevant to public reporting findings to improve decisionmaking.
sector organizations in other countries. These principles were used to create the web
I G
Figure 1. The four original management priorities to be measured by federal public sector departments
and agencies in Canada were to focus on citizens first, garner results, reflect public sector values and
spend responsibly. (From: http://www.tbssct.gc.ca. Used with permission.)
I G
66
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
performance measurement framework described Fryer, Jiju & Ogden, 2009; Powers, 2009; Van
herein. Specifically, the following methodology de Walle, 2008). However, most authors agree
was followed: that in order to develop an effective performance
measurement framework the system must use valid
1. Develop a logic model that describes activi and reliable data that is not overly costly to collect.
F
ties, short and long term outcomes. It must be reported in a way that is meaningful to
2. Determine desired results of the activities decisionmakers. The performance measurement
O
and performance measurement system. system itself must be effectively managed, and
3. Identify potential key performance indicators continuously improved.
(KPIs).
O
4. Set performance targets for each KPI.
5. Identify data required and potential data SOLUTIONS AND
R
sources. RECOMMENDATIONS
6. Report for decisionmaking.
P
This paper presents a practical solution to this very
Recognizing the numerous challenges to ef practical problem, but one that is still consistent
L
fectively implement performance management, with the academic methodology used in results
the framework will not be presented in the step based management. A practical performance
A
bystep process described above. Instead, it will be measurement framework allows for comparison
presented in the format that facilitates the evalu between activities to determine which ones need
B
ation of it. Lori Criss Powers’ (2009) theorized attention and which should be heralded as mod
this approach after extensive literature analysis of els for others to follow. The framework should
performance measurement frameworks. clearly link performance to achieving organiza
O
tional objectives. Powers (2009) has developed
L
a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of
ISSUES, CONTROVERSIES, performance measurement frameworks that is
PROBLEMS based on change theory and systems thinking.
G
The purpose of the performance measurement
I
Many multidimensional performance measure framework presented in this paper is to support
ment models exist, for example, those reviewed continued improvements on a public sector website
G
by Silvi, Macrì and Tagliaventi (2004), and many within a complex environment. Therefore, it will
I
organizations—both private and public—have be presented in a format consistent with Pow
embraced resultsbased management as a way to ers’ (2009) findings; that an ideal performance
track their success. Comprehensive performance measurement framework has three distinct, non
measurement models “serve to guide strategy linear, phases: Design, Implement and Use. The
development, communication, implementation, performance measurement framework presented
and feedback at multiple points along the value here uses this approach as it should help organiza
chain” (Selto and Malina, 2004, p. 4). tions evaluate the framework and decide whether
Yet despite the popularity of and demand for or not it could be effective for them.
the resultsbased management approach, there is
little quantitative evidence to prove it actually
works (Powers, 2009). Challenges of effectively
implementing performance measurement frame
works are discussed extensively elsewhere (e.g.
67
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
Designing an Effective Web use and feel about websites. By considering the
Performance Measurement results of the Canadian public sector satisfaction
Framework survey, Citizens First (Institute for CitizenCentred
Service, 2008), in the context of Human Computer
User experience refers to the way people inter Interaction research, a simple logic model (Figure
F
act with products and systems in the real world. 2) can be developed to illustrate the design phase
Measuring user experience is difficult because of the performance measurement framework. As
O
it examines individual feelings, thoughts and described in Powers paper (theorized by Carol
behaviours. However, an enormous amount of Weiss, 1998) if a strong enough link exists between
research has been done on the way people learn, short and longterm objectives, there is no need
R O
Figure 2. Logic model describing the links between the activities required to design the performance
measurement framework and the intended short and longterm outcomes.
L P
B A
LO
I G
I G
68
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
to measure longterm objectives separately (p. 3). covered drivers of satisfaction for public sector
Each activity and associated shortterm outcome services. These drivers vary according to how the
is described below. user accessed the service (mail, fax, facetoface
and online).
Research Stakeholder Needs and The decrease in satisfaction ratings of those
F
Preferences who agreed with the following statements pertain
ing to online services was reported:
O
The Institute for CitizenCentred Service (ICCS),
a Canadian nonprofit organization, has conducted P+ e0+ 5/;+ 1)$(78"+ &%;*%'+ 45/1+ 0+ %"";";f+ )"
a number of research initiatives over the years to sulted in 21% decrease in satisfaction.
O
determine the factors that contribute to citizen P+ “The site was too complicated” resulted in
satisfaction in public sector service delivery. 17% decrease in satisfaction.
R
Now in its fifth iteration, the Citizens First study P+ “The search engine did not work well” re
presents the results of a public sector satisfaction sulted in 16% decrease in satisfaction.
P
survey collected using a proprietary methodology P+ “I forgot my password” resulted in 2% de
called the Common Measurement Tool. crease in satisfaction.
L
In this randomsample survey conducted on
line and by mail, 6,700 Canadians rated recent Based on regression analysis, Timeliness, Clear
A
experiences obtaining services from all orders of Information, and Access accounted for 88% of the
public sector organizations (municipal, provincial variance in overall satisfaction for online services
B
and federal). Through this data, researchers un (The Institute for CitizenCentred Service, 2008).
O
Figure 3. Drivers of satisfaction for online services. (© 2008, The Institute for CitizenCentred Service.
Used with permission.)
G L
G I
I
69
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
The finding that user satisfaction is primarily Develop Online Information Products
a result of being able to find and use online in
formation and services is consistent with research Successful websites advance the organization’s
done in the field of User Experience and Human objectives, while meeting the user’s needs and
Computer Interaction. Beyond what’s been in expectations. The model shown in Figure 4,
F
cluded in this survey, current research also dem developed by Peter Morville in 2004, identifies
onstrates that information quality and credibility, seven facets of user experience that all website
O
as well as visual appeal, also influence user sat content should strive to be: findable, accessible,
isfaction and ease of use. usable, useful, desirable, credible and valuable.
These facets will be used to illustrate the design,
R O
Figure 4. Seven facets of user experience (© 2004, Peter Morville, used with permission)
L P
B A
LO
I G
I G
70
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
implementation and use of a sample performance (young people who use the internet to find fund
measurement framework. ing to support their entrepreneurial activities).
Morville, supported by many user experience Generally speaking, the more defined the target
specialists, considers this short list to represent audience, the easier it is to develop key messages
the “sweet spot by serving several purposes at and services that meet their needs.
F
once” (Morville, 2004, Facets of the User Expe Regardless of the target segment or purpose of
rience section, ¶ 3). Namely “each facet of the the website, promotion must be done to increase
O
user experience honeycomb can serve as a singu awareness of the information or services that exist.
lar looking glass, transforming how we see what It’s worth noting that the recipient of a service is
we do, and enabling us to explore beyond con not necessarily the same as the target audience
O
ventional boundaries” (Morville, 2004, Facets of for whom the outcome is intended. For example,
the User Experience section, ¶ 5). Looking at web a website that exists to protect consumers from
R
content through different lenses helps service fraud may be directed at one or more segments of
providers discuss priorities and focus finite re the population who have been deemed atrisk, but
P
sources on the areas that are most in need of the overall program may exist in order to protect
improvement. In this context, Morville’s facets the financial security of anyone within the country.
L
of user experience provide a practical way to Two key performance indicators can be
identify what online information products need measured to determine a website’s success in
A
to be developed and which need to be improved reaching its target audience—the percentage of
in order to balance organizational objectives and people within the target segment who are aware
B
user needs. However, as the Citizens First research that the service is available and the percentage
shows, findability, usability and accessibility are of people within the target segment who change
the most important of these factors as they have their behaviour as a result. Only the first of these is
O
the strongest links to citizen satisfaction. Orga measurable on the website itself, and only through
L
nizations should decide the feasibility of tracking the proxy of how many people are actually using
all of these and prioritize collecting data and the website compared to how many people are in
looking for trends on the facets that are most the target audience segment.
G
relevant to them. The second may be measurable through com
I
Each of Morville’s facets, and how to measure missioned reports and thirdparty data demonstrat
them, is described in detail in the section on de ing the behaviour of the target audience and how
G
termining test methods. it may have changed overtime, but these changes
I
will be only nominally attributable to the informa
Promote Products with tion provided on the website.
Target Audience
Determine Test Methods to
To be citizencentric, public sector organizations Measure ShortTerm Outcomes
must identify the segments of the population for
whom the services and information are provided. Measuring Efficiency
Target segments can be based on geography
(people who live in rural areas or in a particular Efficiency can be measured by demonstrating
region), demography (seniors, Anglophones or that the resources required to create, maintain,
Francophones), preferences (people who prefer to promote, research and continuously improve
use the Internet to find information), tasks (people the website are worth their associated costs. The
who enjoy bird watching) or a combination thereof efficiency of online information services can be
71
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
measured by the ratio of cost per visit or cost per Search engines are the primary way most
interaction with the website. Internet users find information online (Nielsen,
Organizations can obtain this ratio by tracking 2004). With this in mind, indicators that could be
all costs associated with developing, promoting used to measure findability include:
and measuring the website, and the number of
F
visits to the website. More mature organizations P+ Whether users can easily locate the infor
will take it one step further by breaking down costs mation they want from an external search
O
in one or more of the following ways: engine (such as Google or Yahoo), mea
sured by the percentage of visits to the
P+ By content type, for example, video, pod website referred by search engines; and/or
O
cast or electronic newsletter; P+ Whether internal search engine results
P+ By costs associated with transactional ver yield relevant links, measured by the per
R
sus informational services; and centage of users that click through to a
P+ By service channels (phone, web, in content page from the search results page;
P
person). and/or
P+ Whether users report having found what
L
This level of detail allows for comparisons they were looking for on the website,
across a wider range of activities, and thus enables measured by the percentage of users who
A
better decisions about where to focus resources. agree in a survey that they found useful
information.
B
Measuring Effectiveness
Data for the first and second indicators can be
Effectiveness can be measured by demonstrating measured through most web analytics software
O
that goals have been achieved. Six of Morville’s packages. However, data required for the second
L
facets of user experience are linked to user sat indicator may require customization to gather
isfaction because they align to user needs and easily. There are more complex ways of track
expectations: findable, usable, useful, desirable, ing this information. These indicators have been
G
credible and accessible. These facets can each be chosen for their simplicity and relative ease of
I
evaluated using data gathered or tracked through data collection.
the website. The seventh facet—valuable—is It’s extremely important that users find the
G
linked to the strategic objectives of the organiza information they need. None of the other facets
I
tion and, therefore, cannot be measured strictly on of website content are relevant if users cannot
the website. Suggested approaches to measuring find the information in the first place.
these facets are explored in detail below.
Useful
Findable The public service exists to meet citizens’ needs,
Citizens must be able to find the information they and a website exists to provide content to users.
need to access government programs and services. Usefulness is the extent to which the information
Citizens who reported that they had trouble find is relevant to the website visitor. Studies show that
ing what they needed on public sector websites content is the most critical element of a website
in the Citizens First study were found to have a (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
decrease in satisfaction of 21% (The Institute for 2008). If a government’s website content is not
CitizenCentred Service, 2008). useful, users will simply go elsewhere to fill their
information gap.
72
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
Several techniques can be used to demon Usable

strate that a website’s content is useful. First, the Used interchangeably with userfriendliness, us
website’s internal search engine can be used to ability has evolved into a discrete and research
discover whether the information being searched backed discipline that reflects the ease of use of
actually exists on the site. This can be measured by products and services. Citizens must be able to
F
tracking whether the desired page was displayed easily learn each website and complete the task
in the top search engine results. This cannot be that they have come to the site to accomplish.
O
done for every possible search phrase; focus should Thomas and Streib (2003) suggest that citizen
be on the top ten or twenty desired keywords or initiated contacts with governments via the Internet
phrases. If content for top ten search terms does are likely to be motivated by specific needs (as
O
not exist, then service providers should carefully cited in Underhill & Ladds, 2007).
consider developing this content.
R
Because users come to the website to meet a
Another approach to measuring the usefulness specific need, taskbased usability testing is an
of content is to use online surveys within the web
P
objective way to determine how well users learn
site. Through these surveys users should be asked and use the website. Tasks should be chosen based
whether or not their visit was successful. Because on the most popular tasks users come to the site to
L
we are measuring informationbased sites, the perform, as well as the strategic objectives of the
key determinant of success, and another way of organization. Every organization should have at
A
measuring findability, may be whether or not the least five tasks that users should be able to easily
visitor found the information they required. A accomplish online. Testing should focus on these
B
survey question could be used to determine “Did areas to demonstrate improvements over time.
you find what you were looking for?” and should If usability testing is not an option, most web
be followed with a question about the information
O
analytics packages allow for path analysis to mea
that was sought (Kaushik, 2009). sure the conversion rate on predetermined tasks
L
A suggested technique is to provide a feedback or workflows. A conversion rate is the percentage
form on each web page to solicit visitors’ views of site visitors who complete the predetermined
on that particular piece of content. If this route
G
task, for example, subscribing to an RSS feed or
is pursued, the indicator of success could be the online newsletter or submitting an application for
I
percentage of respondents who agree with the funding. A combination of both taskbased usabil
statement, “This page was useful” (or a similarly ity testing and web analytics is a practical way to
G
basic question). This technique is useful for a identify problem areas and make improvements.
I
number of reasons. It provides a percentage of how These tasks should be retested periodically.
many people find the overall site useful or not,
and facilitates reporting and comparisons across Accessible
pages, sections and sites. Because the feedback is
specific to a particular page, it’s easy to prioritize Website accessibility is an important aspect of
which pages require improvement to the content. It usability. In the Citizens First survey, 30% of
is also one of the most accurate ways of assessing respondents with disabilities reported technical
website performance from the users’ perspective difficulties with a government website they had
because it is provided in the midst of a realworld recently visited. Readability and nontechnical
task, whereas other test methods are performed aspects are already included in the definition
within the parameters of a test session. of accessibility in the guidelines created by the
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) (2008). In
73
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
the future, the term may also come to mean ensur Desirable
ing the availability of content in multiple formats Beyond being useful and usable, desirability
and through different channels so that users may implies there is more to satisfaction with a ser
choose how they want to access the information. vice than its ease of use and content relevance.
Public sector organizations should consider mov Visual design elicits emotions and as such, also
F
ing to this next level of accessibility and develop impacts satisfaction. Although the desired image
channels to serve their clients aligned to targeted of a government website may be different from
O
users’ preferences. In this way, ‘accessibility’ that of a private sector organization, humans still
would be synonymous with ‘availability,’ and react emotionally to colours, shapes and layout.
success metrics would demonstrate that services Site visitors should be asked via a survey or
O
are provided on channels preferred by clients, when completing usability testing about the overall
such as smart phone applications.
R
appeal of the website. Dr. Gitte Lindgaard and
others have found that users rate the visual appeal
Credible
P
of a website in about 50 milliseconds (Lindgaard,
Users must trust the source of the information Gitte, Fernandes, Gary, Dudek, Cathy, & Brown,
provided in order to feel confident using it. The J., 2006). Dr. Lindgaard’s research also demon
L
Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab has deter strated that this quick judgment also influences
mined ten factors that contribute to the credibility the user’s future opinions about the usability of
A
of websites (Fogg, 2002). Many of these factors the site, as it is difficult for people to let go of
are covered by specific policies for federal gov first impressions. Participants continued to rate
B
ernment websites, like the look and the treatment visually appealing sites as usable, even after
of contact pages and the domain name extension failing to complete a third of the tasks they were
O
(.gc.ca in Canada, for example). However, out asked to perform in a usability test. “The strong
dated content or content of questionable quality impact of the visual appeal of the site seemed to
L
can still be found on many government websites. draw attention away from usability problems.”
Site owners may use the following indicator to (Lindgaard et al., 2006, p. 115).
G
address this gap.
Credibility can be measured by the percentage Valuable
I
of site visitors who trust the reliability of the con While the first six facets of user experience already
tent. A survey asking visitors to state the extent to discussed are based on user needs, a successful
G
which they have confidence in the website is one website must also advance the strategic objec
I
way to measure this. Alternatively, research—such tives of the organization. Mature organizations
as that done by the Institute for CitizenCentred with a welldefined web strategy create direct
Service in the Citizens First research project— links between their strategic objectives and the
could determine a typical time range within which tasks users come to their website to accomplish.
people expect pages to be reviewed. It then be For example, an organization that disperses fund
comes possible to measure the credibility of the site ing may prioritize the task of filling in funding
by the percentage of pages that meet this service application forms as a key task on their website.
standard. The timeframe may vary depending on Usability tests would be performed on this area
the type of content, and should be supported with of the website until a high percentage of users
an archival policy that clarifies when documents can easily and accurately complete the forms.
will be removed from the website and where they The number of successfully completed applica
will be stored once offline. tion forms submitted to the organization should
74
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
increase as the website is improved. The amount and what to change, and what to keep the same.
of time that staff spend correcting applications or It is only costeffective if it enables continuous
requesting additional information would decrease. improvement at a reasonable cost. Figure 5 is a
Linking online tasks to offline results shows value logic model that describes the activities and short
has been created for the organization. and longterm desired outcomes of implementing
F
If this option proves impractical, or is consid a web performance measurement framework. Note
ered outside of the scope of the reporting unit, that the longterm goal is the same in each phase
O
organizations may consider using the efficiency of Design, Implement and Use.
indicator cost per visit to measure this facet.
Put Data Collection Strategies in
O
Implementing an Effective Place
Web Performance
R
Measurement Framework A data collection strategy explains what data needs
to be collected, how it will be collected and by
P
Implementing an effective framework will re whom. Some data collection requests may need
sult in reliable and accurate data about website to be submitted to a technical team who will en
L
performance. But this information is only useful sure the website meets the technical requirements
if it can be used to inform decisions about how necessary to collect the required data. It may not
B A
Figure 5. Logic model describing the links between the activities required to implement the performance
measurement framework and the intended shortterm outcomes
LO
I G
I G
75
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
be practical to do everything at once. If starting order to ensure consistent application of research

from scratch, add research methods to the reporting methods across organizational units.
cycle as capacity builds, for example, with each
major website update or annually. Data that can Design Reports
not be acted upon should not be collected until it
F
can be realistically used to inform improvements. Whereas the previous steps were about identify
Suggested research methods are described in ing data to collect, this step is about designing,
O
the previous section. Each method of collecting preparing and promoting reports in order to enable
client data has flaws and limitations. Using a good decisions. Since performance measurement
multipronged approach for data collection fa is about continuous improvement, the data col
O
cilitates the identification of trends and insights. lected needs to be analyzed and presented in a
It also makes it easier to prioritize changes and way that helps readers quickly process and glean
R
activities required by highlighting the areas that valuable insights from the information. Report
are not currently doing well. These trends can be recipients may need training to fully understand
P
analyzed to uncover contradictions and overlap the implications of the data presented before they
between what users say they want and how they can use it to make informed decisions. Necessary
L
actually act. Multiple test and research methods training and communication activities should be
also reduce the tendency to focus on raw data and identified as part of the implementation plan.
A
discrete results.
There is a natural tension between the ideal Using an Effective Web Performance
B
measure and what is practical to collect (Schacter, Measurement Framework
1999). Planning and creativity may be required to
get reliable data in a practical and costeffective An organization will have successfully designed
O
way that does not outweigh the value of collecting and implemented an effective web performance
L
it. Data that is already being collected by other measurement framework when insights and trends
units within the organization should be considered interpreted from the data collected are used to in
first presuming that it is reliable, valid and can be form changes to online information products and
G
shared without contradicting policies and terms of to the activities required to produce, promote and
I
use, for example, infringing on citizens’ privacy. measure them. Figure 6 describes the activities
and expected outcomes of using the framework.
Identify who Needs Information
I G
Gather Data
The following questions should be answered in
this step: what decisions should this informa In the framework presented, Morville’s facets of
tion inform? How do decisions get made in this user experience serve as goals to be achieved. It is
organization? Who is owed an explanation of recommended that no more than three indicators
what was done with money spent? As part of the be collected for any goal; the burden of data col
implementation plan, determine when research lection should not overwhelm the entire process.
will be conducted and how the information will Indicators should also be chosen for their prac
be used to improve services. Develop a reporting ticality, their likelihood of being available, their
schedule describing when and to whom the infor ease of use, and the insights that can be gleaned
mation will be reported. Wherever possible, embed from them and used for further testing.
user expectations into organizational policies in Implying too much from raw data is illadvised,
regardless of the method used to collect it. For
76
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
Figure 6. Logic model describing the links between activities required to use the performance measure
ment framework and the intended short and longterm outcomes
O F
R O
L P
B A
LO
I G
I G
example, web analytics software makes it easy
to discover the number of visits to a website, the
number of visitors and which are the most popular
pages. However, numbers alone do not confirm
that visitors found what they were looking for or
were in any way satisfied with the visit. Gerry
the number of visits and visitors to a website are
simply raw data.
The sheer volume of data collected automati
cally and available immediately to site owners may
be part of the problem. How does one determine
what is useful and what is not within the millions
McGovern, a popular web strategist and author of lines of code that are saved in the server’s log
says, “For an increasing number of websites, high files? In some cases, the ease of data collection
volume traffic reflects the website’s failure to help may cause site owners to inadvertently focus on
customers quickly complete the tasks they came the wrong thing—raw data—rather than focusing
to complete.” (McGovern, 2009, 9). On their own, on finding out what information could lead to
actionable insights.
77
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
Analyze Data and set unmet targets. Yearly targets should be renewed
Performance Targets until the point where improvements are no longer
expected, in which case, the target then remains
A performance target explicitly states the direc constant. Repeatedly meeting the desired target
tion and extent to which performance data should suggests processes and policies are in place to
F
change in subsequent years of data collection. For meet user expectations in these areas and should
example, a reduction in errors by five per cent or be validated through a user survey.
O
an increase in traffic by 10 per cent are measur There are many ways to measure the short
able performance targets. It may not be possible term outcomes that are included in Morville’s
to set a target in the first year, as the data required seven facets of user experience. Table 1 shows
O
to determine a realistic goal may not yet be avail how one key performance indicator has been
able. If a target is needed for planning purposes, chosen to represent each goal and to measure how
R
comparable data from similar organizations may well the site meets the goal, as well as identify
be used. In the second and subsequent instances ing the selected targets and the methods for data
P
of data collection, the baseline from the first data collection. Organizations wishing to adopt this
collection period should be used to set targets. approach should modify it to make it practical
L
What is realistic for each organization is subjec for their own purposes.
tive and may be hotly debated. The targets shown
A
in Table 1 are examples only. Report for DecisionMaking
Unmet targets become areas to focus time and
B
financial resources in order to improve. To ensure To successfully use a web performance measure
changes are, in fact, improvements, research plans ment framework, a process for making decisions
should define areas for further research and pro should be clearly defined and communicated.
O
pose diagnostic tests to validate assumptions about Those involved in the management of the website
G L
Table 1. Sample Web performance measurement framework to measure effectiveness of website
I
Goal is to Key Performance This year’s Data Collection Who will collect?
be… Indicator (KPI) to measure target Method (When?)
effectiveness
G
Findable Users locate information 60% of site visits referred by Web analytics soft Analyst #1
I
sought. search engines. ware (Monthly)
Usable Users can complete tasks Four out of five test subjects can Usability testing Analyst #2
online. complete top 5 tasks within one (Prerelease)
minute.
Useful Users agree that content meets 80% of respondents agree that Onpage feedback Analyst #2
their needs. “This page was useful.” form (Monthly)
Credible Users have confidence in 95% of pages have been reviewed Web Content Manage Analyst #1
the reliability of the content within past six months. ment (Biannually)
provided. System
Accessible Website is accessible to people 95% of pages meet 90% of W3C Custom validation Analyst #1 (Annu
with disabilities. accessibility checkpoints. reports ally)
Valuable Website advances organiza Users completing tasks online is Financial tracking Analyst #3
tion’s mandate. saving the organization money. sheets (Biannually)
Desirable Users have a positive percep 80% like the visual appeal of the Online survey Analyst #2
tion of the website. site. (Annually)
78
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
should be provided with information necessary P+ Look for consistent trends across feedback
to make informed decisions. Some reports may mechanisms (qualitative/quantitative) to
be intended for management and others for site prioritize necessary changes;
or content owners, depending on who needs the P+ Test assumptions and theories about what
information and what insights can be gleaned is working;
F
from it. Presentations to governance committees P+ Understand clients’ needs and expectations
should be done on a regular basis. Web analysts better in order to develop new products and
O
should suggest improvements specific to their area services;
of the site. If data is available from other service P+ Determine how well the service is doing in
channels, such as email, phone and meeting users’ expectations; and/or
O
inperson service delivery, then it is ideal to P+ Compare the product or service to oth
provide this alongside the web channel informa er activities, services, channels and
R
tion. Presentations to decisionmakers should organizations.
highlight trends across all indicators, regardless of
P
the method used to collect the information. Web Improve the Performance
analysts should suggest improvements to specific Measurement Framework
L
areas or the site in general using the prevalence
of the trend to determine its priority. A systems thinking approach implies that no one
A
Efficiency indicators, such as those described step or activity can exist outside the context of
in the section above entitled Measuring Efficiency, the other parts of the system. The logic model
B
help inform priorities and determine value for below (Figure 7) consolidates figures 2, 5 and 6.
money. The information collected from efficiency Many of the activities in each of these phases are
indicators can be used to: iterative; that is, they require feedback from other
O
activities in order to be continuously improved.
L
P+ !";(#"+1*."+<="%1+$%+*%"-&#*"%1+/#1*>*1*"<c The arrows show the relationships between the
P+ ,)$.$1"+ 15"+ (<"+ $-+ .$<1+ "-&#*"%1+ <")>*#"+ activities required to design, implement and use the
channel; and/or performance measurement framework. Presenta
G
P+ Promote services where feedback is posi tions and reporting within longterm evaluation
I
tive but costs outweigh the number of peo cycles should demonstrate how the performance
ple using it. measurement system supports longterm outcomes
G
through informed, ongoing decisionmaking.
I
The information collected from effectiveness
indicators, such as those described in the section
above entitled Measuring Effectiveness, can be FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS
used to:
There are four immediate areas for expansion of
P+ Highlight areas of concern where targets the concepts in this paper. Firstly, although the
are not met and need to be investigated web performance measurement strategy proposed
through a diagnostic review; is based on approaches consistent with results
P+ Create a starting point to report on improve based management, research and best practices,
ments over time (baseline) or to compare the facets used as determinants of satisfaction for
against similar organizations (benchmark); online service delivery have yet to be statistically
validated. As such, the Common Measurement
Tool proprietary survey research method that
79
80
Figure 7. Logic model describing the links between activities required to design, implement, use and improve the performance measurement
framework and the intended short and longterm outcomes
I G I G LOB A L P R O O
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
F
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
the Institute for CitizenCentred Service has and researchers can work collaboratively to cre
developed may need to be expanded to include ate a body of knowledge around implementing
the additional facets hypothesized as contributing effective performance measurement frameworks
factors of user satisfaction. to measure online services. The framework also
Secondly, this paper does not include pro provides a starting point to develop common
F
posed indicators for transactional or collaborative measures for transactional services and, perhaps
websites, nor for web content that is not housed more importantly, evaluating the impact of all
O
on the organization’s website, for example, the services provided.
use of social media. A practical next step would
be to explore the relevant research existing for
O
each of these types of content and extrapolate REFERENCES
potential key performance indicators to measure
R
success for sites beyond those that are primarily W3C. (2008). Web content accessibility guidelines
informationbased. (WCAG) 2.0. Retrieved July 1, 2010, from http://
P
Finally, it would be useful to create a logic www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/
model that maps services to public policy objec Fogg, B. J. (May 2002). Stanford guidelines for
L
tives. This logic model could highlight research Web credibility. A Research Summary from the
needs and contribute to a better understanding of Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab. Stanford
A
the longterm impact that public sector services University. Retrieved June 19, 2010, from http://
have on the lives of citizens. credibility.stanford.edu/ guidelines/index.html
B
Fryer, K., Jiju, A., & Ogden, S. (2009). Performance
CONCLUSION management in the public sector. International
O
Journal of Public Sector Management, 22(6),
L
Public sector organizations must aim to satisfy 478–498. doi:10.1108/09513550910982850
citizens’ needs at a reasonable cost while achieving
Institute for CitizenCentred Service. (2008).
public policy objectives. The multidimensional
G
Citizens first 5.
performance measurement framework presented
I
here measures the efficiency, effectiveness and Institute for CitizenCentred Service. (n.d.).
user satisfaction with public sector websites. The Benchmarking: Benefits and lessons learned.
Retrieved June 17, 2010, from http://www.iccs
G
framework was designed using research on de
I
terminants of satisfaction for online services. The isac.org/ en/cmt/benefits.htm
author benefited from Powers’ literature review
Lindgaard, G., Fernandes, G., Dudek, C., &
highlighting commonly reported challenges of
Brown, J. (2006, MarchApril). Attention
effective performance measurement systems to
Web designers: You have 50 milliseconds
present the proposed framework in a format that
to make a good first impression! Behaviour
could be easily evaluated.
& Information Technology, 25(2), 115–126.
The framework presented is a flexible yet
doi:10.1080/01449290500330448
standardized approach to measuring online
performance that can be expanded as the pub McGovern, G. (2009). Volume is the wrong way
lic sector moves towards a more sophisticated to measure Web success. Retrieved June 21, 2010,
model of egovernance and citizen engagement. from http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/ 2009/
By presenting the theory on which this approach nt20090824Volumewebsuccess.htm
is based, public sector professionals, academics
81
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
Nielsen, J. (1994). Report from a 1994 Web Van de Walle, S. (July 1, 2008). Comparing the per
usability study. Retrieved June 20, 2010, from formance of national public sectors: Conceptual
http://www.useit.com/papers/ 1994_web_us problems. International Journal of Productivity
ability_report.html and Performance Management, 57(4), 329338.
Retrieved October 29, 2010 from http://ssrn.com/
F
Nielsen, J. (2004). When search engines become
abstract=1343055
answer engines. Retrieved July 1, 2010, from
http://www.useit.com/ alertbox/20040816.html Web Analytics. Key Definitions. (2010). In
O
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved June
Powers, L. C. (March 28, 2009). A framework
19, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
for evaluating the effectiveness of performance
O
Web_analytics#Key_definitions
measurement systems. Retrieved October 25,
2010, from http://ssrn.com/abstract=1371158
R
Schacter, M. (April 1999). IOG policy brief no. 3:
ADDITIONAL READING
P
Means ... ends ... indicators: Performance mea
surement in the public sector. Ottawa, Canada: Accenture. (2004). EGovernment leadership:
Institute on Governance. Retrieved June 18, 2010,
L
Engaging the customer. Retrieved June 20, 2010,
from http://iog.ca/sites/iog/ files/policybrief3.pdf from http://nstore.accenture.com/acn_com/ PDF/
A
Selto, F. H., & Malina, M. A. (June 2004). Choice Engaging_the_Customer.pdf
and change of measures in performance measure Flumian, M. (2009). Citizens as prosumers:
B
ment models. Retrieved October 29, 2010 from The next frontier of service innovation. Ottawa,
http://ssrn.com/abstract=488172 Canada: Institute on Governance. Retrieved Oc
O
Silvi, R., Macrì, D. M., & Tagliaventi, M. R. (June tober 30, 2010, from http://iog.ca/en/publications
30, 2004). Performance measurement systems:
L
Heintzman, R., & Marson, B. (2005). People,
Putting organizational effectiveness ahead. Re service, and trust: Is there a public service
trieved October 29, 2010 from http://ssrn.com/ sector value chain? International Review of
G
abstract=1012622 Administrative Sciences, 71(4), 549–575.
I
Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada. (2002). doi:10.1177/0020852305059599
Results for Canadians: A management framework Information Victoria, Department of Innova
G
for the government of Canada. Retrieved June tion, Industry and Regional Development. (July
I
20, 2010, from http://www.tbssct.gc.ca/report/ 2010). On the road to satisfaction: Using the
res_can/rc_1eng.asp Canadian common measurements tool to measure
Underhill, C., & Ladds, C. (2007). Connecting satisfaction with government services. Retrieved
with Canadians: Assessing the use of government June 2010, 2010 from http://www.egov.vic.gov.
online. Retrieved July 1, 2010, from http://www. au/trendsandissues/ citizencentricservice/
statcan.gc.ca/pub/ 56f0004m/56f0004m2007015 ontheroadtosatisfactionusingthe canadian
eng.pdf commonmeasurementstooltomeasure satis
faction withgovernmentservices.html
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
(2008). Researchbased Web design & usability
guidelines. Retrieved June 10, 2010, from http://
www.usability.gov/ guidelines/guidelines_book.
pdf
82
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
Kaplan, R. S. (March 1, 2010). Conceptual founda Schacter, M. (2002). Not a toolkit: Practitioner’s
tions of the balanced scorecard. Harvard Business guide to measuring the performance of public pro
School Accounting & Management Unit, Working grams. Ottawa, Canada: Institute on Governance.
Paper No. 10074. Retrieved October 29, 2010, Retrieved June 21, 2010, from http://iog.ca/en/
from http://ssrn.com/abstract=1562586 publications/ nottoolkitpractitionersguide
F
measuringperformanceof publicprograms
Lin, H. X., Choong, Y.Y., & Salvendy, G. (1997,
July). A proposed index of usability: A method for Statistics Canada. (May 2010). Canadian Internet
O
comparing the relative usability of different soft use survey. Retrieved June 20, 2010, from http://
ware systems. Behaviour & Information Technol www.statcan.gc.ca/dailyquotidien/ 100510/
O
ogy, 16, 267–277. doi:10.1080/014492997119833 dq100510aeng.htm
Lindgaard, G., & Dudek, C. (2003, June). What Strawderman, L., & Koubek, R. (July August
R
is this evasive beast we call user satisfaction? 2008). Human factors and usability in service qual
Interacting with Computers, 15(3), 429–453. ity measurement. Human Factors & Ergonomics
P
doi:10.1016/S09535438(02)000632 in Manufacturing, 18(4), 454463.
MacLeod, M., Bowden, R., Bevan, N., & Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada. (2003).
L
Curson, I. (1997, July). The MUSiC perfor Performance measurement for the government
mance measurement method. Behaviour & online initiative: Government online results. Re
A
Information Technology, 16(4), 279–293. trieved June 2010, 2010, from http://www.tbssct.
doi:10.1080/014492997119842 gc.ca/sias/performance/ performance13eng.asp
B
Mayne, J. (1999). Addressing attribution through Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada. (2007).
contribution analysis:Using performance mea Compliance checklist for websites. Retrieved June
O
sures sensibly. Retrieved June 15, 2010, from 20, 2010, from http://www.tbssct.gc.ca/clf2nsi2/
L
http://www.oagbvg.gc.ca/internet/docs/99dp1_e. cclldv/cclldveng.asp
pdf
Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada. (2010).
G
OECD. (June 2006). MfDR Sourcebook emerg Resultsbased management lexicon. Retrieved
ing good practice in managing for development June 20, 2010, from http://www.tbssct.gc.ca/
I
results. Retrieved October 30, 2010, from http:// cee/pubs/lexeng.asp
www.oecd.org/dataoecd/ 35/10/36853468.pdf
G
Tullis, T., & Albert, B. (2008). Measuring the user
I
Patton, M. Q. (1982). Practical evaluation. Cali experience: Collecting, analyzing, and presenting
fornia: Sage Publications. usability metrics. USA: Morgan Kaufman.
Poland, P. (December 2001). Online consulta Wiggins, A. (June/July 2007). Datadriven design:
tion in GOL countries: Initiatives to foster e Using Web analytics to validate heuristics. Bulletin
democracy. Retrieved July 1, 2010, from http:// of the American Society for Information Science
www.governmentsonline.org/documents/ e and Technology. Retrieved October 27, 2010, from
consultation.pdf http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/ Jun07/Wiggins.pdf
83
E"/@()*%'+/%>+0.A)$=*%'+0%-$)./1*$%;F/@">+<$=")%."%1+G"7@*1"@
W.K. Kellogg Foundation. (January 2004). Logic in a Logic Model are often separated into short
model development guide. Retrieved October 24, term immediate increase in awareness, medium
2010, from http://www.wkkf.org/knowledgecen term change in behaviour, and long term change
ter/ resources/2006/02/WKKellogg Foundation of state.
LogicModelDevelopmentGuide.aspx Output: A product or service resulting from
F
activities within an organization.
Performance measurement: The act of col
O
lecting and using data to continuously improve
KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
products and services. Performance measurement
is different from evaluation in that evaluation
O
Efficiency: Value for money.
Effectiveness: Extent to which change was tends to focus on relevance and impact of public
sector programming.
R
affected.
Key performance indicator: a measure that Resultsbased management: An approach
to management that is both a methodology and
P
demonstrates the extent to which activities are
successful in reaching their intended result. The a set of tools and practices that focuses on de
terms measures, indicators, and key performance fining the links between activities, outputs and
L
indicators are used interchangeably. outcomes in order to improve decisionmaking
Management Accountability Framework: and ensure desired change is achieved. Perfor
A
Based on the balancedscorecard approach to mance measurement and monitoring are just one
managing internal operations and good public sec perspective in this lifecycle approach, which also
B
tor management, the Management Accountability includes riskmanagement, strategic planning and
Framework (MAF) describes the elements on learning by doing.
Treasury Board Secretariat: The central
O
which federal departments and agencies evaluate
themselves and report to the public (via Treasury federal government agency responsible for gen
L
Board of Canada) on how they are doing. eral management of all other federal departments
Outcome: Expected result of producing prod and agencies.
G
ucts or services. The types of outcomes described
G I
I
84
85
Chapter 5
Online Political Participation
in the 2008 U.S.
O F
O
Presidential Election:
R
Examining the Democratic Divide
Taewoo Nam
L P
University at Albany, State University of New York, United States
Djoko Sigit Sayogo
A
University at Albany, State University of New York, United States
ABSTRACT
OB
L
This chapter investigates how the democratic divide has been established due to socioeconomic and
demographic characteristics, by analyzing the data from the Pew Research Center’s survey conducted
)#*.1B'3<2'G8=$8.B1',28,&1'&5'3<2'KLLM'0I9I'$*2,.)213.87'272G3.&1I'(<2',3#)4'G&=$8*2,'C+2').552*213'
G
types of online political activity: communication, mobilization, information consumption, information
I
production, and involvement in social networking websites. Sociodemographic characteristics such
as age, gender, race, education, and income determine the degree of online political involvement. The
G
G&1+213.&187'1&3.&1'3<83'62332*E2)#G832)'81)'=&*2'85J#213'G.3.H21,'8G3.+274'$8*3.G.$832'.1'$&7.3.G,'.,'
I
=8B1.C2)'&1'3<2'N132*123'5&*'F<.32'=872,'=&*2'3<81'1&1EF<.32,'&*'52=872,I'(<2'B212*83.&187').+.)2'.,'
salient for adoption of social networking sites, but the websites serve a political function to encourage
participation by those disadvantaged in terms of education and economic means.
INTRODUCTION 2009; Gunkel, 2003; NTIA, 2002; Steyaert, 2002;

van Dijk, 2005, 2006), is an obstacle to political
Various concerns arising from the digital divide activity on the Internet. This divide is a root cause
account for the performance of digital democracy. of inequality in benefiting from the democratic
The digital divide, the disparity in access, skill potential of information and communication tech
level of users, and usage (Bélanger & Carter, nologies (ICTs). Beyond technical concerns, the
divide raises social and political concerns because
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch005
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
the use of online systems disproportionately ben ing, and contribution to a candidate. The analysis
efits groups who already have an advantage in the on the data from Pew Internet and American Life
existing socioeconomic system. Differing tech Project’s 2008 preelection survey will reveal
nological capabilities and competence between whether sociodemographic markers like age,
individuals aggravates participatory inequality in gender, race, education and income had gener
F
digital democracy. Accordingly, the degree of the ated a democratic divide in individuals’ political
digital divide predetermines the extent to which activities during the presidential primary season.
O
ICTs enhance participatory democracy mediated We will explore several types of online political
by the Internet. activity: communication, mobilization, informa
What we should take into account for digital tion consumption, information production, and
O
democracy in the United States is not only physical activity on social networking sites (SNS).
access to ICTs, but also the conventional pattern of The chapter is organized into various sections.
R
historical political inequality: ascriptive hierarchy The following section solidifies theoretical and
(ascription of inequality)1 shaped by traditional empirical grounds of the democratic divide, and
P
exclusion of the less affluent, the less educated, and constructs hypotheses drawing on the literature
nonwhites from mainstream politics (Mossberger review. Next, a subsequent section will describe
L
et al., 2008; Smith, 1993). Indeed there has been data, measurements, and method. The analysis
a strong historical pull toward social exclusion sheds light on the patterns of the democratic
A
and inequality before the disparities between divide and sociodemographic predictors of the
technologyhaves and havenots and between the democratic divide. We will discuss results of the
B
technologysavvy and the technologyilliterate analysis to contribute practical significance and
ever appeared. Socioeconomic status (SES) and provide social implications for our main findings.
demographic conditions outline a snapshot of the The chapter ends with conclusive remarks.
O
digital divide and historical political inequality. In
L
this sense, we hypothesize that sociodemographics
heavily influence the democratic divide––i.e., the THEORETICAL, CONCEPTUAL, AND
gap in political activities via the Internet––which EMPIRICAL CONSIDERATIONS
G
is the conceptual junction between the trend of
I
the digital divide and the pattern of historical Multiple Concepts of
political inequality. Considering the reality of the Digital Divide
G
digital democracy, our thesis to be tested is: so
I
ciodemographics influence the democratic divide. The digital divide as a phenomenon of inequality
This chapter proposes to answer the following encompasses a variety of contexts. Not only does
research question: How do sociodemographic it represent the gap between those who have and
characteristics affect the pattern of the democratic don’t have physical access to technology, but the
divide? Within the lens of the supposition that concept has evolved to include multiple dimen
“sociodemographics have an effect,” we examine sions. Academics’ concerns of the digital divide
the gap in political activities during the 2008 U.S. comprise various aspects of ICTmediated life.
presidential election campaign season, when the The access divide is central to diverse aspects of
campaign camps made unprecedented heavy use the digital divide, but the concept of access sug
of Web 2.0 technologies (e.g., social networking gests deeper and richer nuances beyond simple
and social media sites, blogs, microblogging, physical access. The multidimensional concept of
and multimedia sharing) and broadcast email for the digital divide, hence, diversifies the definition
discussion, information dissemination and shar of access.
86
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
Table 1. The multidimensional concept of the digital divide
Concept Definition Equality Context

(van Dijk, 2003, 2005, 2006) (Norris, 2001)
Physical access or Access to computers and the Internet Technological equality in distri Social divide
material access bution of technological resources and Global divide
F
Skills access or Use of digital skills such as instrumental, oper Educational or cognitive equality Social divide
cognitive access ational, structural, strategic, and informational in capabilities and skills
skills (Bélanger & Carter, 2009; Hargittai,
O
2002; Steyaert, 2002; van Dijk, 2005, 2006)
Benefit access or ICT use that economically and financially ben Material equality in socioeco Social divide
financial access efits an individual (Fuchs, 2009; Mossberger et nomic resources and opportuni
O
al., 2003, 2008; Stansbury, 2003) ties
Institutional access or Participation of citizens in institutions and Social equality in positions, Democratic divide
political access empowerment of citizens by ICTs to partici power and participation
R
pate in political information, communication,
and decisionmaking process (Fuchs, 2009;
Wilson, 2006)
Table 1 demonstrates multiple dimensions

of the digital divide in terms of access, equality,
L P
and participate in public life” (Norris, 2001, 2005).
Figure 1 outlines the multiple layers of the digital
A
and context. The digital divide results in inequal divide occurring in diverse contexts.
ity, and conversely, the existing components of As addressed in the introduction, the research
B
social inequality provoke the digital divide. The focus of this chapter is devoted to the demo
type of access is thus parallel to the dimension cratic divide. However, the digital divide in po
of equality (van Dijk, 2003, 2005, 2006). The litical use of the Internet is not independent of a
O
digital divide does not occur merely in access but divide in access, skills, and economic opportuni
L
in skill level (Bélanger & Carter, 2009; Hargittai, ties offered by the Internet. The participatory
2002; Steyaert, 2002). In addition, access is not divide primarily emerges from an access and skill
just a concept for technical capability. Patterns divide (Tolbert et al., 2002). Internet use for po
G
stratified along social hierarchies or differentials litical participation follows the same social divi
I
in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, education and sion as discernible patterns in an access divide
income (Compaine, 2001; Neu et al., 1998) re (Min, 2010). Disadvantaged demographic groups
G
veal asymmetric distribution in benefit/financial who lag behind adopters and users of new tech
I
access and institutional/political access (Fuchs, nologies continue to lack various opportunities
2009; Wilson, 2006). for political participation on the Web (Hindman,
Norris (2001) categorized the digital divide 2009). Opportunities for online political participa
into global, social, and democratic divides in terms tion benefit those who already have technological
of context. A global divide represents the diver resources and are motivated to take advantage of
gence of Internet access between industrialized the resources; as a result, the less affluent and less
and developing countries. In a domestic context, educated are technologically behind their coun
a gap between those who have access to informa terparts (Hargittai & Walejko, 2008). As such,
tion and those who don’t, leads to a social divide. multidimensional concepts of the digital divide
Another dimension, a democratic divide, high account for major barriers to online political
lights a discrepancy “between people who do and participation that opens for new technological
do not use digital resources to engage, mobilize tools.
87
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
Figure 1. The multilayered digital divide
O F
R O
L P
B A
A divide in political participation results not
only from disparities in access and skills, but
factors determining political participation to a
substantial extent.
O
from political attitudinal factors such as political
efficacy, political knowledge, and political interest The Democratic Divide of What?
L
(di Gennaro & Dutton, 2006; Krueger, 2002, 2006;
Tolbert et al., 2002) and nonphysical internal or Since the category of political activity is broad
G
external factors such as cognitive ability, language, and abstract, the concept of the democratic divide
literacy, education and institutional structures requires a clear operational definition. Mossberger
I
(Hargittai, 2007; Keniston, 2004; Warschauer, et al. (2008) viewed the democratic divide as the
2004; Wilson et al., 2005). Technological disparity to the extent that digital citizenship (the
G
level only partially explains the degree to which ability to participate society online) is exercised.
I
people participate in online politics (Hargittai They claimed the degree of digital inequality in
& Walejko, 2008). The study of Scheufele and access, skill, economic opportunity, and participa
Nisbet (2002) found that multiple constructs of tion determines digital citizenship. Norris (2001)
political participation are highly associated with denoted the democratic divide as the divergence
antecedent demographic variables. Given the in citizens’ engagement, mobilization, and par
gap in online political activism among different ticipation in public life by means of using ICTs.
sociodemographic groups, sociodemographic Therefore, the conceptual operation of the demo
conditions as historical indicators for political cratic divide needs to define the scope of digital
participation mold the pattern of the democratic citizenship and public life mediated by ICTs.
divide. Furthermore, those personal attributes Because the historical heritage of American de
influence intermediate (cognitive, attitudinal) mocracy results in an inevitable conceptual overlap
between political life and civic life (TheissMorse
88
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
& Hibbing, 2005), the domain of public life where convenient, flexible, and inexpensive interper
digital citizenship is exercised, comprising both sonal communication through email, listservs and
spheres, is too conceptually abstract for empirical chatrooms (MacDonald & Tolbert, 2008; Thomas
research. Political citizenship manifests in a variety & Streib, 2003).
of ways. However, it is not impossible to have a Second, political mobilization such as par
F
specified focus for the defined scope of political ticipation in campaign events, contributions to
activity if this study draws from a wide array of political parties, and petitions are strong expres
O
recent empirical literature on digital democracy. sions of political activism. Prior empirical works
We have used as our basis three main types of po have analyzed the divide among demographic
litical activity from empirical studies (di Gennaro groups in whether or how much they take part in
O
& Dutton, 2006; Gibson et al., 2005; Krueger, such political activities as contacting a politician
2002, 2006; Min, 2010; Mossberger et al., 2003, or campaign camp, attending a public meeting,
R
2008; Scheufele & Nisbet, 2002; Tolbert et al., signing a petition, and making contributions
2002, 2003): communication, information activity, or donations to a politician (Albrecht, 2006; di
P
and mobilization (engagement or involvement). Gennaro & Dutton, 2006; Gibson et al., 2002,
To empirically investigate the democratic 2005; Jensen et al., 2007; Krueger, 2002, 2006;
L
divide, we chose the 2008 U.S. presidential elec Livingstone et al., 2005). Candidates employ
tion campaign season during which citizens made various technologies in their efforts to reach
A
extensive use of ICTs for campaign involvement. more voters and win elections. Electoral camps’
We also recognize the 2008 electoral campaign email communication with the public and active
B
season as unique, considering the more popular utilization of a home page have become popular
political use of SNS. Focusing on the campaign for organizing campaign events, raising money,
season, we pay attention to the three main types mobilizing supporters, and distributing informa
O
of political activity (communication, information tion (Herrnson et al., 2007).
L
activity, and mobilization) and activity using SNS Third, political information activity has a
as a new tool for campaign involvement. potential to improve political knowledge and ef
First, political participation to exercise citizen ficacy. Consuming political information via the
G
ship usually begins with political communication. Internet increases the overall level of political
I
According to StromerGalley (2002), unstructured knowledge, interest, efficacy, and engagement by
political conversation occurring spontaneously citizens (Kenski & Stroud, 2006; Lin et al., 2005;
G
among nonelites is a means of political commu Thomas & Streib, 2003). Web 2.0 technologies
I
nication through social interaction. Such conver enable easy, ubiquitous consumption of political
sations naturally come about in casual meetings information and even empower users to reproduce
with family members, friends, colleagues and political information. Information on the Internet
neighbors. Such an unstructured pattern of politi takes various forms including images and movie
cal participation does not require a great deal of clips. Online viewership affects blog discussions
resources such as money or organizational skills because political bloggers frequently comment on
(Verba et al., 1995). Casual, informal political political videos (Wallsten, 2010).
conversation helps interlocutors share information Finally, SNS offers the possibility for citizens’
and affirm their political identity, and ultimately political participation and engagement. SNS
leads them to support a particular political party emerged as an effective tool for the electoral cam
or cause and participate in institutional activities paign in the 2008 primary season (Baumgartner &
such as voting (Walsh, 2004). The Internet provides Morris, 2010; Church, 2010; Gulati & Williams,
digital citizens with an immediate opportunity for 2010; Klotz, 2010; Libert & Faulk, 2009; Qual
89
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
man, 2009; Ricke, 2010; Robertson et al., 2009, ety makes for stratified levels of online political
2010; Small, 2009; Smith, 2009; Wallsten, 2010). participation across segments of the population.
Active use of SNS reflects candidates’ enthusiasm For the purposes of our study, those with access
for it as a tool to gain support from and engage to socioeconomically and technologically advan
with citizens. Young adults with little interest in taged demographic conditions are represented
F
politics get political information through their by young, white, welleducated, affluent males.
online network of friends and acquaintances,
O
thereby stimulating their political interest. SNS Hypothesis 1: Groups who have socioeconomi
offers the opportunity for younger generations, cally and technologically advantaged de
who have been typically disengaged and dis mographic conditions use the Internet
O
connected from politics, to become involved in forpolitical communicationmore than their
politics on their own terms. Still, the generational counterparts.
R
gap in using SNS for participation in public life Hypothesis 2: Groups who have socioeconomi
raises a growing concern (Sæbø et al., 2009). The cally and technologically advantaged de
P
instrumental effectiveness of SNS for political mographic conditions use the Internet
participation is also in question. There is little forpolitical mobilizationmore than their
L
evidence to suggest that SNS has significantly counterparts.
facilitated greater political knowledge, engage Hypothesis 3: Groups who have socioeconomi
A
ment, or participation. Active SNS users’ politi cally and technologically advantaged de
cal knowledge about presidential candidates and mographic conditions use the Internet
B
the election did not extend to political activism forpolitical information consumptionmore
(Baumgartner & Morris, 2010). Moreover, only than their counterparts.
some segments of SNS activists do translate their Hypothesis 4: Groups who have socioeconomi
O
entertainmentoriented, relationshiporiented cally and technologically advantaged de
L
activism into political activism. mographic conditions use the Internet
forpolitical information productionmore
Hypotheses than their counterparts.
G
Hypothesis 5: Groups who have socioeconomi
I
Based on the review of relevant literature up to this cally and technologically advantaged de
point, we identify a common argument about the mographic conditions usesocial networking
G
impact of the Internet on longstanding patterns sites for political activitymore than their
I
of participatory inequality in American politics; counterparts.
that is, socioeconomic (the level of education and
wealth) and demographic backgrounds (sex and DATA, MEASUREMENTS,
race) are fundamental to shaping the historically AND METHODS
conventional patterns of political participation.
Moreover, as age substantially determines the Data
level of adoption and usage of ICTs, the genera
tional gap in attitude toward ICTs contributes to This study analyzes the data from the nation
the democratic divide. Regarding the types of ally representative survey (Cloud Computing,
political activity through the Internet, the litera Politics and Adult Social Networking) conducted
ture review of the democratic divide leads us to by the Pew Internet and American Life Project
establish several hypotheses. The following theses via telephone interviews during the 2008 U.S.
claim that socioeconomic and demographic vari presidential election primary season.2 Extracted
90
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
from the original dataset by selecting variables whites is underrepresented in the SNS sample,
relevant to this study, the sample constitutes survey relative to the Internet user sample. The proportion
respondents who have Internet access. The size of lessaffluent and lesseducated nonwhites is
and demographic distribution of the sample differ greater in the SNS sample than in the Internet
between Internet users and SNS users (a segment user sample.
F
of Internet users), as shown in Table 2.
Age is normally distributed around its mean Measurements
O
value (48) so that the number of the Baby Boom
er generation is large. In the next sections of To investigate whether a democratic divide exists
analysis and discussion, we will use the terms of as stratification across segments of the American
O
old or senior generation and young generation to population, this study employs five sociodemo
indicate the distinction between age groups. These graphic characteristics (i.e,. age, gender, race, edu
R
operational terms represent the generations before cation, and income) as explanatory variables, and
and after Baby Boomers. The average age of the activities pertinent to online political participation
P
SNS sample is 11 years younger than that in the as dependent variables. The rationale of including
sample of Internet political activity, which implies sociodemographics as antecedents or determinants
L
that most SNS users belong to Generations X and of political activity comes from a rich body of
Y. On the other hand, gender is almost equally previous empirical literature. Bettereducated
A
sampled. The group of wealthy, welleducated affluent whites are more likely to have access
B
Table 2. Sample distribution
O
Internet political activity (N=881) SNS political activity (N=304)
Age Generation Y (1977) 8% 25%
L
Generation X (196576) 13% 22%
Young Boomer (195564) 20% 22%
G
Old Boomer (194654) 24% 16%
Silent Generation (193745) 19% 8%
I
GI Generation (1936) 17% 6%
Average age in years M=48 (s.d=16) M=37 (s.d=14)
G
Gender Male 47% 49%
I
Female 53% 51%
Race White 85% 77%
NonWhite 15% 23%
Education High school incomplete 4% 9%
High school graduate 24% 22%
Some college level 29% 32%
College graduate 43% 36%
Household $30,000 or less 17% 24%
income
$30,001 – $50,000 22% 22%
$50,001 – $75,000 20% 16%
More than $75,000 41% 37%
Source: www.PewInternet.org/SharedContent/DataSets/2008/May2008Cloudcomputingpoliticsandadultsocialnetworking.aspx
91
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
to the Internet, to be technologically competent, Table 3 describes the univariate statistics

and to be skilled in information literacy than their of political activity and efficacy variables and
counterparts (Jackson et al., 2004; Mossberger et the measurements of subitems collapsed into
al., 2003). Backgrounds beneficial to cognitive a main index. Besides sociodemographic deter
capability and economic wealth are politically minants, the study employs political efficacy of
F
important in various manners. First, having those the Internet as an explanatory variable for online
advantageous backgrounds facilitates political political activity. Survey respondents answered
O
communication with others (StromerGalley, each statement relevant to political efficacy of
2002; Walsh, 2004). Second, those personal pro the Internet in a dichotomous scale of yes or no.
files exert strong leverage on political activism Sixtyone percent of respondents answered that
O
(Hindman, 2009; Mossberger et al. 2003, 2008). the Internet is not filled with misinformation and
Third, they are foundational conditions of social propaganda (Efficacy 3), and about half of them
R
capital, the key concept of American grassroots believed online information is not just the same
democracy. Third, as Habermas (1989) claimed as any other source (Efficacy 2). Less than a third
P
in his masterpiece of the public sphere, delibera of respondents viewed the Internet as an effec
tive democracy requires political participants to tive tool for campaign involvement (Efficacy 1),
L
have a reasonable level of intellect and enough average citizens’ voices (Efficacy 4), and personal
wealth to maintain independence and autonomy connection to a candidate or camp (Efficacy 5).
A
from external influences. Dependent variables for examining a demo
Age is a main predictor for the democratic graphic divide fall into five categories of online
B
divide (Bimber, 2001; Shah et al., 2001) because political activity. For the first one, two questions
the general activity of younger generations on the in the original dataset asked about the frequency
Internet may appear in online political activism of online political communication. The measure
O
and thus the Internet may repeal their political dis of online political communication is an average
L
interest and indifference. Gender differences also of two ordinal variables with six points: 1)
create a gap in certain specific Internet political Never; 2) Less than once a week; 3) Once a week;
activities (Hargittai & Shafer, 2006; Poor, 2005; 4) Every few days; 5) About once a day; and 6)
G
Scheufele & Nisbet, 2002; StromerGalley, 2002). Several times a day.
I
For group division, age falls into six categories The second variable is political mobilization
in terms of an individual’s birth year: Generation through the Internet. Three binary responses
G
Y,3 Generation X, Young Boomer, Old Boomer, are collapsed into two single indices: ordinal
I
Silent Generation, and GI Generation.4 While scale and binary scale. At seventeen percent, the
these classifications are used for betweengroup most frequent activity for political mobilization
comparison, regression analysis adopts age in involved signing an online petition for a politi
years for better linear estimation. To test the cal campaign. While ten percent of respondents
significance of a racial gap in online political contributed money to a candidate via a campaign
involvement, the study contrasts whites vs. non webpage, four percent signed up for volunteer
whites.5 Education is sorted into four levels: high activities related to campaigns.
school incompletes, high school graduate, some There are two different types of information
college including current college students, and activity including consumption and production of
college graduate or higher. Household income is political information. The third dependent variable
also stratified with four groups: $30,000 or less, involves the consumption of political information
$30,001–$50,000, $50,001–$75,000, and more via online viewership and readership. Overall, the
than $75,000. results for viewership of campaign information are
92
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
Table 3. Measures and descriptive statistics of political activity and efficacy
Variables and Measures Mean Std Dev Scale

Political communication (Cronbach’s O = 0.71) 2.12 1.03 Ordinal [16]
Average of ordinal responses to the two activities
g+h$4+$-1"%+;*;+9$(+<"%;+-)*"%;<B+-/.*89+.".7")<+$)+$15")<+/%+"./*8+1$+()'" 1.79 1.07 Ordinal [16]
F
support of a candidate, discuss the issues or talk about where the campaign stands?
g+h$4+$-1"%+;*;+9$(+)"#"*>"+/%+"./*8+-)$.+$15")<+1$+()'"+<(==$)1+$-+/+#/%;*;/1"B 2.39 1.55 Ordinal [16]
discuss the issues or talk about where the campaign stands?
O
Political mobilization (Cronbach’s O = 0.61) 0.31 0.62 Ordinal [03]
1 if a respondent did at least one of the following three activities, 0 for otherwise 0.23 0.42 Binary
g+a$%1)*7(1*%'+.$%"9+1$+/+#/%;*;/1" 0.10 0.30 Binary
O
g+[*'%*%'+/%+$%8*%"+="1*1*$% 0.17 0.37 Binary
g+[*'%*%'+(=+>$8(%1"")+/#1*>*1*"<+)"8/1";+1$+#/.=/*'%< 0.04 0.20 Binary
R
Political information consumption (Cronbach’s O = 0.81) 1.94 2.12 Ordinal [07]
1 if a respondent did at least one of the following seven activities, 0 for otherwise 0.62 0.49 Binary
P
g+K*"4*%'+#/.=/*'%+#$..")#*/8< 0.35 0.48 Binary
g+K*"4*%'+#/%;*;/1"+;"7/1"< 0.26 0.44 Binary
g+K*"4*%'+#/%;*;/1"+*%1")>*"4< 0.31 0.46 Binary
L
g+K*"4*%'+#/%;*;/1"+<=""#5"< 0.32 0.47 Binary
g+K*"4*%'+$15")+#/.=/*'%+>*;"$< 0.29 0.45 Binary
A
g+!"/;*%'+<=""#5+-(88+1"E1< 0.15 0.36 Binary
g+!"/;*%'+*<<("+=/=")< 0.27 0.45 Binary
B
Political information production (Cronbach’s O = 0.65) 0.40 0.79 Ordinal [05]
1 if a respondent did at least one of the following five activities, 0 for otherwise 0.25 0.43 Binary
g+,$<1*%'+.9+$4%+#$.."%1/)9+$)+4)*1*%'+1$+/%9+4"7<*1" 0.06 0.24 Binary
O
g+,$<1*%'+$)+-$)4/);*%'+<$."$%"+"8<"U<+#$.."%1/)9+$)+4)*1*%' 0.19 0.39 Binary
L
g+,$<1*%'+$)+-$)4/);*%'+.9+$4%+=$8*1*#/8+>*;"$+$)+/(;*$+)"#$);*%'< 0.01 0.07 Binary
g+,$<1*%'+$)+-$)4/);*%'+<$."$%"+"8<"U<+=$8*1*#/8+>*;"$+$)+/(;*$+)"#$);*%'< 0.11 0.31 Binary
g+a)"/1*%'+1/'<+-$)+*%-$)./1*$%+/7$(1+=$8*1*#<+$)+15"+"8"#1*$% 0.04 0.20 Binary
G
Political activity on SNS (Cronbach’s O = 0.71) 0.63 1.01 Ordinal [04]
1 if a respondent did at least one of the following four activities, 0 for otherwise 0.37 0.48 Binary
I
g+N"11*%'+#/.=/*'%+*%-$)./1*$%+*%+[i[ 0.19 0.40 Binary
g+j$*%*%'+/+=$8*1*#/8+')$(=+*%+[i[ 0.08 0.27 Binary
G
g+H*<#$>")*%'+-)*"%;<U+=$8*1*#/8+*%1")"<1+*%+[i[ 0.27 0.44 Binary
I
g+[*'%*%'+(=+/<+/+-)*"%;+$-+/+#/%;*;/1"+*%+[i[ 0.09 0.28 Binary
Political efficacy of the Internet
1 if YES for Efficacy 1 and 5, if NO for Efficacy 2, 3, and 4 (reverse coding)
g+kI--*#/#9+\l+0+4$(8;+%$1+7"+/<+*%>$8>";+*%+15*<+#/.=/*'%+/<+.(#5+*-+*1+4")"%U1 0.23 0.40 Binary
for the Internet.
g+kI--*#/#9+dl+@5"+%"4<+/%;+$15")+*%-$)./1*$%+9$(+'"1+$%8*%"+*<+F(<1+15"+</."+/< 0.48 0.50 Binary
you can get anywhere else.
g+kI--*#/#9+_l+@5"+*%1")%"1+*<+-(88+$-+.*<*%-$)./1*$%+/%;+=)$=/'/%;/+15/1+1$$+./%9 0.61 0.49 Binary
voters believe is accurate.
g+kI--*#/#9+bl+@5"+*%1")%"1+8"1<+15$<"+4*15+15"+8$(;"<1+>$*#"<+/%;+15"+.$<1+"E1)"." 0.31 0.46 Binary
positions drown out average people’s views.
g+kI--*#/#9+ml+@5"+*%1")%"1+5"8=<+."+-""8+.$)"+=")<$%/889+#$%%"#1";+1$+.9+#/%;*;/1"+$) 0.26 0.44 Binary
campaign of choice.
93
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
slightly higher than those for readership. About females, and between whites and nonwhites in
a third of respondents viewed campaignrelated terms of the conventional effect of education and
information such as commercials, speeches and income on political activism (i.e., the effect that
interviews on the Internet. those advantaged in terms of education and wealth
The fourth variable is political information participate in online politics more actively than
F
production, which encompasses citizens’ activi their counterparts). In addition, the t test of linear
ties of posting or forwarding political information combinations as a postregression test examines
O
from other sources and their own thoughts. While more specific contrasts between historically ad
only six percent of respondents posted their own vantaged and disadvantaged groups in political
comments, nineteen percent forwarded publica participation.
O
tions and comments by someone else.
The last category of political activity is cam
R
paignengaged activity using SNS.6 Creating a ANALYSIS: PATTERNS
political space for social networking and sharing AND PREDICTORS OF THE
P
of multimediaenabled political information, SNS DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDE
emerged as an effective tool to boost and mobilize
L
popular support from digital citizens in the 2008 Testing hypotheses, this section examines the
U.S. presidential campaigns. The composite index existence of the sociodemographically stratified
A
combining four binary responses shows more than pattern in the democratic divide. We assume so
a third of SNS users (M=0.37) had utilized the cioeconomically and technologically advantaged
B
sites for involvement in the electoral campaigns. individuals described in the hypotheses are likely
young, white, welleducated, and more affluent
Methods males. Four different reports suggest evidence for
O
the democratic divide. We introduce general find
L
We employ two methodologies. First, the analysis ings in those analyses, and then test hypotheses
presents the visual illustration of the democratic in terms of statistical significance.
divide among sociodemographic groups. For First, we illustrate the crossgroup differ
G
consistent comparison among multiple types of ence in the probabilities for political activity
I
political activity, we contrast the probabilities with respect to each demographic characteristic.
(measured in a binary scale) with one another Shown in Figure 2, the pattern of the democratic
G
instead of comparing the averages of ordinal divide varies with the type of online political
I
variables (measured in various degrees). The activity. The largest divide expectedly appears in
sharp incline of the lines in the chart support the political activity on SNS in terms of generation.
apparent presence of the democratic divide. Other political activities, however, show a more
Second, we run ordinary least square (OLS) equalized pattern from Generation X through the
regression to identify what independent variables oldest cohort, even though respondents in their
(sociodemographics and political efficacy of the twenties and early thirties are persistently more
Internet) are strong predictors for online political likely to participate in online political activities.
activity.7 The regression model includes interac The democratic divide is more salient in gender
tive terms of demographics (gender and race) and contrast than in racial contrast. Men are more likely
multiplicative terms between those demograph to partake in online political activities than women.
ics and socioeconomic status (education and Second, the pairwise correlation between
income). The implications of the multiplicative variables of political activity and efficacy merits
effect articulate the differences between males and attention. The correlation between activity and
94
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
Figure 2. The crossgroup probability difference
O F
R O
L P
B A
LO
efficacy has an overall low association. The ex
pectation for campaign involvement and per
different types of political activity are moder
ately correlated with one another, but political
G
sonal connection to candidates through the Inter activity on SNS is less correlated with other online
net is associated more with the degree of political political activities.
I
activities than are other efficacy variables. The
G
Table 4. Pairwise correlation matrix
I
A B C D E F G H I J
A. Political communication 1.00
B. Political mobilization 0.44 1.00
C. Information consumption 0.34 0.40 1.00
D. Information production 0.48 0.44 0.42 1.00
E. SNS activity 0.29 0.35 0.27 0.42 1.00
F. Efficacy 1 0.16 0.28 0.34 0.29 0.26 1.00
G. Efficacy 2 0.03 0.03 0.20 0.16 0.07 0.10 1.00
H. Efficacy 3 0.09 0.11 0.08 0.04 0.04 0.03 0.07 1.00
I. Efficacy 4 0.01 0.04 0.11 0.12 0.01 0.04 0.06 0.21 1.00
J. Efficacy 5 0.22 0.18 0.26 0.25 0.21 0.35 0.11 0.05 0.09 1.00
95
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
Third, by regression analysis, we investigate online political activity is likely to frequent a

the influence of political efficacy and sociodemo particular type of activity. The estimated influence
graphic characteristics on online political activ of age on political activity changes with the type
ity. In addition, the analysis sheds light on the of political activity. The effect of education and
interactive effect of race and gender, and the income on political activism is significant only
F
multiplicative effect of education and income for political information consumption.
along with race and gender, on online political Finally, we examine the interactive effect by
O
activism. Table 5 describes the result of OLS the t test of the linear combination of slope coef
regression of political Internet uses. An individ ficients in estimated regression models. We
ual who already participates in other types of specify the stratified effect of socioeconomic
Table 5. Regressions of political activities
R O
P
Dependent variable
Predictors Political Political Information Information SNS
Communication Mobilization Consumption Production Activity
L
Efficacy 1 0.035 0.106** 0.159*** 0.056 0.066
Efficacy 2 0.002 0.045 0.091*** 0.049* 0.048
A
Efficacy 3 0.025 0.048 0.010 0.001 0.012
Efficacy 4 0.030 0.027 0.019 0.066* 0.015
B
Efficacy 5 0.101** 0.056 0.159*** 0.022 0.016
Political communication –– 0.190*** 0.160*** 0.306*** 0.102
O
Political mobilization 0.182*** –– 0.124*** 0.204*** 0.214***
Information consumption 0.165*** 0.134*** –– 0.192*** 0.054
L
Information production 0.316*** 0.221*** 0.193*** –– 0.278***
Age (in years) 0.082** 0.129*** 0.045 0.062* 0.304***
G
Male (dummy) 0.467 0.220 0.154 0.164 0.035
I
White (dummy) 0.032 0.228 0.386* 0.048 0.177
Male*White 0.424 0.239 0.111 0.099 0.075
Education (in grade) 0.018 0.128 0.349*** 0.051 0.052
I G
Male*Education 0.009 0.083 0.503 0.133 0.103
White*Education 0.018 0.015 0.448* 0.003 0.148
Male*White*Education 0.020 0.227 0.515 0.256 0.268
Income (in $10,000) 0.050 0.149 0.043 0.034 0.084
Male*Income 0.631* 0.210 0.388 0.270 0.124
White*Income 0.022 0.291 0.128 0.072 0.163
Male*White*Income 0.558* 0.383 0.393 0.237 0.138
Constant 1.535** 1.092*** 1.946* 0.185 1.251
N 881 881 881 881 304
F 21.78*** 19.01*** 23.59*** 23.80*** 6.06***
Adjusted R2 0.3375 0.3063 0.3564 0.3585 0.2919
*** p < 0.001, ** p < 0.01, * p < 0.05
Note. All slope estimates are fullstandardized coefficients.
96
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
conditions on online political activity in terms of effects are significant for only some comparisons
the racial and gender difference. Education and between demographic groups.
household income are proxy measures for SES.
Table 6 exhibits the result of the linear combina Hypothesis 1: Groups who have socioeconomi
tion test on the education effect (the better edu cally and technologically advantaged de
F
cated, the more participatory in politics) and the mographic conditions use the Internet for
income effect (the more affluent, the more par political communicationmore than their
O
ticipatory in politics). As shown in the result, the counterparts.
O
Table 6. Results of linear combination test (t statistics)
R
Formal expression of hypotheses tested Political Political Information Information SNS
[Groups contrasted] Communication Mobilization Consumption Production Activity
P
Betweengroup difference in the mean
H0: PMale + PMale*White = 0 0.28 0.16 0.31 0.48 0.46
[White men vs. Women]
L
H0: PWhite + PMale*White = 0 1.78 0.28 1.63 0.64 0.32
[White men vs. NonWhites]
A
H0: PMale + PWhite + PMale*White = 0 0.03 1.23 2.52* 0.02 0.27
[White men vs. NonWhite women]
Betweengroup difference in the education effect
B
H0: PEducation + PMale*Education = 0 0.19 1.38 0.72 1.02 0.03
[Men’ education effect vs. Women’ effect]
O
H0: PEducation + PWhite*Education = 0 0.61 2.38* 1.37 1.03 0.43
[Whites’ education effect vs. NonWhites’ effect]
L
H0: PEducation + PMale*Education + PMale*White*Education = 0 0.10 0.41 2.87** 0.11 0.61
[White men’s education effect vs. Women’s effect]
H0: PEducation + PWhite*Education + PMale*White*Education = 0 0.11 0.01 2.04* 0.52 0.38
G
[White men’s education effect vs. NonWhites’
effect]
I
H0: PEducation + PMale*Education + PWhite*Education + 0.52 0.94 1.65 0.36 0.59
PMale*White*Education = 0
[White men’s education effect vs. NonWhite
G
women’s effect]
I
Betweengroup difference in the income effect
H0: PIncome + PMale*Income = 0 2.83* 0.23 2.43* 1.73 0.86
[Men’ income effect vs. Women’ effect]
H0: PIncome + PWhite*Income = 0 0.74 1.17 1.02 0.37 0.37
[Whites’ income effect vs. NonWhites’ effect]
H0: PIncome + PMale* Income + PMale*White* Income = 0 0.10 2.13* 0.33 0.45 0.36
[White men’s income effect vs. Women’s effect]
H0: PIncome + PWhite* Income + PMale*White* Income = 0 2.35* 1.08 1.83 1.03 0.48
[White men’s income effect vs. NonWhites’
effect]
H0: PIncome + PMale* Income + PWhite* Income + 0.08 0.93 1.04 0.00 0.45
PMale*White* Income = 0
[White men’s income effect vs. NonWhite
women’s effect]
*** p < 0.001, ** p < 0.01, * p < 0.05
97
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
Political communication with family mem political mobilization is larger than the racial gap.
bers, friends or acquaintances by email is shown In Table 6, the magnitude of the education effect
to be a frequent activity for Baby Boomers as on political mobilization differs between whites
well as Generations X and Y during the electoral and nonwhites. The effect of income on political
campaign season. The regression model predicts mobilization is greater for men than for women.
F
that older people are more likely to use email as Thus, the democratic divide created by different
a means for casual political communication. As levels of education and income is larger within
O
shown in Figure 2, the probability gap between the group of whitemen than within the group of
males and females is the smallest for political nonwhites or women. In Figure 2, the tendency
communication while other activities demonstrate for bettereducated citizens to participate in online
O
larger gaps between the genders. An even larger activity for political mobilization is markedly
gap exists between those who are educated at the sharp. The regression result shows the efficacy
R
college level and those who are not, than between of the Internet for campaign involvement has a
other levels of education. A racial gap in political positive influence on online political mobilization
P
communication by email is small, but the linear in campaigns.
combination test shows the effect of income on
L
political communication is greater for whites is Hypothesis 3: Groups who have socioeconomi
than nonwhites. Another significant result of the cally and technologically advantaged de
A
test is that the impact of income on the democratic mographic conditions use the Internet
divide is greater for women than men. In the re forpolitical information consumptionmore
B
gression, political efficacy for personal connection than their counterparts.
with candidates or election camps (Efficacy 5)
has a positive influence on the degree of online The relationship between age and political in
O
political communication. formation activity is monotonously negative. Since
L
older generations are more familiar with traditional
Hypothesis 2: Groups who have socioeconomi media, such as newspaper and television, the
cally and technologically advantaged de probability illustration of online political activity
G
mographic conditions use the Internet does not represent the degree of their information
I
forpolitical mobilizationmore than their activity. Although senior citizens generally tend
counterparts. to consume political information more than the
G
digital generation, older cohorts who are familiar
I
While other political activities show higher with and rely on traditional media as their infor
probabilities in the digital generation, political mation source may lose opportunities to harness
mobilization of contributions and petitions indi new venues of political information. In Table 6,
cates a high probability for older generations. For the effect of income on information consumption
political mobilization that requires a higher level is greater for men than for women. The contrast
of attention, interest, knowledge, and material between white men and nonwhite women is also
resources, the pattern of the democratic divide is significant. White men are much more likely to
distinct from that of other activities. One piece of seek political information through the Internet
evidence is that while senior generations likely uti than nonwhite women. Political information
lize the Internet for political mobilization, there is consumption occurs with the democratic divide
a high probability that younger cohorts participate between college graduates and others, as shown
in other types of online political activity. On the in Figure 2. The regression predicts the effect of
other hand, the gender gap for the probability of education on political information consumption
98
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
is stronger for white men than for women or tween those with household incomes of or more
nonwhites. Political efficacy for the Internet as and who earn less than $30,000.
a new information source and a connection with
candidates leads people to consume with more Hypothesis 5: Groups who have socioeconomi
frequency political information on the Internet. cally and technologically advantaged de
F
The pattern of the racial divide demonstrates mographic conditions usesocial networking
a fascinating result. The probability of nonwhite sites for political activitymore than their
O
citizens to consume political information is higher counterparts.
than that of whites. There might be two explana
tions for this fact, which is contrary to the nor The large impact of the generational gap dis
O
mally expected pattern of a racial gap in political tinguishes political activity on SNS from other
participation. First, the campaign by the African online activities. The probability plummeting
R
American presidential candidate (Barack Obama) with the increase in age implies that the young
significantly raised political interest among non est cohort––“the digital natives” (Prensky, 2001)
P
whites. Second, given the gradual bridging of the who are the digitalliterate and the technology
digital divide in terms of physical access and basic savvy––accounts for the majority of SNS users.
L
skills, a variety of electronic versions of political The generation gap is obvious between the digital
campaigning through multimedia sharing (e.g., generation and the older generation. However,
A
YouTube) and news links of popular Web portal the divide pattern of political activity on SNS is
sites successfully hooked nonwhites who have contrary to conventional expectations of the posi
B
been thought to be less interested in politics than tive relationship between the level of education
their counterparts. and the degree of political participation. Because
respondents with some college education include
O
Hypothesis 4: Groups who have socioeconomi current college students who are the most frequent
L
cally and technologically advantaged de SNS users, their probability of participating in
mographic conditions use the Internet political activity on SNS is high. Interestingly,
forpolitical information productionmore results show a high probability for those who
G
than their counterparts. didn’t finish high school to use SNS for political
I
activity. As such, SNS can have a democratic
The divide patterns of political information potential for more equalized participation by en
G
consumption and production are not distinct couraging participation of the less educated. On
I
between each other though the probability of the other hand, the probability differences across
information production is far below that of in the income strata confirm the conventional belief.
formation consumption. Political information A line of the divide seems to exist between the
production is more frequent among younger lowest income group (less than $30,000) and the
people, but the probability of active participation others (more than $30,000). Additionally, contrary
only marginally decreases with age. Portrayed in to assumption, political communication through
Figure 2, while there is a gender gap in political email is not a significant predictor for SNS politi
information production, there is no racial gap. cal activity, which may imply that frequent users
In the regression, socioeconomic measures do of political email and political users of SNS are
not have a linear effect on the degree of political not categorically alike.
information production. However, there is a gap
in the probability of information production be
99
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
DISCUSSION as current college students. The new finding has a

practical implication for governments and politi
This section proposes further discussion of the cians who seek more enthusiastic engagement
main findings, and a review of results from the from the public. SNS can be an effective tool for
preceding section. The analysis for testing hy reaching out to individual citizens and prompting
F
potheses reasserted some determining effects of their greater political interest (Baumgartner &
socioeconomic and demographic characteristics Morris, 2010). However, the generational divide
O
on online political activity. Sociodemographic between the digital generation and older counter
markers such as age, gender, race, education, and parts is far larger in SNS political activity than in
income are relevant to the gap among particular other political activities using the Internet. Public
O
segments of the population in online political outreach practitioners’ normative strategy should
activity. As Margolis and Resnick (2000) rec aim at closing any generational divide in using
R
ognized, the effect of historical determinants for the Internet for specific purposes. The fact that
political participation persists into the present, and older generations infrequently use SNS would not
P
it is politics as usual, even in the age of Internet be problematic in itself if they compensated with
mediated life. the benefits from using media other than SNS.
L
The significance of demographic predictors Our lingering concern for the democratic divide,
for online political activism supports the argu notwithstanding, may become serious if the po
A
ment for politics as usual. The regression analysis litical realm frequented by younger generations
differentiates the generational effects between differs from seniors’ to the extent that the differ
B
communication/mobilization and information ence can be considered a separation. Therefore, a
activity/SNS activity. Older generations are more practical strategy should bridge different spheres
politically engaged and committed than younger of political activity (Putnam, 2000); for example,
O
generations (Putnam, 2000; Zukin et al., 2006), but between online and offline, and between SNS and
L
the degree of political activity on SNS and online other online venues.
information activity becomes weak with increas Another managerial implication behind the
ing age. The result does not support the democratic different pattern between SNS activity and other
G
role of the Internet as an equalizer in political political activities is the importance of a suite of
I
activities channeled through the Internet. The various online tools. There is a categorical dif
democratic divide determined by demographic ference between SNS adopters and users of other
G
markers does not overturn historical inequality online tools. Currently, SNS offers advantages
I
in political participation, but it does reiterate and for political activity by the less educated and less
even reinforce the inequality. affluent, but loses the possible activism by older
Despite the conventional reality that the socio generations’ use of the sites. Further diversifica
economically advantaged tend to have more oppor tion of online channels can cover more segments
tunities for political information, communication of political participants, thereby contributing
and mobilization, our analysis lauds a democratic to diversity, openness and equality of political
potential of the Internet in two points. First, po participation.
litical activity on SNS revealed a more equalized Second, there is a hopeful finding against the
participatory pattern. SNS seems to exercise a generation gap of online political activity. Po
democratic potential to mitigate the predetermin litical communication and political information
ing effect of educational level on political activ consumption were predicted to be highly likely for
ism. In the 2008 preelection period, high school even older cohorts. There are two facts underlying
dropouts used SNS for political activity as much relatively high probabilities in communication
100
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
and information consumption across generations. 2001; Papacharissi, 2002), our epilogue is not
Some seniors acquire political information not conclusive, but rather tentative. However, we
only from classical media such as television and claim the political and democratic role of the
print media but from the Internet. Besides, political Internet keeps increasing and expanding. The
communication by email becomes normal for older Internet has served to level some existing political
F
digital citizens. Emailing can be a promising tool inequalities while it has created new inequalities
for extending their politicalcommunicative venue (Hindman, 2009). We raise two concerns for
O
from offline (facetoface and voicetovoice by future research that can be conducted as an ex
telephone) to online mode. Here is a practical find tension of this study. First, do efforts to narrow
ing: email already takes up a substantial portion or close the access divide (e.g., the expansion of
O
of political communication by the technologically broadband adoption) and the skills divide (e.g.,
disadvantaged, especially the older generations. the expansion of digital literacy) boost political
R
Immediate and reliable emailing service can be participation? Second, does historical inequality
an efficient and effective strategy for government in political participation continue to occur in the
P
practitioners and politicians. more mature age of digital technologies?
Currently, we have to admit the Internet seems
L
to be quite a plastic medium that flows into and
CONCLUSION adapts to preexisting social molds and classical
A
political functions rather than a transformative
As Smith (1993) dubbed historical conventional medium for empowering new political voices
B
ity of American democracy ascriptive hierarchy, (Norris, 2005). However, considering the politi
this chapter corroborated the overall presence of cal potential of SNS and the expansion of online
a historical pull toward participatory inequality political communication, we value the mild cyber
O
of demographic segments who have been tradi optimism that the more participatory, interactive
L
tionally marginalized from the existing political and communicative technologies can serve as
system. However, we presented some complicated an effective vehicle for political activism of the
findings (a mix of expected and counterexpected underprivileged (socioeconomically and techno
G
effects) because the pattern of the democratic logically disadvantaged). With such an affirmative
I
divide varies with the type of online political expectation, we hope to see in future research
activity and with respect to sociodemographic that the Internet is not a weapon exclusive to a
G
conditions. The generational divide is conspicu limited population.
I
ous in SNS political activity, but not significant in
political communication and information activity.
We found hopeful news for digital democracy; REFERENCES
that is, SNS mitigates the socioeconomic divide
in political activity to some extent. Males are Albrecht, S. (2006). Whose voice is heard in
more active in online political participation than online deliberation? A study of participation and
females, but the 2008 primary season interestingly representation in political debates on the Internet.
reveals active seeking of political information by Information Communication and Society, 9(1),
nonwhites, which reflects their political attention 62–82. doi:10.1080/13691180500519548
to the AfricanAmerican presidential candidate.
Since the Internet is not a predominant medium
for politics and its democratic potential is being
limitedly harnessed (Brants, 2005; Grönlund,
101
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
Baumgartner, J. C., & Morris, J. S. (2010). Gibson, R. K., Lusoli, W., & Ward, S. (2005).
MyFaceTube politics: Social networking sites Online participation in the UK: Testing a contex
and political engagement of young adults. So tualised model of Internet effects. British Journal
cial Science Computer Review, 28(1), 24–44. of Politics and International Relations, 7(4),
doi:10.1177/0894439309334325 561–583. doi:10.1111/j.1467856X.2005.00209.x
F
Bélanger, F., & Carter, L. (2009). The impact Grönlund, Å. (2001). Democracy in an ITframed
of the digital divide on egovernment use. society: Introduction. Communications of the
O
Communications of the ACM, 52(4), 132–135. ACM, 44(1), 22–26. doi:10.1145/357489.357498
doi:10.1145/1498765.1498801
Gulati, G. J., & Williams, C. B. (2010). Con
O
Bimber, B. (2001). Information and political gressional candidates’ use of YouTube in 2008:
engagement in America: The search for effects Its frequency and rationale. Journal of Infor
R
of information technology at the individual level. mation Technology & Politics, 7(2/3), 93–109.
Political Research Quarterly, 54(1), 53–67. doi:10.1080/19331681003748958
P
Brants, K. (2005). Guest editor’s introduc Gunkel, D. J. (2003). Second thoughts: Toward a
tion: The Internet and the public sphere. critique of the digital divide. New Media & Society,
L
Political Communication, 22(2), 143–146. 5(4), 499–522. doi:10.1177/146144480354003
doi:10.1080/10584600590933133
A
Habermas, J. (1989). The structural transfor
Church, S. H. (2010). YouTube politics: mations of the public sphere: An inquiry into a
B
YouChoose and leadership rhetoric dur category of bourgeois society. Cambridge, MA:
ing the 2008 election. Journal of Informa MIT Press.
tion Technology & Politics, 7(2/3), 124–142.
O
Hargittai. E. (2002). Secondlevel digital divide:
doi:10.1080/19331681003748933
differences in people’s online skills. First monday,
L
Compaine, B. M. (2001). The digital divide: Fac 7(4), retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/issues/
ing a crisis or myth?Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. issue7_4/hargittai/
G
di Gennaro, C., & Dutton, W. (2006). The Internet Hargittai, E. (2007). The digital divide and what to
I
and the public: Online and offline political par do about it . In Jones, D. C. (Ed.), New economy
ticipation in the United Kingdom. Parliamentary handbook. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
G
Affairs, 59(2), 299–313. doi:10.1093/pa/gsl004
Hargittai, E., & Shafer, S. (2006). Differences
I
Fuchs, C. (2009). The role of income inequality in actual and perceived online skills: The role of
in a multivariate crossnational analysis of the gender. Social Science Quarterly, 87(2), 432–448.
digital divide. Social Science Computer Review, doi:10.1111/j.15406237.2006.00389.x
27(1), 41–58. doi:10.1177/0894439308321628
Hargittai, E., & Walejko, G. (2008). The participa
Gibson, R. K., Lusoli, W., & Ward, S. (2002, tion divide: Content creation and sharing in the dig
August 28). Online campaigning in the UK: The ital age. Information Communication and Society,
public respond? Paper presented at the Annual 11(2), 239–256. doi:10.1080/13691180801946150
Meeting of the American Political Science As
sociation, Boston, MA.
102
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
Herrnson, P. S., StokesBrown, A. K., & Hind Kenski, K., & Stroud, N. J. (2006). Connec
man, M. (2007). Campaign politics and the digital tions between Internet use and political ef
divide: Constituency characteristics, strategic ficacy, knowledge, and participation. Journal
considerations, and candidate Internet use in state of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, (June).
legislative elections. Political Research Quarterly, Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/ar
F
60(1), 31–42. doi:10.1177/1065912906298527 ticles/mi_m6836/ is_6832_6850/ai_n24996015/
?tag=content;col24996011.
O
racy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Klotz, R. J. (2010). The sidetracked 2008
YouTube senate campaign. Journal of Informa
Howe, N., & Strauss, W. (1991). Generations:
O
The history of America’s future, 1584 to 2069.
doi:10.1080/19331681003748917
New York, NY: Harper Perennial.
R
Krueger, B. S. (2002). Assessing the po
Howe, N., & Strauss, W. (2000). Millennials ris
tential of Internet political participation in
P
ing: The next great generation. New York, NY:
the United States: A resource approach.
Random House.
American Politics Research, 30(5), 476–498.
L
Howe, N., & Strauss, W. (2003). Millennials go doi:10.1177/1532673X02030005002
to college. New York, NY: LifeCourse.
Krueger, B. S. (2006). A comparison of con
A
Jackson, L. A., Eye, A., Barbatsis, G., Biocca, F., ventional and Internet political mobilization.
Fitzgerald, H. E., & Zhao, Y. (2004). The impact American Politics Research, 34(6), 759–776.
B
of Internet use on the other side of the digital di doi:10.1177/1532673X06290911
vide. Communications of the ACM, 47(7), 43–47.
Libert, B., & Faulk, R. (2009). Barack, Inc: Win
O
doi:10.1145/1005817.1005819
ning business lessons of the Obama campaign.
L
Jensen, M. J., Danziger, J. N., & Venkatesh, A. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press.
(2007). Civil society and cyber society: The role
Lin, C. A., Salwen, M. B., & Abdulla, R. A. (2005).
G
of the Internet in community associations and
Uses and gratification of online and offline news:
democratic politics. The Information Society,
New wine in old bottles? In Salwen, M. B., Gar
I
23(1), 39–50. doi:10.1080/01972240601057528
rison, B., & Driscoll, P. D. (Eds.), Online news
Jones. S., & Fox, S. (2009). Generations online and the public. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
G
in 2009. Pew internet & american life project. Associates.
I
Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/
Livingstone, S., Bober, M., & Helsper, E. J.
Reports/2009/ GenerationsOnlinein2009.aspx
(2005). Active participation or just more infor
Keniston, K. (2004). Introduction: The four digital mation? Young people’s takeup of opportunities
divides . In Keniston, K., & Kumar, D. (Eds.), IT to act and interact on the Internet. Information
experience in India. Delhi, India: Sage. Communication and Society, 8(3), 287–314.
doi:10.1080/13691180500259103
103
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
MacDonald, J., & Tolbert, C. (2008). Something Norris, P. (2005). The impact of the Internet on
rich and strange: Participation, engagement, and political activism: Evidence from Europe. Inter
the tempest of online politics . In Yang, K., & national Journal of Electronic Government Re
Bergrud, E. (Eds.), Civic engagement in a network search, 1(1), 20–39. doi:10.4018/jegr.2005010102
society (pp. 271–298). Charlotte, NC: Information
F
Papacharissi, Z. (2002). The virtual sphere: The
Age Publishing.
Internet as a public sphere. New Media & Society,
Margolis, M., & Resnick, D. (2000). Politics as 4(1), 9–27. doi:10.1177/14614440222226244
O
usual: The cyberspace “revolution”. Thousand
Poor. N. (2005). Mechanisms of an online public
Oaks, CA: Sage.
sphere: the website slashdot. Journal of computer
O
Min, S.J. (2010). From the digital divide mediated communication, 10(2). Retrieved from
to the democratic divide: Internet skills, po http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/ issue12/poor.html
R
litical interest, and the secondlevel digital
Prensky. M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immi
divide in political Internet use. Journal of In
P
grants. On the horizon, 9(5). Retrieved from http://
formation Technology & Politics, 7(1), 22–35.
www.marcprensky.com/writing/ Prensky%20
doi:10.1080/19331680903109402
%20Digital%20Natives,% 20Digital%20Im
L
Mossberger, K., Tolbert, C. J., & McNeal, R. S. migrants%20%20Part21.pdf
(2008). Digital citizenship: The Internet, society,
A
and participation. Cambridge, MA: The MIT
Press.
B
York, NY: Touchstone.
Mossberger, K., Tolbert, C. J., & Stansbury, M.
Qualman, E. (2009). Socialnomics: How social
(2003). Virtual inequality: Beyond the digital
O
media transforms the way we live and do business.
divide. Washington, DC: George Washington
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
L
University Press.
Ricke, L. (2010). A new opportunity for demo
National Telecommunication and Information Ad
G
cratic engagement: The CNNYouTube presi
ministration (NTIA). (2002). A nation online: How
dential candidate debates. Journal of Informa
americans are expanding their use of the internet.
I
Washington, dc: u.s. Department of commerce.
doi:10.1080/19331681003772768
National telecommunication and information
G
administration. Retrieved from http://www.ntia. Robertson, S. P., Vatrapu, R. K., & Medina, R.
I
doc.gov/ntiahome/ dn/anationonline2.pdf (2009). Social networks: Making connections
between citizens, data and government. Paper
Neu, C. R., Anderson, R. H., & Bikson, T. K.
presented at the 10th Annual International Confer
(1998). Email communication between govern
ence on Digital Government Research.
ment and citizens: Security, policy issues, and next
steps. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corp. Robertson, S. P., Vatrapu, R. K., & Medina, R.
(2010). Online video “friends” social networking:
Norris, P. (2001). Digital divide: Civic engage
Overlapping online public spheres in the 2008
ment, information poverty, and the Internet world
U.S. presidential election. Journal of Informa
wide. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
doi:10.1080/19331681003753420
104
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
Sæbø, Ø., Rose, J., & Nyvang, T. (2009, Sep StromerGalley, J. (2002). New voices in the public
13). The role of social networking services in sphere: A comparative analysis of interpersonal
eparticipation. Paper presented at the 1st Inter and online political talk. JavnostThe Public,
national Conference on Electronic Participation, 9(2), 23–42.
Linz, Austria.
F
Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up digital: The rise of
Scheufele, D. A., & Nisbet, M. (2002). Being a the Net generation. New York, NY: McGrawHill.
citizen online: New opportunities and dead ends.
O
Tapscott, D. (2009). Growing up digital: How
The Harvard International Journal of Press/
the Net generation is changing your world. New
Politics, 7(3), 55–75.
York, NY: McGrawHill.
O
Shah, D. V., Kwak, N., & Holbert, R. (2001).
TheissMorse, E., & Hibbing, J. R. (2005). Citi
‘Connecting’ and ‘disconnecting’ with civic life:
R
zenship and civic engagement. Annual Review
Patterns of Internet use and the production of
of Political Science, 8, 227–249. doi:10.1146/
social capital. Political Communication, 18(2),
P
annurev.polisci.8.082103.104829
141–162. doi:10.1080/105846001750322952
Thomas, J. C., & Streib, G. (2003). The new face
Small, T. A. (2009). The facebook effect? Online
L
of government: Citizeninitiated contacts in the
campaigning in the 2008 canadian and us elec
era of egovernment. Journal of Public Admin
tions. Policy options, 29(10), 8587. Retrieved
A
istration: Research and Theory, 13(1), 83–102.
from http://irpp.org/po/archive/nov08/small.pdf
doi:10.1093/jpart/mug010
B
Smith. A. (2009). The internet’s role in cam
Tolbert, C. J., McNeal, R. S., & Smith, D. A.
paign 2008. Washington, dc: pew research
(2003). Enhancing civic engagement: The effect
center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.
O
of direct democracy on political participation and
org/Reports/2009/ 6TheInternetsRolein
knowledge. State Politics & Policy Quarterly,
L
Campaign2008.aspx
3(1), 23. doi:10.1177/153244000300300102
Smith, R. M. (1993). Beyond Tocqueville, Myrdal,
G
Tolbert, C. J., Mossberger, K., & McNeal, R. S.
and Hartz: The multiple traditions of America.
(2002, Aug 28). Beyond the digital divide: Ex
The American Political Science Review, 87(3),
I
ploring attitudes about Information Technology,
549–566. doi:10.2307/2938735
political participation, and electronic govern
G
Stansbury, M. (2003). Access, skills, economic ment. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting
I
opportunities, and democratic participation: Con of the American Political Science Association,
necting four facets of the digital divide through Boston, MA.
research. Paper presented at the Annual Confer
Van Dijk. J. A. G. M. (2003). A framework for
ence of the Canadian Association of Information
digital divide research. Electronic journal of com
Science, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
munication, 12(1). Retrieved from http://www.
Steyaert, J. (2002). Inequality and the digital di cios.org/EJCPUBLIC/ 012/011/01211.html
vide: Myths and realities . In Hick, S., & McNutt,
van Dijk, J. A. G. M. (2005). The deepening divide
J. (Eds.), Advocacy, activism and the Internet (pp.
inequality in the information society. Thousand
199–211). Chicago, IL: Lyceum Press.
Oaks, CA: Sage.
105
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
van Dijk, J. A. G. M. (2006). Digital divide research, Bimber, B. (1999). The Internet and citizen com
achievements and shortcomings. Poetics, 34(4/5), munication with government: Does the medium
221–235. doi:10.1016/j.poetic.2006.05.004 matter? Political Communication, 16(4), 409–428.
doi:10.1080/105846099198569
Verba, S., Schlozman, K. L., & Brady, H. E.
F
(1995). Voice and equality: Civic voluntarism Brady, H. E., Verba, S., & Schlozman, K. L.
in American politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard (1995). Beyond SES: A resource model of politi
University Press. cal participation. The American Political Science
O
Review, 89(2), 271–294. doi:10.2307/2082425
Wallsten, K. (2010). “Yes we can”: How online
viewership, blog discussion, campaign state Calenda, D., & Meijer, A. (2009). Young people,
O
ments, and mainstream media coverage produced the Internet and political participation: Findings of
a viral video phenomenon. Journal of Informa a web survey in Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.
R
tion Technology & Politics, 7(2/3), 163–181. Information Communication and Society, 12(6),
doi:10.1080/19331681003749030 879–898. doi:10.1080/13691180802158508
P
Walsh, K. C. (2004). Talking about politics: Infor Chadwick, A. (2006). Internet politics: States,
mal groups and social identity in American life. citizens, and new communication technologies.
L
Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
A
Warschauer, M. (2004). Technology and social Dalton, R. J. (2008). The good citizen: How a
inclusion: Rethinking the digital divide. Cam younger generation is reshaping American poli
B
bridge, MA: MIT Press. tics. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
Wilson, E. J. (2006). The information revolution Davis, R. (2009). Typing politics: The role of
O
and developing countries. Cambridge, MA: MIT blogs in American politics. New York, NY: Oxford
Press. University Press.
L
Wilson, K. R., Wallin, J. S., & Reiser, C. (2005). Gil de Zúñiga, H., Veenstrab, A., Vragac, E., &
G
Social stratification and the digital divide . In Shah, D. (2010). Digital democracy: Reimagin
Garson, G. D. (Ed.), Public administration and ing pathways to political participation. Journal of
I
public policy: A comprehensive publication Information Technology & Politics, 7(1), 36–51.
program (2nd ed., Vol. 111, pp. 173–184). Boca doi:10.1080/19331680903316742
G
Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis.
Kann, M. E., Berry, J., Gant, C., & Zager, P. (2007).
I
Zukin, C., Keeter, S., Andolina, M., Jenkins, K., The Internet and youth political participation. First
& Delli Carpini, M. X. (2006). A new engage Monday, 12(8). Retrieved from http://firstmonday.
ment? Political participation, civic life, and the org/issues/ issue12_8/kann/index.html
changing American citizen. New York, NY: Oxford
Kreiss, D. (2009). Developing the “good
University Press.
citizen”: Digital artifacts, peer networks, and
formal organization during the 20032004
Howard Dean campaign. Journal of Informa
ADDITIONAL READING tion Technology & Politics, 6(3), 281–297.
doi:10.1080/19331680903035441
Barber, B. R. (2003). Strong democracy: Partici
patory politics for a new age (3rd ed.). Berkeley,
CA: University of California Press.
106
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
Kushin, M. J., & Kitchener, K. (2009). Getting Skocpol, T., & Fiorina, M. P. (Eds.). (1999). Civic
political on social network sites: Exploring online engagement in American democracy. Washington,
political discourse on Facebook. First Monday, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
14(11). Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/
Steger, W., Williams, C., & Andolina, M. (Sep
htbin/cgiwrap/ bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/
F
25, 2010). Political use of social networks in
viewArticle/2645/2350
2008. Paper presented at the annual meeting
Meijer, A., Burger, N., & Ebbers, W. (2009). Citi of the American Political Science Association,
O
zens4Citizens: Mapping participatory practices on Washington DC.
the Internet. Electronic . Journal of EGovernment,
StromerGalley, J. (2000). Online inter
O
7(1), 99–112. Retrieved from http://www.ejeg.
action and why candidates avoid it. The
com/issue/ download.html?idArticle=183
Journal of Communication, 50(4), 111–132.
R
Oates, S., Owen, D. M., & Gibson, R. K. (Eds.). doi:10.1111/j.14602466.2000.tb02865.x
(2006). The Internet and politics: Citizens, voters
P
Sunstein, C. R. (2007). Republic.com 2.0. Princ
and activists. New York, NY: Routledge.
eton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Park, H., & Perry, J. (2008). Do campaign websites
L
Valenzuela, S., Park, N., & Kee, K. F. (2009). Is
really matter in electoral civic engagement? Empir
there social capital in a social network site? Face
ical evidence from the 2004 postelection Internet
A
book use and college students’ life satisfaction,
tracking survey. Social Science Computer Review,
trust, and participation. Journal of Computer
26(2), 190–212. doi:10.1177/0894439307309026
B
Mediated Communication, 14(4), 875–901.
Quintelier, E. (2007). Differences in politi doi:10.1111/j.10836101.2009.01474.x
cal participation between young and old peo
O
Verba, S. (2003). Would the dream of political
ple. Contemporary Politics, 13(2), 165–180.
equality turn out to be a nightmare? Perspec
L
doi:10.1080/13569770701562658
tives on Politics, 1(4), 663–679. doi:10.1017/
Quintelier, E., & Vissers, S. (2007). The effect S1537592703000458
G
of Internet use on political participation. Social
Wang, S. (2007). Political use of the Internet,
Science Computer Review, 26(4), 411–427.
I
political attitudes and political participation.
doi:10.1177/0894439307312631
Asian Journal of Communication, 17(4), 381–395.
G
Rojas, H., & PuigiAbril, E. (2009). Mobilizers doi:10.1080/01292980701636993
I
mobilized: Information, expression, mobiliza
tion and participation in the digital age. Journal
of ComputerMediated Communication, 14(4),
902–927. doi:10.1111/j.10836101.2009.01475.x
Schlozman, K. L., Sidney, V., & Brady, H. E. Democratic Divide: A gap or distinction
(2010). Weapon of the strong? Participatory in between those who do and do not use digital
equality and the Internet. Perspectives on Politics, resources for political engagement, mobilization,
8(2), 487–509. doi:10.1017/S1537592710001210 and participation.
Digital Citizenship: The ability to participate
Shane, P. (Ed.). (2004). Democracy online: The in a particular social, political, or national com
prospects for political renewal through the Inter munity by means of using digital resources.
net. New York, NY: Routledge.
107
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
Digital Divide: A gap or distinction between and on Jones and Fox’ (2009) separation of
haves and havenots of access to information and the Baby Boomer generation into older and
communication technologies, which is configured younger cohort.
in terms of various reasons and consequences of 5
Hispanics and Asians are both included in
access (technological inequality in physical ac the category of nonwhites. Despite growing
F
cess, immaterial inequality in freedom and life academic attention to the digital divide in
chances, material inequality in socioeconomic contrast between Hispanics and other ethnic
O
resources, social inequality in positions, power groups, the consideration of Hispanics (five
and participation, and educational inequality in percent of the total sample) as a separate
capabilities and skills). demographic category did not make any
O
Political Efficacy: An individual’s sense of significantly distinct result in the analysis
belief in the value of political action and the using the same method.
R
likelihood of success in the action. 6
The category of online political activ
Political Mobilization: The process that influ ity may include political activity on SNS.
P
ences individual’s values and orientations toward That can be a weakness of measurements
a political object (e.g., political party, candidate, because political activities on SNS and the
L
institution or government). Internet may be overlapped to some extent.
Political Participation: An individual’s or a However, the possible categorical overlap
A
group’s political activity in various forms such as does not necessarily make for a misleading
active or passive, institutional or noninstitutional, interpretation of the result. The proportion
B
and mobilized or voluntary action. of SNS users is relatively much smaller
Social Networking Site (SNS): Webbased than that of total online people. We expect
services designed to facilitate communication, that when respondents answer the questions
O
collaboration and content sharing across networks about online activity, most of them will refer
L
of contacts, and which allow users to construct a to the main ways (primarily emailing, visiting
public profile, and manage, build and represent a homepage) that they utilize the Internet,
their social relations online. other than using SNS, because the number
G
of political users of SNS makes up only a
I
tiny portion of the total digital citizens who
ENDNOTES use the Internet for political purposes.
G
7
This study employs OLS instead of ordinal
I
1
Ascription occurs when social class or stra logistic model for the following reasons.
tum placement is primarily heredity. First of all, the ordinal scale of the dependent
2
Margin of error of the original random variables differs in nature from a generic
sampled dataset is plus or minus three per ordinal scale such as the Likert scale (for
centage points in the Internet user sample. example, ranging from highly disagree to
3
Nomenclature for the youngest generation, highly agree). We counted the number of
Generation Y, varies: Millenials (Howe political activities belonging to the same
& Strauss, 2000, 2003), Net Generation category, and used the counted number as
(Tapscott, 1998, 2009), DotNets (Zukin et an ordinal variable. The basic assumption
al., 2006), or Digital Natives and Digital underlying ordinal logistic regression is the
Immigrants (Prensky, 2001). presence of a latent variable hidden behind
4
The categorization is based on Howe and the integerbased degree. However, the ordi
Strauss’ (1991, 2000) generation division nal scale of the counted variables is not based
108
H%8*%"+,$8*1*#/8+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+*%+15"+IJJK+LMNM+,)"@*>"%1*/8+:8"#1*$%
on assumption because the number (how nificance, magnitude of slope coefficients,

many activities respondents are doing) itself and model fit. Ordered logistic regression
contains the meaning. The assumption does does not make for better results (in terms of
not match the dependent variables aggregat consistently best unbiased estimates) than
ing binary responses. Second but not least, OLS. In addition, the linear combination test
F
ordinal logistic regression does not produce for betweengroup comparison makes sense
much of a different result in terms of sig in OLS, not in ordered logistic regression.
O O
P R
A L
OB
G L
G I
I
109
110
Chapter 6
Power and Identity among
Citizens in Networked Societies:
O F
O
Towards a Critical Study of
Cultural E-Governance
Jakob Svensson
Karlstad University, Sweden
P R
A L
B
ABSTRACT
A classic question within studies of governance concerns what appears to be a paradox of being free
O
and governed at the same time. In this chapter, the author addresses this question departing from
contemporary Western society, a society to which he attaches labels such as digital, late modern, and
L
networked. This is a theoretical chapter addressing political participation, citizenship practices, and
power. How do people enter into citizenship through political participation online, and what governs
G
these processes? The contribution to the academic discussion is to highlight the expressive as an increas
I
ingly important rationale for political participation in networked and digital late modernity. The author
arrives at this conclusion departing from the intersections between technology, society, and culture. In
3<2,2'.132*,2G3.&1,/'2D$*2,,.+2'$*&G2,,2,'&5'.)213.CG83.&1'8*2'-24,I'(<2*25&*2'G.3.H21,<.$'$*8G3.G2,'87,&'
G
need to be approached from an axis of individualism, creating even more intersections when combined
I
with technology, society, and culture.
INTRODUCTION on social theory and transdisciplinarity, aiming to

clarify concepts across academic disciplines for
The objective of this chapter is to understand better understanding and analyses of contemporary
political participation among both free, but also governance. The chapter will attend to complex
governed, individuals in an increasingly digi ideas of citizenship, society, power, governance,
talized media landscape. This is a chapter based the political, the individual and their interconnec
tions. This constitutes a broad approach on some
core issues in the Social and Political Sciences
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch006
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
and as such the chapter is inevitably incomplete. Theoretical transcendence does not stop here
But the aim here is not to enter into detail on by bridging imagined borders between the indi
encompassing sociopolitical concepts and their vidual and society. There is another boundary we
specific interrelations. The contribution to the need to transcend in order to better understand
academic discussion is on a metalevel, putting political participation today. I am thinking of
F
forward a transdisciplinary approach and as such academic discussions of digital communication
will hopefully be useful as a theoretical frame for where authors tend to lean on determinist positions
O
empirical research, to identify entry points for of either technology or culture. On the one side
embarking on studies of contemporary political we have cyber optimists, trusting in the techno
participation(s) online. logical aspects of the Internet to solve all kinds
O
In this chapter, I will draw my argument from of problems in contemporary democracies (see
theories across the sociopolitical spectrum, for example Benkler, 2006; Shirky, 2009). On
R
including such as theories of governance, late the other hand we have more pessimistic views
modernity, networks and rationality. The issue on digital technology, framed within existing
P
at stake understanding political participation power structures and societal organizations only
among free and governed individual citizens in to reinforce these, hence not bringing about any
L
contemporary digital media landscapes takes us changes (see Hindman, 2009). I believe it is impor
back to the Social Sciences’ classic dichotomy tant not take on a determinist standpoint on either
A
between society and the individual. In academia technology or culture. Instead more effort should
we have attempted to outline transdisciplinary be put into exploring mutual coconstruction of
B
concepts in order to transcend this dichotomy. culture and technology (see also Ekelin, 2007;
First and foremost I think of citizenship, a con FrauMeigs, 2007; Roberts, 2009). As Castells
cept combining normative macroperspectives of (2000) puts it, “technology is society and society
O
a good society and how it should be structured, cannot be understood or be represented without
L
with behavioral understandings of individual par its technological tools” (p. 29). Technology is
ticipation (for an overview on citizenship see Isin thus neither good, nor bad, but it should not be
& Turner, 2002). Citizenship rights for example considered neutral either, or untouched by power
G
are attached to individuals, but the argument for relations in society.
I
having those rights has an important collective In this context of transcending theoretical
dimension (Bellamy, 2008, pp. 1415). They ap borders, the idea of a network could be used as
G
peal to certain qualities for human beings leading a mental image to bridge imagined causalities
I
a life together with others, they appeal to how between society and individuals, and between
society should be structured in an equal and just technology and culture. The network concept has
manner. It is a political community of members become increasingly prominent for understanding
who can grant rights, in which individual mem governance in a society characterized by multiple
bers (citizens) seek fair terms of association to nodes and their multilayered interconnections
secure those goods necessary for them to pursue (Castells, 2000; Sörensen & Torfing, 2008). The
their doings on just and equal terms with fellow network concept is also used for understanding
members (Bellamy, 2008, p. 16). In this way, individual evolution and fosterage where indi
citizens are free rights holding individuals, but at viduality is rendered useless without network
the same time governed by normative discourses visibility and references to other nodes and their
of democratic membership with duties such as supposed connotations (Castells, 2001, pp. 129
participation and collective mindedness attached. 133; Donath & boyd, 2004, p. 72; Walther, Van
Der Heide, Kim, Westerman & Tong, 2008).
111
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
A fundamental acknowledgement behind this POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND

chapter and its relevance (and indeed, this whole GOVERNANCE IN DIGITAL AND
book) is that society and political participation are NETWORKED LATE MODERNITY
changing. Today the Internet is considered a new
arena for politics in connected societies. Increasing Our time is often referred to as late modern (see
F
individualization and the rise of the network as Giddens, 1991). Dahlgren (2006) characterizes
a dominant model of sociability are challenging late modernity by identifying two interrelated
O
our understanding of participation and citizenship cultural processes at work: dispersion of unifying
practices. Aspects of participation change when cultural frameworks and individualization. The
social conditions change (Dobson, 2003, p. 35), first refers to the increasing pluralization, frag
O
hence technology, society and citizenship develop mentation and nichification of society along lines
in mutual and dialectical relationships. The citizen of ethnicity, media consumption, cultural interests,
R
is constituted as a subject of a sociotechnological life styles, interests, tastes etc. Individualization
practice and at the same time also takes part in refers to a lacking sense of social belonging and
P
the constitution of him/ herself as a subject of a a growing sense of personal autonomy.
sociotechnological practice. In other words, they Political participation is changing in late mo
L
are free and governed at the same time as both dernity. Citizen participation in parliamentary
objects of domination and subjects, able to create arenas is diminishing. Some claim that late mod
A
their own field of agency (Ekelin, 2007, p. 66). ern individualization is to be blamed for citizens’
Whether the Internet and digitalization will break withdrawal from traditional democratic sites (see
B
with established societal power structures might for example Bauman, 2001). Individualism and
thus be argued against (see the chapters in Loader, increased preoccupation of the self are indeed
2007; and Olsson & Dahlgren, 2010). But Internet central aspects of late modern developments. But
O
is changing the practice of political participation this does not per se imply a withdrawal from politi
L
and meanings of engagement (see Dahlgren, cal participation. Despite decreasing participation
2009). Hence it is in the above mentioned dialectics in parliamentary arenas, there are other sites of
and intersections that we should start to theorize political engagement that do not solely limit po
G
contemporary political participations for a more litical participation to representative democracy,
I
comprehensive understanding of citizenship(s) which suggests new loci for citizenship practices
today. To accomplish this we need to approach such as those that the concepts of life politics
G
the topic from variety of different vantage points (see Giddens, 1991, p. 247) and SubPolitics (see
I
and their dialectical interconnections. Beck, 1998, pp. 306329) underline. For empirical
In this chapter I will underline expressive studies exploring new arenas for participation in
motivations and identification as increasingly late modernity see for example Sörbom’s (2002)
important for political participation and citizenship study of worker unions and Thörn’s (2002) study
practices in digital late modernity. But before I of new social movements.
engage in a discussion of the rationales for political Sociocultural changes of late modernity are
participation, I will attend to recent developments, happening at the same time as we experience a
first in sociological theories of late modernity and technological shift towards digitalization and con
then in political theories of governance, develop vergence. Today, almost everyone agrees that the
ments suggesting a more horizontal understanding rise of digital communication and the Internet has
of citizens as selforganizing, fragmented and been remarkable. The Internet is considered the
networked. new arena for participation in connected societ
ies, lowering the political threshold with new and
112
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
different forms for engaging people in political understanding the practice of linking the self to
matters. As empirical examples it is worth men different collectives in late modernity. Individu
tioning Graham’s (2009) study of political talk on als are thus not in opposition to others; on the
reality TV fan sites, Oostveen’s (2009) study of contrary, we need others in order to be ourselves.
emailing in an activist setting, and research by Through processes of identification we link our
F
Svensson A. (2010) on ice hockey fan websites. selves to others, to causes that provide our life
When more and more people socialize, organize, and participation with meaning. As the studies
O
contribute, inform and publish their concerns and of Donath & boyd (2004), boyd & Heer (2006)
themselves on digital networks, political talk and Walther et al. (2008) have underlined, such
pops up in different arenas, participation takes processes of identification are increasingly tak
O
on different meanings and citizenship is enacted ing place in social networking sites in digital late
differently. This illustrates how late modern pro modernity. Important characteristics emerging in
R
cesses of increasing individualization go hand in digital late modernity are thus responsiveness and
hand with digital technology allowing inhabitants connectedness (see FrauMeigs, 2007). In studies
P
to participate and express themselves as citizens of the cell phone for example, informants claim
in selfselected social networking sites, hence that the phone enriched their social life, further
L
connecting their civic identities to other citizens, ing opportunities for selfexpression at the same
causes and their supposed connotations. time as managing and remaking relationships
A
In digital late modernity, individualism and with friends and family (Pröitz, 2007). Instead
processes of identification are central aspects, not of being ascribed to preexisting media con
B
least through the concept of networks, referring sumption units, based on space and territoriality,
both to interaction patterns, sociability, politics and networked individualism suggests that we today
individualism in digital cultures (Benkler, 2006; have greater power in shaping the networks with
O
Castells, 2001; Terranova, 2004). Through digital which we communicate and inform ourselves.
L
networks, we negotiate ourselves, and technology Hence, negotiating and performing our selves
itself is part of this negotiation (see Ekelin, 2007; as individuals does not imply a withdrawal from
Roberts, 2009). In other words, online personas collective identities and community sensibilities.
G
created by, for and through social networking sites
I
are part of our perceived self(s) and its creation Governance as Networked
(for empirical studies on online social networking and Cultural
G
sites see boyd & Heer, 2006; Donath & boyd, 2004;
I
Walther et al., 2008). As these mentioned studies Now we turn to governance in order to shed light
underline, it is especially the social networking on political participation among free and governed
sites that provide applications to harbour late individuals in digital late modernity. Governance
modern processes of identity negotiations and theory was initially preoccupied with the deliberate
new kinds of political participations. steering actions of governments; in particular the
While it could be argued that networks and delivery of public services has been thoroughly
individualism are incompatible since the network studied (Mayntz, 2003, p. 27). For theorizing this,
undermines the traditional western idea of a sepa governance has drawn from Weberian theories of
rate and sovereign subject (see Castells, 2000, p. hierarchical bureaucracy, as well as neoliberal
46), individualism can also be considered a form ideas of the market as a guiding model for public
of collective identity (see Lasch, 1979/1991). Cas service delivery (Bevir 2009, p. 3; Kjaer 2004,
tells’ (2001, pp. 129133) concept of networked chapter 2). Lately, governance scholars have
individualism is particularly illuminating for started to consider more bottomup approaches,
113
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
also from civil society, for understanding citizen overcoming boundaries between society and
engagement (Bang, 2003, p. 2; Bevir, 2009, p. 3; technology (Castells, 2000 & 2001). He describes
Kjaer, 2004, p. 11). The concept of networks has a tendency to organize dominant processes and
been useful in studies of governance underlining functions as networks, the network thus becom
the increasing interdependence of the state on ing the social morphology of society, influenc
F
other organizations to deliver its policies (Bevir, ing everything from processes of production to
2009, p. 3; Kjaer, 2004, p. 3). Thus the focus of individual experiences, power and culture (2000,
O
governance shifted from the steering actions of p. 519). Castells (2000, p. 25) departs from two
governments, to more general ideas indicating contemporary and interlinked developments:
a cooperative mode of governing where state increasing global interdependent economies and
O
and nonstate actors participate in public/private an information technology revolution, steering
networks for both social as well as individual co capitalism towards increasing network coopera
R
ordination (Mayntz, 2003, pp. 2728). Through tion. But information technology does not only
the concept of networks, governance has moved fuel the changing landscapes of capitalism. Digital
P
from a rather limited approach concerned with communication systems are also integrating the
onedirectional practices founded in a rather solid production and distribution of culture, adapt
L
dichotomy between private and public spaces, to ing its pictures, sounds and images to the faster
a more inclusive theory, acknowledging the dia shifting tastes of individuals in late modernity
A
lectics between society and the individual, their (Castells, 2000, p. 26). This leads to a historical
interdependence and mutual coconstructions. shift, recognized by the transformation of material
B
Within studies of governance, a network is culture through information technology (Castells,
broadly defined as a group of actors and the re 2000, p. 51).
lationships between them (see Bevir, 2009, p. 12; Governance is difficult to approach without
O
Kjaer, 2004, p. 37). The network has been used as attending to patterns of communication. Bang
L
a theoretical concept for indicating an abstract type (2003, p. 2) for example, argues that the rise
of social coordination and organization different and importance of governance as an object of
from hierarchies and markets (Bevir, 2009, pp. study involves a communicative turn in political
G
137138). But since the network lacks a hierarchi analysis. Bang (2003, p. 7) forwards a concep
I
cal structure without regulating centra, it is com tion of governance as political communication,
plex to analyze because behaviour can no longer triangulating it with political authority, which he
G
be understood as linear or causal (Castells, 2000, conceives of as a communicative relationship.
I
p. 97). As governance scholars have noted, where Political authority is considered a distinct type
networks are flexible in developing new products, of communicative relationship for articulating
services and solutions within a short timespan, binding decisions and actions for a given field,
they lack control and overall coordination (Kjaer, terrain or group of people (Bang, 2003:9). This
2004, p. 39). Since the state and other organizations relates to Carey’s (1992, p. 18) wellknown ritual
depend on each other, steering mechanisms other view of communication, where society is main
than hierarchical political control become relevant tained through the communication of common
such as diplomacy, partnerships, management and norms and values. As I will return to, authority
coordination (Bevir, 2009, pp. 67, 13). is connected with negotiation of norms and val
Castells is probably the scholar most associ ues. In this way, relations of communication are
ated with networks. In his work on the growth strongly interlinked with culture and citizenship
of a network society in the information age, he (see Micheletti, 2006). In my own theorization of
uses network as a transdisciplinary concept for political participation, I conceive of citizenship
114
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
as a communicative relationship to an authority It can be argued that activities on virtual com

in a way equating participation and membership munities online should not be given the same
in a political community (see Svensson J., 2011). weight as traditional politics. Parliamentary
From the above definition of citizenship, the politics and traditional activities such as voting
question becomes how to define a political com will most likely continue to occupy the core of
F
munity today. The notion of community does not our democratic societies for some time, but they
have to be predetermined or bound to territoriality will not be unmarked by late modern processes
O
(Dobson 2003, p. 72). Instead, defining commu of individualization and digitalization. We should
nity instead around boundaries of interest and not ignore the importance of citizens develop
meaningmaking resonates better with a reflexive ing as autonomous individuals for participating
O
late modern society with digital communication politically (see Dahlgren, 2009, p. 61). The chal
that in many cases transcends state territory and lenge lies in finding new ways to express and
R
unites users around cultural interests, life styles, practice democratic values rather than trying
tastes et cetera. Early virtual online communities to reconstruct circumstances that have become
P
were to a large extent governed by rather specified historically eclipsed (Dahlgren, 2009, p. 14).
and predetermined interests (Castells, 2000, pp. As studies of ecampaigning show, traditional
L
7073). In social networking sites today, online parliamentary politics is already trying to adapt
users negotiate intimate ties to a few people, and to the emerging digital communication landscape
A
weaker ties with hundreds (Castells, 2000, p. 406). (for an overview see Anduiza, 2009). Politicians
With an increasing prominence of social network are using social networking sites in their quest to
B
ing sites and more and more mobile platforms for reach voters, negotiate themselves as politicians
accessing them, the Internet has become one of and to communicate with each other within the
the most important arenas for human sociability party. As I shall attend to in the next section,
O
(Castells, 2001, pp. 129133). Virtual communi participatory projects are also going online and
L
ties today are used both for specialized forums of becoming increasingly popular for politicians to
likeminded members (issuenetworks) as well as revitalize representative democracy (see Kies,
to support broad professional and social networks. 2010). New technological, and hence also cultural,
G
Returning to the political in these communities, prerequisites for political participation have made
I
some pessimists will argue that the growth of the current western democratic system somewhat
virtual communities online has undermined par outdated and incomplete for political representa
G
ticipation within parliamentary arenas (Norris & tion and democratic governance in connected
I
Curtis, 2006, p. 2). It is true that current political network societies (Castells, 1998, p. 358).
systems are built on organizational forms from a Underling a ritual view of communication,
predigital industrial era (Castells, 1998, p. 322). where societal coherence depends on communicat
I believe that the logic and organization of elec ing values and norms, I suggest this area of study
tronic media will reframe and restructure political cultural governance. Culture here is understood in
communities for a more networked society (see a social constructivist sense as meaningmaking
also Castells, 1998, p. 321, Terranova, 2004). As through communication. Bringing culture to gov
the studies of Graham (2009), Oostveen (2009) ernance also involves acknowledging that affective
and Svensson A. (2010) underline, virtual online modes of communication structure participation
communities from many different settings may and citizenship (see Hall, 2005). Affective com
very well be considered political (for an indepth munication helps citizens to think reflexively
discussion of the notion of the political, see Svens about their own lifeworld situations and how
son J., 2011). to negotiate their way in and through different
115
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
systems (McGuigan, 2005, p. 435). This entails fits very well into a market model of governance,
that the political, public and personal will also choosing the alternative that would best maximize
get articulated in more contested cultural public utility and individual preferences (Kjaer, 2004,
spheres including the whole range of media and p. 7). An instrumental understanding of civic
popular culture (Hermes, 2006). Culture in cultural participation also presupposes an aggregative
F
governance thus refers to both understandings of understanding of democracy in which political
culture as communicative practices of meaning actors convert individual wants and resources to
O
making as well as popular culture. collective action through bargaining, payoffs and
coalition formation (Kjaer, 2004, p. 13). When
Rationality Debates Revisited promoting certain types of egovernance, using
O
arguments of rationalization and modernization
I argue that the prominence of networked indi of public administration in order to better realize
R
vidualism and cultural governance in digital late a more efficient citizen’s service, egovernance
modernity is accompanied by another form of is also framed within an instrumental discourse
P
rationality. This is a form of rationality that tran (Ekelin, 2007). Government websites, easily ac
scends the bipolar instrumental–communicative cessible 24 hours, are supposed to provide citizens
L
dimension, a dimension that has been important with better access to, and information on, policy
for normative theorizing and evaluation in Po and public programmes. The whole idea of e
A
litical and Social Sciences. Socializing, cultural administration is often realized with arguments
consumption/production, identity management, based on addressing citizens as instrumental
B
information and publication strategies are both actors. However, as mentioned before, from an
accentuated and different in digital, networked instrumental rational perspective, parliamentary
and late modern environments. But let us first turn politics has lost its attractiveness as a locus for
O
to instrumental rationality and its critics before individuals pursuing their private interests.
L
addressing the argument of expressive rationality. Instrumental rationality has been widely
Instrumental rationality refers to agents choos criticized from many different perspectives (see
ing from a range of different actions, and picking Hindess, 1988). If we consider the utilitarian ar
G
the one they believe most appropriate for achiev gument of cost and benefits, it would make more
I
ing the ends they desire (Mueller, 1989). Hence, sense not to engage at all (the so called freerider
rationality becomes an instrument for reaching problem). Muhlberger (2006) refers to this as ratio
G
predefined goals. Through theories of New nal apathy. And here lies a problem. Instrumental
I
Public Management, instrumental understand rationality may explain civic apathy rationally, but
ings of rationality had a big influence in public it fails to provide a sufficient account of current
administration in the 1990’s (Bevir, 2009; Kjaer, political engagement. Habermas (1996) contrasts
2004). The dominant discourse considered inhabit instrumental with communicative rationality.
ants as instrumental and motivated by their own According to Habermas, the truth in our claims
selfinterest, thus entering into citizenship when needs to be open for contestation because they are
consuming municipal welfare and claiming their inevitably based in our lifeworld of background
right to welfare programs. At the same time that assumptions, loyalties and skills (Leet, 1998).
inhabitants adopted a more consumeroriented Therefore to deal with our inherent subjectivity,
view of democratic politics, politicians likewised Habermas (1996) points to critical interpersonal
treated them as consumers by marketizing the discussion as the mode of communication in a
public sector (Bellamy, 2008). This instrumental democracy. In order to understand each other and
rational understanding of individual behaviour to become aware of our subjective assumptions, the
116
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
only rational thing to do is to communicate with Internet and digital communication are believed
others. Communicative rationality occurs when to be particularly promising for such endeavours,
communication is free from coercion, deception, often leading to online experiments under the
strategizing and manipulation (the ideal speech promise of Eparticipation (Ekelin, 2007; Kies,
situation). Communicative rationality suggests 2010).
F
that people are motivated by a will to understand We recognize here the dilemma of how to
and learn from each other, thus differing from in govern free individuals, or more concretely, how
O
strumental rationality where people are understood to reorient free citizens back to traditional demo
as being motivated by maximizing personal ben cratic arenas. Understanding governance through
efits at as low a cost as possible. Communicative networks today, we recognize the blurring of
O
rationality also suggests that people are not only boundaries between the public institutions and the
inclined to address their inherent subjectivity, but private inhabitants, acknowledging that both issue
R
they also want to strive for enlightenment through networks and policy networks are incorporated
communication with others. into processes of governing (Bang, 2003, p. 2).
P
Deliberative democracy is inspired by com From a deliberative and representative democratic
municative rationality and questions the idea that perspective, governance through eparticipation
L
democracy is about the aggregation and reconcili is envisioned to benefit citizens at the same time
ation of preestablished individual selfinterest raising their interest in parliamentary politics,
A
(Dryzek, 2000; Stokes, 2005). Instead, individuals and increasing active citizen participation in
are socialized into democratic practices through representative democratic arenas (Ekelin, 2007).
B
communication. In late modernity, deliberative Indeed, representative democracy is dependent on
theories of democracy have become influential comprehensive and sustained citizen participa
within representative democratic settings. Parlia tion. The idea of eparticipation invokes a vision
O
mentary institutions are turning to participatory of the Internet as a virtual agora full of ideas and
L
projects focusing on involving citizens in rational citizens prone to take part in rational political
discussions (deliberation) in order to engage them discussions without any constraints of time or
(see Svensson J., 2008a, pp. 135138). Since space (see Kies, 2010).
G
many stages of policy processes are outside the Using a communicative understanding of
I
direct control of elected officials, Bevir (2009, p. rationality, proponents of representative democ
29) argues there is a case for enhancing popular racy assume that individual citizens participate
G
participation through public hearings, town hall freely in online discussions in their inherent quest
I
forums, deliberative polls, citizen juries et cetera. for enlightenment, learning and understanding.
In my own research, I have attempted to explain the Deliberative democracy has been questioned
contemporary increase of deliberative democratic regarding the likelihood of citizens in general
experiments as a response to the failure of liberal possessing the qualities required for realizing
ideologies and market models of governance to communicative rationality (Cohen, 1996). Ideas
engage ordinary citizens in parliamentary politics and demands must be intersubjectively accept
(see Svensson J., 2008a, chapter 5). A deliberative able, otherwise others will not go along with them.
democratic understanding of citizens as communi Deliberative citizens need to be able to exercise
cative beings and eager to engage in deliberations selfrestraint in refraining from the immediate
for the future of society is indeed more attractive instrumental purpose of their selfinterests. This
for politicians and civil servants when outlining attribute would need to be accompanied by the
strategies for dealing with a contemporary de capacity for critique and selfreflection, an ability
crease in traditional political participation. The to listen to others and an openness to revisions of
117
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
earlier positions (Stokes, 2005). Communicative Brennan and Lomasky (1993, see also Engelen,
rationality is normative and rather essentialist in 2006). The authors argue for expressive rather
its assumption that citizens have an intrinsic wish than individual preferences trying to understand
to talk to and understand each other. Herein lies a why people vote. While selfinterest is dominant
problem for using communicative rationality as a in market behaviour, this is not applicable to vot
F
concept for understanding contemporary politi ing behaviour, since agents are nondecisive at the
cal participation. Civic disinterest, for example, ballot box compared to in the market. For example,
O
becomes difficult to explain from this perspec if you buy an apple, you are indeed going to have
tive. Before citizens deliberate, they have to be the apple, but if you vote Liberal you cannot be
motivated to participate in the deliberation. But certain the Liberal Party will win the elections.
O
where instrumental rationality could explain civic Therefore considerations that predominate at the
apathy, referring to selfinterested agents lacking market cannot be presumed to predominate at
R
motivation, it falls short of explaining late mod the ballot box. Where market behaviour reflects
ern life political engagement. On the other side, agents’ selfinterest, voting reflects agents’ expres
P
communicative rationality fails to fully grasp sive preferences (Brennan & Lomasky, 1993).
the nature of contemporary disinterest towards In other words choosing apples over bananas is
L
representative democratic institutions. Thus we different from expressing a preference for liberal
need other analytical tools in order to understand politics over conservative politics.
A
citizenship and political participation, analytical I have applied the argument for expressive
tools that also consider technocultural aspects preferences to political participation generally
B
of changes in digital late modernity, critical tools (see Svensson J., 2008b), and I believe this is
that are based on a cultural understanding of e particularly the case in online social networking
governance. sites (see Svensson J., 2011). For example joining
O
Kjaer (2004, p. 7) contrasts what she labels a cause on Facebook is neither about satisfying
L
a rational behaviour model with a sociologi instrumental selfcentred needs nor to communi
cal behavioural model, where individuals are cate for enlightenment. People are constructing,
socialized into certain norms and values that in negotiating and maintaining themselves on social
G
their turn motivate participation. Preferences are networking sites making them primarily spaces
I
constantly (re)evaluated when individuals adapt for identity construction and maintenance (see
to surrounding norms and expectations, socially Donath & boyd, 2004). When people chat together,
G
constructing their roles and identities (Kjaer, 2004, form community groups, join online petitions,
I
p. 13). I would label Kjaer’s approach cultural they produce meanings, identities, communities,
since it focuses on the sensemaking agent, using public will, and above all, they express and publish
concepts such as identity, norms and values. As I themselves. A focus on processes of identification
have outlined earlier, processes of identification, concerns expressing, negotiating and maintaining
reflexive activities of selfexpression through discourses in order to make participation meaning
online writing, are increasingly important aspects ful and relevant. This is neither communicative
in digital late modernity. Such processes should nor instrumental rationality but rather expressive
therefore be underlined for understanding political rationality. Participants are motivated by a will
participation among free and governed citizens. to express, perform, maintain, create and recreate
This more expressive rationale for participation identities and their meanings.
diverges from instrumental and communicative Expressive rationality does not render instru
approaches. Expressive is a notion I borrow mental and communicative rationality inadequate:
from a study of voting behaviour in the 90’s by it transcends this dichotomy. From an expressive
118
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
rational perspective we can understand political historically given and geographically rooted, as
participation whether citizens are motivated by well as newly negotiated in our hunt for meaning
preestablished selfinterests or not, and whether (Castells, 2000, p. 45). Participating as an ordinary
these will change during the deliberation or not. member of a political community in contemporary
Citizens pursue the goals and interests that give digital late modernity implies getting involved,
F
meaning to their lives on equal terms with others using existing institutions or organizations, prac
(Bellamy, 2008). These goals and interests may ticing one’s rights and duties, discussing, giving
O
be selfcentred as well as altruistic: hence both way to one’s imagination et cetera (Bang, 2003,
instrumental and communicative rationality may p. 11). Such public communicative activities are
provide powerful discourses around which to relate selfreferential but also more fluid, nonplanned,
O
expressions of yourself, and meanings of your impulsive and opaque. This explains why protest
participations. Citizen participation is thus moti still occurs (both online as well as offline), given
R
vated by meaningful and possible ways/ loci for protestors’ awareness of their slim possibilities to
expressing, maintaining and performing relevant influence policy makers. From an instrumental
P
identities. Civic disinterest can be understood perspective, such protesting would be difficult to
as a lack of meaningful possibilities to express, explain. However, using expressive rationality as
L
maintain and renegotiate identities, or simply a a model, an understanding of protesters emerges,
lack of relevant identities for making participa where they negotiate themselves for example
A
tion meaningful (for a more indepth treatment as peace loving or environmentally conscious.
on expressive rationality see Svensson J., 2008b) Identities give both impulses for participation,
B
When identity becomes the organizing prin and meaning to their actions.
ciple in digital late modernity, citizenship and in Here, identification is understood as the process
the longterm democracy relies on individuals through which a social actor understands him/
O
(semi)publicly expressing their views on the orga herself, the process of attaching/constructing/mak
L
nization and structuring of society. The Internet and ing meaning out of one’s self, one’s life and ones’
digital environment provide us with such spaces actions (Castells, 1998, p. 20). Identification often
(see Graham, 2009; Oostveen, 2009; Svensson, takes its form from positioning (Harré & Moghad
G
A., 2010). Democracy involves supporting and dam, 2003) or reflexive selfbiographization (Gid
I
creating institutions and participatory processes dens, 1991). In my previous research, I witnessed
that facilitate the construction, maintenance and how positioning oneself as a concerned parent
G
development of such political identities (Kjaer became a prominent position for participating in a
I
2004, p. 13). municipal deliberative project (Svensson J, 2008a,
pp. 213223). The construction of one person as
IDENTITY AND POWER IN a mother that cared for the safety of her children
NETWORKED SOCIETIES and those in the neighbourhood, and doing so in
front of neighbours and at municipally organized
The negotiation of identity becomes more and meetings, made participation meaningful and
more important as a source of meaningmaking, provided her with an understanding of herself as
especially in detraditionalized, networked and an actor in municipal politics.
late modern societies with a shattering of com It is here we need to bring power into the dis
mon frames of reference (Castells, 2000, p. 27). cussion of governance and networks in digital late
We organize meaning from supposed mental im modernity. Cruikshank (1999, p. 34) points out
ages of who we want to be, and participation and that contemporary nonparticipation and political
politics are constructed around identifications, disinterest places a strain upon liberal democratic
119
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
government, which is one explanation for the in In a similar manner, Castells (2000, p. 36) also
crease of webdeliberations within parliamentary reminds us that we need to consider the state as
settings (see Kies, 2010). But this will to empower a central factor behind technological evolution or
through regimes of participatory democracy is both lack thereof. Networks have thus not superseded a
enabled and constrained by relations of power statecentered hierarchical policymaking model
F
(Cruikshank, 1999, p. 2). A discussion board on but rather supplemented it, pushing actors to adapt
a municipal webpage for example may very well to it (Kjaer, 2004, p. 44). Hence we are navigating
O
be a way for politicians to increase participation a terrain of governance though hierarchies, markets
with the only purpose of solidifying the platform as well as networks. The state is becoming less
that the political representatives are dependent relevant as a locus of power, but it is not out of
O
on for legitimizing their exercise of power (see the game pad.
Åkerström, 2010). Nonregulated experiments of Power is no longer entirely concentrated in
R
egovernance, enabled by democratically elected the state, capitalist organizations or media but
representatives, could be considered a benevolent dispersed in global networks of money, power,
P
gesture towards the citizens and based on a genuine information and images. New power relations
wish to be in dialogue with them. But the outcomes lie in information codes and representing images
L
of these deliberations are entirely in the hands of around which societies organize their institutions
the elected politicians: they will either ignore or and around which people construct their life, narra
A
implement them. My own research in a Swedish tives, and meanings that in turn motivates partici
municipality reveals an instrumental use of citizen pation or not. In digital late modernity, we should
B
deliberations by elected politicians (see Svensson direct our attention to online social networking
J., 2008a, pp. 6468). When not consistent with platforms, where processes of identification are in
their own opinions, it was easy to dismiss these creasingly taking place. From an expressive point
O
deliberations as nonrepresentative, since partici of view, it is quite rational to use selfreferential
L
pation was voluntary and selfselected. The quest testimonials in selfselected networks, as well as
for empowering citizens through deliberations practices of explicit nodeconnections, in order
within representative democracy was embedded to attach supposed connotations to negotiate your
G
in a hierarchical discourse of governance with own individuality. But to investigate power rela
I
all of the asymmetrical power relations attached tions through meaningmaking, we need to ask
to it (see also Cruickshank, 1999, p. 3). Power which nodes are prominent to connect to and why,
G
within statecitizen relationships are thus both and who is included or excluded in this process.
I
individualizing and totalizing (Foucault, 1994, Since networks are based on reciprocity and
p. 325). In studies of contemporary processes trust, rather than on command and control, they are
of egovernance, it thus becomes important to much more difficult to hold accountable (Kjaer,
find out whether we are witnessing a qualitative 2004, pp. 43, 50). This implies that mechanisms of
change of state control or only a formal change power are more complex, finer and more difficult
of its exercise (see Mayntz, 2003, p. 31). It is to grasp in a network full of interdependent nodes
true that governance actors increasingly involve and connections. For example, the mere possibil
nongovernmental actors, but policies still have to ity for equal participation affects how citizens
be approved by elected bodies, and governments regard their other duties such as abiding laws,
still have to put them in motion (Kjaer, 2004, p. paying taxes et cetera (Bellamy, 2008). Power
44). With the Internet it can be argued that state is both voluntary and coercive at the same time
control is diminishing (Shirky, 2009), but legal (Cruikshank 1999, p. 32, 45; Foucault, 1994, p.
ratification is still within the realm of the state. 217). For governing free individuals, justice and
120
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
equality become important as social bonds that Governance through norms and values, sus
tie free individuals together as citizens in a po tained in networks, aiming at guiding and shaping
litical community. The promise of just and equal the actions of others rather than forcing control and
participation motivates us to collaborate with our domination, is a more subtle and sophisticated way
fellow citizens but also to accept decisions counter of understanding power. In this way, Cruikshank
F
to our own opinions. This is the very definition (1999, p. 4) argues that citizens are not born, but
of power, to impose will and shape the wants of made through democratic modes of governance
O
others (Castells, 2000, p. 38; Foucault, 1994, p. (see also Foucault, 1994). Inhabitants are subject to
324; Kjaer, 2004, pp. 5051). Power mechanisms power even as they participate as citizens in their
in networks are relational and may take new routes own right and by their own will (Cruikshank, 1999,
O
through the maze of interconnected nodes. Criti pp. 20, 24). Even when they do not participate,
cal empirical studies of governance in digital late they are subject to power since politicians and
R
modernity should thus not forget the question of government officials envision citizens (Coleman,
what and who is governing the power relations 2010), which governs the way citizens will be
P
in the network. addressed and how politicians will interact with
Bringing culture to governance theory ac them (not least of which the contemporary increase
L
knowledges the importance of community values of deliberative experiments is an example). But
and norms for study (Hofstede, 1991, pp. 1619). citizens also envision themselves and political
A
Culture in the form of shared norms and values is participation is experienced by every individual
important for understanding power relations be as a project also linked with the ongoing pursuit
B
tween free and governed individuals. For example, of the self (Bang, 2003, p. 7).
how can communication between a government Bruns (2009, p. 11) discusses online com
and its citizens in a political community structure, munities as groups of people with a set of shared
O
and be structured, by values and norms (Bang, values, beliefs, norms and ideas. These shared
L
2003, p. 3)? Some values and norms are sustained values, norms and ideas then constitute the core of
by interpersonal networks, and as such, they are the political community, out of which authority is
also sites of power (Kjaer 2004, p. 51). This is constituted and claimed and through which power
G
a form of power that rarely has a center, often is exercised. The presence of such an authority
I
coming from many directions, and is both repres may enforce free individuals to act contrary to
sive and productive in that it produces identities, their direct desires (Bevir, 2009:3). Cruikshank
G
relations and capabilities important for sustaining (1999, p. 32, 45) also discusses political power
I
democratic societies (Kjaer 2004, p. 52). In the as an ongoing result of forming and reforming
words of Foucault (1994, p. 325), power is both authority. If authority is claimed through shared
individualizing and totalizing at the same time. We values and norms that constitute the core of the
are thus navigating a social constructivist terrain political community, it is in the claiming of com
of identification and power through communica munity authority, through the negotiation of its
tion and participation, which in turn governs our values and norms, that power manifests itself. For
behaviour living together in political communities example, in my current research project studying
and societies. Social constructivism and a cultural citizen activism online in southern Stockholm, I
approach emphasize the meaningful character joined an online petition for the transformation of
of human (inter)action, and the construction of the nearby abandoned fire station into a culture
meaning as central for explaining human action centre. I soon realized that online visibility through
(Bevir, 2009: 21). Thus power is also to be found activities such as facebooking and twittering would
in the struggles and contests over meaning. get me closer to the core of the activist group.
121
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
By echoing popular argument through hashtag by themselves, together with, and through over
twittering and through posting encouraging en lapping, private, professional and selfselected
tries on the Facebook fan page, I was not only (semi)public networks. This is the reason why
showing my sympathy for the participatory and governance is such a useful point of departure,
expressive values of the activist group, but I also by its way of comprising agency both from an
F
reinforced these values and the authority of certain individual as well as from a collective perspective.
other active group members by commenting and The concept of networked individualism is help
O
retweeting their tweets (see also boyd, Scott & ful in studies of governance since it links the self
Gilad, 2010). Norms and values are important for to different collectives in digital late modernity.
understanding how to govern free individuals. It Such processes of identification are connected
O
is then through the concept of authority we can to our perceptions of others and ourselves as
link norms and values to relations of power. In citizens, and this takes us beyond deliberative
R
other words, adherence to, and socialization into, and instrumental measures for understanding and
identification with community values and norms assessing participation and governance. Instead,
P
becomes important for determining power rela we should investigate which nodes are important
tions within a community (Bruns, 2009, p. 5). when negotiating and maintaining our selves in
L
These community norms and values are not fixed networks and how we move between different
but subject to constant renegotiation and gradual networks of political communities.
A
change (Bruns, 2009, p. 11). New forms of governance in today’s networked
societies and digital late modernity highlight the
B
ways in which forms of power and authority can
CONCLUSION: TOWARDS secure order even in the absence of hierarchical
A CRITICAL STUDY OF state activity (Bevir, 2009, p. 3). The question
O
CULTURAL EGOVERNANCE governing this chapter concerns how to under
L
stand being governed but at the same time being
Today it no longer makes sense to speak of the free in an increasingly complex, dynamic, digital
political, the social, the technological, the private and late modern world (see also Bang 2003, p. 2).
G
or the public as separate domains. Without an Studies of governance contribute with a way of
I
analysis of how cultures are transformed through combining rulestructures with agency, theorizing
digital technology, and how technology is trans the frameworks within which both citizens and of
G
formed through culture, the overall understand ficials act and where political participation occurs
I
ing of our society will escape us (Castells, 2000, (Kjaer, 2004, p. 10). And this is where I believe
p. 377). Hence, changes in both the social and we need to add to the argument that identifica
technological opens up for new possibilities for tions connected to our perceptions of others and
political action. These changes need to be assessed ourselves as citizens are important for understand
from new vantage points, vantage points that need ing being governed and free at the same time (see
to be both transdisciplinary and critical. Critical also Coleman, 2010). In late modernity, political
studies of cultural egovernance should therefore authority identifies forms of governance where
attend to citizenship practices in networks and selfreflexivity and selfexpression are gaining
the power relations that govern such practices an ever more prominent place (Bang, 2003, p.
and networks. As critical scholars we have to 9). Hence political authority is no longer associ
bring power into the discussion of governance, ated with relations of subordination and oneway
not only how citizens are constituted by networks control, but also with a set of more flatly operating
and society, but also how citizens are constituted networks of political communities, where institu
122
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
tions and individuals are interlocked in multiple, everything is in the hands of the connected user.
reciprocal relations of autonomy and dependence However, we need to be aware that processes of
(Bang, 2003, p. 8). Indeed, the choosing, deciding, governance sometimes preserve existing power
shaping human being who aspires to be the author relations and we also need to be aware of the ways
of his or her own life, the creator of an individual commercial interests are increasingly monetizing
F
identity, is the central character of our time (Bang, on the information we generate about ourselves
2003, p. 10). In other words, how do people and on for example social networking sites (see An
O
networks create new identities and new forms of drejevic, 2007). Hence it is important not to put
self and cogovernance, and how do they use these the issue of power aside, since communication in
forms to understand themselves as autonomous networks will be unequal, divisive and stratify
O
individuals in late modernity as well as members ing, with certain nodes in the networks of online
of a political community (Bang, 2003, p. 3)? The communities being more important than others
R
issues at stake are citizenship identifications and (Dobson, 2003, p. 19).
the construction of civic identities. Following this My aim has been to contribute to the academic
P
line of arguing, mechanisms governing citizenship discussion with a theoretical framework useful for
perceptions and identifications become pivotal for studying cultural egovernance. Critical empiri
L
the study of power and its relations in democratic cal studies of governance in digital late moder
societies. Hence we need to study networks of nity should address what and who is governing
A
political communities to identify what governs power relations in the network(s) of political
citizenship perceptions, identifications and how communities. By doing this, I believe we need to
B
this is done. acknowledge the importance of values and norms
This is an article written from a Western, to study and understand power and governance
maybe even Scandinavian, perspective. Indi in these communities and networks. We are all
O
vidualism, reflexive biographization, expressive constrained by cultural values and norms setting
L
rationality is something mostly an elite middle up boundaries of appropriate behaviours. Within
class in the northwest are privileged enough to be these boundaries we choose among permitted
preoccupied with. But in connected societies, the actions, using a logic of consequentiality (Kjaer,
G
Internet is increasingly considered and used as a 2004, p. 8). However, norms and values rarely
I
new arena for political participation and action, give us specific guidelines as to which exact
both by established political communities (see action to take. Within the rules in which we find
G
Anduiza, 2009), as well as by activist communi ourselves, we can choose between various courses
I
ties (see Oostveen, 2009), resulting in lowering of action. This is being free and ruled at the same
the threshold for participation and action, with time. In digital late modernity and network soci
new and different forms for engaging in politics, ety, what formal and informal rules, behavioural
sometimes with the political even popping up in codes and norms set up boundaries of appropriate
other non outspokenly political communities all actions? This is what studies of critical cultural
over the sociocultural landscape (Graham, 2009; egovernance should look into.
Hermes, 2006; Svensson A., 2010). Convergence, The focus on social networking sites and
predicting a loss of control of old media institu technocultural processes in late modernity has
tions, together with bottomup perspectives on changed the focus of citizenship and participation,
political participation and municipal delibera giving priority to processes of identification, self
tive experiments, all suggest more possibilities realization and expression. Thus digital media not
for ordinary citizens to express themselves and only consists of hardware and software, but also
organize group action, in a sense implying that meaningware. Meaningware draws attention to
123
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
expressive forms, textuality and meaningmaking Bevir, M. (2009). Key concepts in governance.
(Liestöl, 2007), implying an expressive rationale London, UK: Sage.
in the use of digital media. People now have ac
boyd, D. & Heer, J. (2006). Profiles as conversa
cess to several digital tools that let them share
tion: Networked identity performance on Friend
expressive contents such as writing, images and
F
ster. In, Proceedings of the Hawaii International
video. Hence ‘e’ in egovernance signifies not only
Conference on System Sciences, HICSS39, IEEE,
electronic but also points towards the expressive.
Kauai, HI, January 4 – 7.
O
Arenas where users can express themselves are
created and people are encouraged to share their boyd, D., & Scott, G., & Gilad, L. (2010). Tweet,
thoughts and points of view. Tweet, Retweet: Conversational aspects of
O
retweeting on Twitter. HICSS43, IEEE, Kauai,
HI, January 6.
R
REFERENCES
Brennan, G., & Lomasky, L. E. (1993). Democ
P
Åkerström, M. (2010). Den kosmetiska demokra racy and decision: The pure theory of electoral
tin. En studie av den politiska diskursiva praktiken preference. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univer
sity Press.
L
i Sjöbo och Ystad. PhD Dissertation. Lund Studies
in Media and Communication 15. Lund, Sweden: Bruns, A. (2009). Social media: Tools for user
A
Medie och kommunikationsvetenskap. generated content. Social drivers behind grow
Andrejevic, M. (2007). I spy: Surveillance and ing consumer participation in userled content
B
power in the interactive era. Lawrence, KS: generation: Vol. 2. User engagement strategies.
University Press of Kansas. Everleigh, Australia: Smart Services CRC.
O
Anduiza, E. (2009). The Internet, election cam Carey, J. W. (1992). Communication as culture.
Essays on media and society. New York, NY:
L
paigns and citizens: State of affairs. Quaderns del
CAC, December, 512. Routledge.
G
Bang, H. (2003). Governance as social and po Castells, M. (1998). Informationsåldern. Ekonomi,
litical communication . In Bang, H. (Ed.), Gov samhälle och kultur.: Vol. 2. Identitetens makt.
I
ernance as social and political communication. Göteborg, Sweden: Daidalos.
Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press. Castells, M. (2000). Informationsåldern. Ekonomi,
G
samhälle och kultur.: Vol. 1. Nätverkssamhällets
I
Bauman, Z. (2001). The individualized society.
Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. framväxt (2nd ed.). Göteborg, Sweden: Daidalos.
Beck, U. (1998). Risksamhället: På väg mot en Castells, M. (2001). The Internet galaxy: Reflec
andra modernitet. Göteborg, Sweden: Daidalos. tions on the Internet, business and society. Oxford,
UK: Oxford University Press.
Bellamy, R. (2008). Citizenship: A very short
introduction. New York, NY: Oxford University Cohen, J. (1996). Procedure and substance in
Press. deliberative democracy . In Benhabib, S. (Ed.),
Democracy and difference of the political. Princ
Benkler, Y. (2006). The wealth of networks: eton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
How social production transforms markets and
freedom. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
124
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
Coleman, S. (2010). Making citizens online. From Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and selfidentity:
virtual Boyscouts to activist networks . In Ols Self and society in the late modern age. Cambridge,
son, T., & Dahlgren, P. (Eds.), Young people ICTs UK: Polity Press.
and democracy. Theories, policies, identities and
Graham, T. S. (2009). What’s wife swap got to
websites. Göteborg, Sweden: Nordicom.
F
do with it? Talking politics in the Netbased
Cruikshank, B. (1999). The will to empower: public sphere. PhD Dissertation, Amsterdam
Democratic citizens and other subjects. Ithaca, School of Communication Research: University
O
NY: Cornell University Press. of Amsterdam.
Dahlgren, P. (2006). Civic identity and Net activ Habermas, J. (1996). Kommunikativt handlande:
O
ism: The frame of radical democracy . In Dahlberg, Texter om språk rationalitet och samhälle (2nd
L., & Siapera, E. (Eds.), Radical democracy and ed.). Göteborg, Sweden: Daidalos.
R
the Internet. London, UK: Palgrave MacMillan.
Hall, C. (2005). The trouble with passion. Politi
P
Dahlgren, P. (2009). Media and political engage cal theory beyond the reign of reason. New York,
ment. Citizens, communication, and democracy. NY: Routledge.
New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
L
Harré, R., & Moghaddam, F. (2003). The self and
Dobson, A. (2003). Citizenship and the environ others: Positioning Individuals and groups in
A
ment. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. personal, political and cultural contexts. Westport,
CT: Praeger Publishers.
Donath, J., & boyd, D. (2004). Public displays
B
of connection. BT Technology Journal, 22(4). Hermes, J. (2006). Hidden debates: Rethinking
doi:10.1023/B:BTTJ.0000047585.06264.cc the relationship between popular culture and the
O
public sphere. JavnostThe Public, 13(4).
Dryzek, J. (2000). Deliberative democracy and
L
beyond. Liberals, critics, contestations. Oxford, Hindess, B. (1988). Choice, rationality and social
UK: Oxford University Press. theory. London, UK: Unwin Hyman.
G
Ekelin, A. (2007). The work to make eparticipation Hindman, M. (2009). The myth of digital democ
work. Blekinge Institute of Technology Doctoral racy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
I
Dissertation Series No 2007: 11. Karlskrona,
Hofstede, G. (1991). Organisationer och kulturer.
Sweden: Blekinge Institute of Technology.
G
Om interkulturell förståelser. Lund, Sweden:
I
Engelen, B. (2006). Solving the paradox: The Studentlitteratur.
expressive rationality of the decision to vote.
Isin, E. F., & Turner, B. S. (2002). Handbook of
Rationality and Society, 18(3).
citizenship studies. London, UK: Sage.
Foucault, M. (1994). Power. Essential works of
Kies, R. (2010). Promises and limits of Webde
Foucault 19541984 (Faubion, J. D., Ed.). Vol.
liberations. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan.
3). London, UK: Penguin Books.
doi:10.1057/9780230106376
FrauMeigs, D. (2007). Convergence, Internet
Kjaer, A. M. (2004). Governance. Cambridge,
governance and cultural diversity . In Storsul,
UK: Polity Press.
T., & Stuedahl, D. (Eds.), Ambivalence towards
convergence. Digitalization and media change. Lasch, C. (1991). The culture of narcissism.
Göteborg, Sweden: Nordicom. American life in an age of diminishing expecta
tions. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
125
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
Leet, M. (1998). Jurgen Habermas and deliberative Olsson, T., & Dahlgren, P. (2010). Young people
democracy . In Carter, A., & Stokes, G. (Eds.), ICTs and democracy. Theories, policies, identi
Liberal democracy and its critics. Cambridge, ties and websites. Göteborg, Sweden: Nordicom.
UK: Polity Press.
Oostveen, A. (2009). Citizens and activists: Ana
F
Liestöl, G. (2007). The dynamics of convergence lysing the reasons, impact and benefits of civic
and divergence . In Storsul, T., & Stuedahl, D. emails directed at a grassroot campaign. Paper
(Eds.), Ambivalence towards convergence. Digi presented at the Mediated Citizenship conference,
O
talization and media change. Göteborg, Sweden: University of Leeds, 1718 September 2009.
Nordicom.
Pröitz, L. (2007). Mobile media and genres of
O
Loader, B. D. (2007). Young citizens in the digital the self . In Storsul, T., & Stuedahl, D. (Eds.),
age: Political engagement, young people and new Ambivalence towards convergence: Digitalization
R
media. New York, NY: Routledge. and media change. Göteborg, Sweden: Nordicom.
P
Mayntz, R. (2003). New challenges to governance Roberts, B. (2009). Beyond the networked public
theory . In Bang, H. (Ed.), Governance as social sphere: Politics, participation and technics in Web
and political communication. Manchester, UK: 2.0. FibreCulture, 14.
L
Manchester University Press.
Shirky, C. (2009). Here comes everybody: How
A
McGuigan, J. (2005). The cultural public sphere. change happen when people come together. Lon
European Journal of Cultural Studies, 8(4). don, UK: Penguin Books Ltd.
B
doi:10.1177/1367549405057827
Sörbom, A. (2002). Vart tog politiken vägen? Om
Micheletti, M. (2006). Communication and politi individualisering, reflexivitet och görbarhet I det
O
cal understanding as political participation . In politiska engagemanget. Stockholm, Sweden:
Eduards, M., Linde, C., & Segerberg, A. (Eds.), Alquist & Wiksell International.
L
State of welfare: Politics, policies and parties
Sörensen, E., & Torfing, J. (2008). Theories of
in the postnational welfare society. Stockholm,
G
democratic networked governance. New York,
Sweden: Stockholm University.
NY: Palgrave MacMillan.
I
Mueller, D. (1989). Democracy: The public choice
Stokes, G. (2005). Critical theories of delibera
approach . In Brennan, G., & Lomasky, L. (Eds.),
tive democracy and the problem of citizenship.
G
Politics and process: New essays in democratic
Paper presented at the Institute for Citizenship
I
thought. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
and Globalisation seminar, Deakin University,
Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511528156.005
Burwood, Australia.
Muhlberger, P. (2006). Lessons from the Virtual
Svensson, A. (2010). Young men, ICTs and sports.
Agora Project: The effects of agency, identity,
Fan cultures and civic cultures . In Olsson, T.,
information, and deliberation on political knowl
& Dahlgren, P. (Eds.), Young people ICTs and
edge. Journal of Public Deliberation, 2(1).
democracy. Theories, policies, identities and
Norris, P., & Curtice, J. (2006). If you build a websites. Göteborg, Sweden: Nordicom.
political website, will they come? The Internet and
Svensson, J. (2008a). Kommunikation, medbor
political activism in Britain. International Journal
garskap och deltagardemokrati. En studie av
of Electronic Government Research, 2006(2).
medborgarutskotten i Helsingborg. PhD Disserta
tion. Lund Studies in Media and Communication
10. Lund: Medie och kommunikationsvetenskap.
126
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
Svensson, J. (2008b). Expressive rationality: A Cruikshank, B. (1999). The will to empower:

different approach for understanding participation Democratic citizens and other subjects. Ithaca,
in municipal deliberative practices. Communica NY: Cornell University Press.
tion, Culture & Critique, 1(2). doi:10.1111/j.1753
Donath, J., & boyd, D. (2004). Public displays
9137.2008.00019.x
F
of connection. BT Technology Journal, 22(4).
Svensson, J. (2011). (Forthcoming). Theorizing doi:10.1023/B:BTTJ.0000047585.06264.cc
citizenships in late modern ICT societies. Triple, C.
O
Ekelin, A. (2007). The work to make eparticipation
Terranova, T. (2004). Network culture: Politics work. Blekinge Institute of Technology Doctoral
for the information age. London, UK: Pluto Press. Dissertation Series No 2007: 11. Karlskrona,
O
Sweden: Blekinge Institute of Technology.
Thörn, H. (2002). Nya sociala rörelser och poli
R
tikens globalisering. Demokrati utanför Parla Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and selfidentity:
mentet? In Anmå, E., & Ilshammar, L. (Eds.), Self and society in the late modern age. Cambridge,
P
Den gränslösa medborgaren. En antologi om en MA: Polity Press.
möjlig dialog. Stockholm, Sweden: Agora.
L
Walther, J. B & Van Der Heide, B. & Kim, S. & racy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Westerman, D., & Tong, S. T. (2008). The role
Isin, E. F., & Wood, P. (1999). Citizenship &
A
of friends’ appearance and behavior on evalua
identity. London, UK: Sage.
tions of individuals on Facebook: Are we known
B
by the company we keep? Human Condition Kies, R. (2010). Promises and limits of Webde
Research, 34. liberations. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan.
doi:10.1057/9780230106376
O
Lasch, C. (1991). The culture of narcissism.
L
ADDITIONAL READING American life in an age of diminishing expecta
tions. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
G
Andrejevic, M. (2009). Critical media studies 2.0:
An interactive upgrade. Interactions. Studies in McGuigan, J. (2005). The cultural public sphere.
I
Communication and Culture, 1(1). European Journal of Cultural Studies, 8(4).
doi:10.1177/1367549405057827
Bang, H. (2003). Governance as social and politi
G
Micheletti, M. (2006). Communication and politi
I
cal communication. Manchester, UK: Manchester
University Press. cal understanding as political participation . In
Eduards, M., Linde, C., & Segerberg, A. (Eds.),
Beck, U. (1992). Risk society: Towards a new State of welfare: Politics, policies and parties
modernity. London, UK: Sage. in the postnational welfare society. Stockholm,
Carey, J. W. (1992). Communication as culture. Sweden: Stockholm University.
Essays on media and society. New York, NY: Shirky, C. (2009). Here comes everybody: How
Routledge. change happen when people come together. Lon
Castells, M. (1996 and 1997). The information don, UK: Penguin Books Ltd.
age. Economy, society and culture, vol. 1and 2. Storsul, T., & Stuedahl, D. (2007). Ambivalence
Malden, MA: Blackwell. towards convergence: Digitalization and media
change. Göteborg, Sweden: Nordicom.
127
,$4")+/%>+0>"%1*19+/.$%'+D*1*O"%@+*%+B"14$)3">+N$#*"1*"@
Svensson, J. (2008b). Expressive rationality: A society along lines of ethnicity, media consump
different approach for understanding participation tion, cultural interests, life styles, interests and
in municipal deliberative practices. Communica tastes.
tion, Culture and Critiques, 1(2). Network: A group of actors and the relation
ships between them, often used within governance
F
Terranova, T. (2004). Network culture: Politics
studies indicating a type of social coordination
for the information age. London, UK: Pluto Press.
and organization different from hierarchies and
O
markets. When society’s dominant processes
and functions are organized more and more as
KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS networks, it becomes a social morphology influ
O
encing everything from processes of production
Citizenship: Citizenship consists of three to experiences, power and culture.
R
components: membership, political participa Networked Individualism: Networked indi
tion, rights and duties. The components stand vidualism is used to describe an important form
P
and fall together, but participation is dominant. of sociability emerging beyond/between societies,
Membership and participation are tied to a politi individuals and technologies. This sociability is
L
cal community. Rights and duties are attached to marked by both increasing dominance of networks,
this community together with the possibility of and increasing individualization in late modernity.
A
free and equal participation in the community’s Political Community: Community is a group
political processes. of people bounded by common interests and/ or
B
Cultural Governance: Governance concerns with a set of shared values, beliefs, norms or ideas,
how to govern, and culture implies both a way of and the political deals with how society should
life as well as affective modes of communication be structured, how to divide its common goods
O
through media and popular culture. Cultural gov equally. Political community is then an ensemble
L
ernance thus addresses issues of everyday life and of people addressing the organization of society
how we are governed through norms, values and and making sense of this address in a similar way.
more reflexive processes of identification provided Political Participation: Political participa
G
to us through our environments, upbringing, media tion and citizenship are tightly interlinked and
I
and popular culture. are best understood as practiced in relation to an
Expressive Rationality: Behavioral motiva authority. When people participate and act upon
tion through identity expression, identity mainte
G
shared meanings, address issues of the structure
I
nance or identity negotiation. Political participa of society in relation to an authority, they enter
tion for example is motivated by meaningful and into the practice of citizenship. In this way we can
possible ways/ loci for expressing, maintaining and distinguish between political participation from
performing relevant identities. Civic apathy can other kinds activities.
be understood as a lack of meaningful possibili Power: Power occurs when A imposes will, or
ties to perform, express and maintain identities, shapes the wants, needs and wishes of B.
or simply a lack of relevant identities for making Process of Identification: A communicative
participation meaningful. process through which a social actor links him/
Late Modernity: Our time is often labelled herself to society and understands him/ herself,
late modern by sociologists and refers to a lacking an understanding that provides the social actor
a sense of social belonging and a growing sense with meaning.
of personal autonomy, together with increasing
pluralization, fragmentation and nichification of
128
129
Chapter 7
A Systems Theory Approach to
Electronic Voting Complexity
O F
O
Dimitrios Zissis
R
University of the Aegean, Syros, Greece
P
Dimitrios Lekkas
L
Argyris Arnellos
ABSTRACT
B A
O
N15&*=83.&1'81)'Q&==#1.G83.&1'(2G<1&7&B.2,'8*2'62.1B'2+87#832)'8,'81'25CG.213'81)'2552G3.+2'F84'3&'
modernize the electoral process. These initiatives have initially been met with skepticism, as a number of
L
8552G3.1B'C27),'&$2*832'.1'G&1G2*3/'3&',3*#G3#*2'F<83'.,'$2*G2.+2)'8,'3<2').=21,.&1,'&5'272G3*&1.G'+&3.1BI'
This chapter adds to the existing body of knowledge on evoting, while attempting to exorcise complexity
G
81)'*22+87#832'#1)2*'8'$2*,$.G8G.&#,'+.,.&1/'3<2'G&1J.G3#87'.,,#2,/'64'8)&$3.1B'8'=23<&)&7&B4'F.3<'3<2'
ability to tackle highly unstructured problem settings. For this, systems theory is employed to provide
I
a framework for perceiving and analyzing highly complex systems in an interdisciplinary method, as
F277'8,'5&*')2,.B1.1B'F.3<.1'81)'5&*'3<2=I'N1'3<.,'G&132D3/'272G3*&1.G'+&3.1B'.,'.)213.C2)'8,'8'R,&53S'.77E
G
structured human activity system, and soft systems thinking is applied to bring about improvement by
I
resolving complex issues and providing a clearer perspective of related interdependencies.
INTRODUCTION international affairs, replacing military relation

ships of the past; no longer did politics govern
The end of the twentieth century saw the economic society, but the market instead. This faceless
market emerge as a mechanism for the regulation governor, appeared immune to corruption but was
of complex social systems through decentraliza apparently profoundly damaged to the core. The
tion and anonymity. The theory of exchange, put financial crisis, which has led to global recession,
economic relationships onto the center stage of in turn led to losing confidence in the system of
governance, projecting the necessity of redefining
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch007 methods of participation in sovereignty. In the
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
midst of a global economic crisis, institutions of The field of electronic democracy and espe
sovereign are being reevaluated under perspica cially electronic voting is mostly undiscovered
cious vision, as calls are being made for increased territory and its dimensions are still unexplored,
openness and transparency of transactions. as debates on the matter are still conflictual. Con
In exploring methods of evolving participation cerns are often voiced on security issues, but also
F
in democracy, Information and Communication sociological and political implications, that may
Technology (ICT) takes central status (Fraser, be raised from the introduction of this technology.
O
2006), as electronic participation channels present Digitalizing communications between govern
a bidirectional communication channel between ments and the “people” is a process necessary to
the “people” and their elected representation be viewed within a wider framework. It is crucial
O
Fuchs, 2006; Won, Yeo, Lee, & Arabi, 2007). Over to view issues involving electronic democracy in
recent years, countries and states globally have clear perspective and bear light on their true nature.
R
attempted to alleviate problems of bureaucracy and Electronic voting is a social and political project
improve administrative services by providing their much more than a technical project. It is seen as
P
citizens with electronic services. Recognizing the bringing a social improvement in it by widening
benefits offered by electronic solutions, political the circle of citizens involved in politics and politi
L
parties are using popular information systems to cal decisionmaking (Republique Et Canton De
mobilize their core supporter groups and attract Geneve, 2009).Unmistakably an examination of
A
younger voters, hoping to alleviate the low voter edemocracy, and evidently evoting cannot be
turnout problems and demonstrate a versatile performed in vitro; in isolation from other scien
B
evolutionary profile. tific and academic fields, as a purely technologi
Empowered by timely information and by de cal approach would lead to sterile “engineering”
liberations of the discursive community, citizens results, as a number of affecting fields operate in
O
may participate effectively in decision making concert, to structure what is perceived as the field
L
processes, by making use of eparticipation solu of electronic voting. For this it is necessary to adopt
tions. Voting is the most vital citizen participation a transdisciplinary methodology with the ability
process in democracy, as it can inherently facilitate to tackle highly unstructured problem settings. A
G
the expression of general will. Viewed as the ulti more suitable theoretical guideline can be found
I
mate goal for all electronic government attempts, in the aspects of systems theory that deal with
is the digitalization of this process, so as to offer highrisk technologies. Systems theory provides
G
citizens with a timely, location independent and a framework for describing, modeling, analyzing,
I
transparent mean of participation in sovereign. and designing social systems; developing and
Furthermore, it offers great advantages to the pub institutionalizing changes to social systems; and
lic bodies responsible for election administration; managing systems and system change (Moynihan,
ballots can be provided in any language, made 2004). Senge (Senge, 1990) ties a systems ap
fully accessible for individuals with disabilities proach to organizational learning, to understand
(i.e. through large fonts or the use of audio files) ing complex, recurring interrelationships through
and in versatile formats of varying content, as feedback loops and directing purposeful change.
the situation arises (Frith, 2007). Evoting ad In this chapter, systems thinking is adopted to il
ministration is also simplified, since the number luminate the quandaries of electronic voting; a Soft
of steps involved (i.e. the distribution, the voting System Methodology (SSM) is adopted to identify
itself, vote collection and the counting of ballots) and define the true dimensions and implications
can all be accelerated (EU Recommendation Rec involved in the adoption and development of an
(2004) 11,2004). optimal information system.
130
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
PARTICIPATION IN AN up decisionmaking processes and to develop

ELECTRONIC DEMOCRACY social and political responsibility. Therefore,
eParticipation is a means of empowering the
Since the publication of “the nerves of govern political, sociotechnological, and cultural capa
ment” (Deutsch, 1963), ICT has been considered bilities of individuals; allowing the opportunity
F
vital for political systems. Information and com for people to involve and organize themselves in
munication technologies were recognized to have the information society (Fuchs, 2006).
O
tremendous administrative “potential” (Yildiz, The DEMONET research report (Fraser,
2007), ICTs could help create a networked struc 2006), funded by the European Community and
ture for interconnectivity (McClure, 2000), service prepared in collaboration with member states,
O
delivery (Bekkers & Zouridis, 1999), efficiency aimed at structuring and documenting the use of
and effectiveness (Heeks, 2001), interactivity ICT to enhance eparticipation. It resulted on the
R
(DiCaterino & Pardo, 1996), decentralization, schema bellow to express the level of engagement
transparency (La Porte, DeJong, &Demchak, in eParticipation
P
1999), and accountability (Ghere& Young, 1998;
Heeks, 1998, 1999). P+ eInforming refers to a oneway chan
L
Egovernment is defined as “utilizing the nel that provides information from either
Internet and the WorldWideWeb for delivering '$>")%."%1+ <(#5+ /<+ $-&#*/8+ 4"7<*1"<+ $)+
A
government information and services to citizens” Citizens such as ePetitions.
(UN & ASPA, 2001). It may also include using P+ eConsulting is a limited twoway chan
B
other ICT’s in addition to the Internet and the %"8+ 45")"+ $-&#*/8+ *%*1*/1*>"<+ 79+ =(78*#+ $)+
Web, such as “database, networking, discussion private agencies allow stakeholders to con
support, multimedia, automation, tracking and tribute their opinion, either privately or
O
tracing, and personal identification technologies” =(78*#89B+$%+<="#*&#+*<<("<?
L
(Jaeger P.T., 2003). Electronic Democracy is iden P+ eCollaborating is a more enhanced two
tified as the electronic representation of democratic way channel. It acknowledges an active
processes (Von Lucke, 2004), which in turn are role of all stakeholders in proposing and
G
divided into the sub processes (Parycek, 2003): shaping policy – although the responsibil
I
*19+-$)+15"+&%/8+;"#*<*$%+)"<1<+4*15+$-&#*/8<?
P+ Information acquisition, P+ eEmpowering refers to the placement of
G
P+ Formation of an opinion and expressing 15"+&%/8+;"#*<*$%+*%+15"+5/%;<+$-+15"+=(78*#?
I
the decision itself.
The participation areas have been identified as:
Internet can be perceived as an evolution of
current communication linkages between political P+ Information Provision: ICT to structure,
representatives and citizens. Using ICT to engage represent and manage information in par
the public in the democratic processes is named ticipation contexts
electronic participation. EParticipation can be P+ Community building / Collaborative
understood as technologymediated interaction, Environments: ICT to supporting individu
between the civil society sphere and the formal als who come together to form commu
political sphere, and between the civil society nities, to progress shared agendas and to
sphere and the administration sphere (Sanford, shape and empower such communities
2007). The task of eParticipation is to empower P+ a$%<(81/1*$%:+0a@+*%+$-&#*/8+*%*1*/1*>"<+79+
people with ICT, so as to be able to act in bottom public or private agencies to allow stake
131
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
holders to contribute their opinion, either P+ evoting supervised by the physical pres
=)*>/1"89+$)+=(78*#89B+$%+<="#*&#+*<<("< ence of representatives of governmental
P+ Campaigning: ICT in protest, lobbying, or independent electoral authorities, like
petitioning, and other forms of collective electronic voting machines at polling sta
action (except of election campaigns, see 1*$%<+$)+.(%*#*=/8+$-&#"<B+$)+/1+;*=8$./1*#+
F
electioneering as participation area) or consular missions abroad;
P+ Electioneering: ICT to support politicians, P+ remote evoting within the voter’s sole in
O
political parties and lobbyists in the con D("%#"B+%$1+=59<*#/889+<(=")>*<";+79+)"=)"
text of election campaigns sentatives of governmental authorities, like
P+ Deliberation: ICT to support virtual, small voting from one’s own or another person’s
O
and largegroup discussions, allowing re computer via the internet (ivoting), by
D"#1*$%+/%;+#$%<*;")/1*$%+$-+*<<("< touchtone telephones, by mobile phones
R
P+ Discourse: ICT to support analysis and (including SMS), or via Digital TV, or at
representation of discourse public openair kiosks which themselves
P
P+ Mediation: ICT to resolve disputes or con are more venues and frames for different
D*#1<+*%+/%+$%8*%"+#$%1"E1 machines, such as; PCs or pushbutton vot
L
P+ Spatial planning: ICT in urban planning ing machines, with or without smart card
and environmental assessment readers.
A
P+ Polling: ICT to measure public opinion
and sentiment Evoting is believed to provide a macro eco
B
P+ Voting: ICT in the context of public voting nomical cost efficient method for increasing elec
in elections, referenda or local plebiscites tion accuracy and efficiency (Clark, 2005; Hof,
2004; Prosser, 2003). Additionally, having the
O
Recent global policies and initiatives are target capacity to escalate usability and accessibility (EU
L
ing at improving collaboration in egovernment, Recommendation Rec(2004)11). These Informa
by increasing business interoperability and citizen tion Systems, attempt to increase election turnout
participation. Electronic voting is viewed as a criti while benefiting transparency and openness in
G
cal constituent for improving citizen collaboration, democracy. Numerous governments are currently
I
considered as a means to further enhance and in the process of evaluating electronic voting solu
strengthen the democratic processes in modern tions, by holding a succession of trials and pilots
G
information societies(EU Recommendation Rec, to determine the benefits and drawbacks offered
I
2004). Electronic voting is viewed as having the by their deployment. As an increasing number of
capacity to engage citizens in a wider spectrum countries and states have been approaching this
than what is currently available in a conventional issue (including the United States, France, United
electoral process, as it provides citizens with a Kingdom, Estonia, Switzerland, Canada India,
means to express their timely opinion on civil af Brazil, the Netherlands and others), electronic
fairs such as legislation, representatives and such. voting has become an allimportant subject, as
Currently a universally acceptable definition for concerns over privacy, confidentiality, efficiency
evoting is lacking. The term is being ambiguously but also sociological, legal and political impacts,
used for a variety of IS’s with a wide spectrum of have been raised.
tasks; ranging from vote casting over electronic Frequently, traditional approaches to design
networks to electronic voter registration. ing highly complex human centered information
In general, two types of evoting can be identi systems miss their design goals. The difficulty
fied (Buchsbaum, 2004): within the design process, lies within the con
132
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
cept of capturing a “complete and correct set in most dictionaries it is defined within the context
of requirements (Davis, 1985, pg 474) for an IS of biological or medical connotations; as a condi
development sweeps away the multiple perspec tion is described as being systemic if it pervades
tives and ambiguities of organizational life and the body as whole. Systemic is more accurately
hides them under the carpet of the mechanistic defined as “of or concerning a system as whole”.
F
metaphor” (Checkland, 1997, pg 73). Experience The concept itself, begins with the most basic idea
has shown that even wellassembled information of systems thinking, namely that a complex whole
O
systems for ‘soft’ human activity systems have may have properties which refer to the whole and
collapsed, because their shortcomings became ap are meaningless in terms of parts which make up
parent during their operation (Iivari, 1991).Given the whole.
O
the high consequences of election failures, a more Systems ideas constitute one particular set of
suitable theoretical guideline can be found in the intellectual constructs, one particular notation,
R
aspects of systems theory, that deals with highrisk which may be used to make descriptions which can
technologies. Systems thinking has been defined then be tested against reality itself. “Systems think
P
as an approach to problem solving, by viewing ing enables you to grasp and manage situations of
“problems” as parts of an overall system, rather complexity and uncertainty in which there are no
L
than reacting to specific parts, outcomes or events simple answers. It’s a way of ‘learning your way
and potentially contributing to further develop towards effective action’ by looking at connected
A
ment of unintended consequences. This chapter wholes rather than separate parts. It’s sometimes
views the problem situation of electronic voting called practical holism.”(Open University, 2008).
B
as a ‘soft’ illstructured human activity system, According to Senge (Senge, 1990):
and applies soft system thinking to illuminate its
vast dimensions and interrelationships. “Systems thinking is a framework for seeing
O
interrelationships rather than things, for seeing
L
patterns rather than static snapshots. It is a set
SYSTEMS THINKING of general principles spanning fields as diverse
as physical and social sciences, engineering and
G
Systems Thought management”.
I
Nowadays it is becoming increasingly important, Systems thinking is used to address complex
G
that we are able to consider not just of the simple problems and the design of complex, mainly
I
processes, but gain knowledge of complex sys humancentered systems. It is a transdisciplinary
tems (Washington 1977). Professor J. Stiglitz, practice that can be applied to any field of science.
winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, recently Its origin can be traced back 2,500 years at least,
emphasized on this point when referring to the when the idea of holism was first developed in
reasons that led the global economy into the ancient Greece.
recent financial crisis, stressing on the lack of a The crucial problem that science faces, is its
“systemic” view of the risks and challenges taken ability to cope with complexity. Complexity in
on by the involved stakeholders (Stiglitz, 2010, general and social phenomena, pose difficult
pg 149). Most literate individuals would raise an problems for traditional scientific examination
eyebrow on hearing the adjective ‘systemic’, as methods. Descartes’ second rule for properly con
the most popular adjective of the noun ‘system’, ducting ones reason, i.e. dividing up the problems
is ‘systematic’. Systemic, is an adjective closely being examined into separate parts, the principle
related to the school of systems thought, although most central to scientific practice, assumes that
133
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
this division will not distort the phenomenon be The notion of systems thinking was approached
ing studied. But if we move beyond the physical by engineers, which required solving problems
regularities of the universe to apparently more of designing and implementing controllable
complex phenomena; such as those of human complexes of equipment, rather than simple
society, how to make the separation, and how components. Systems’ thinking, defines two
F
to know whether in the end it is legitimate to do distinct types of problems with separate analyti
so, are much harder questions to answer. If the cal approaches, ‘hard and ‘soft’. In hard systems
O
investigation is to concern heat transfer, then it is analysis, the concept is that there is a system to
not difficult, to draw boundaries round the area be engineered and that this occupies an unequivo
of investigation and to design experiments; if cal place in a manifest hierarchy of systems. In
O
however the investigation is to be into, say, the soft systems, which include most human activity
phenomenon of voting, these things are much less systems, considered at a level higher than that of
R
clear; how to separate the phenomenon, what to physical operations, there shall always be many
leave in, what to leave out, are much harder to possible variation of the system to be engineered
P
define (Checkland, 1999). or improved, and system boundaries and objec
The assertion that this viewpoint of traditional tives may well be impossible to define. In soft
L
science is often too narrowly inclined towards problems, the designation of objectives is itself
reductionism, led to the development of systems problematic. Hard systems analysis of a weapon
A
thinking and General Systems Theory, in an ef system, will always produce a definition of a
fort to complement traditional science. General weapon system; “soft” analysis might suggest
B
Systems Theory was originally proposed by bi disarmament, or political negotiation.
ologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy in 1928 and soon
became the hallmark of systems thinking. GST Soft System Methodology
O
is defined as the scientific exploration of wholes
L
(Systimata) or wholeness. Broadly speaking, GST To deal with complexity in such soft fuzzy illde
and Theory of systems can be distinguished as fined problems, Soft System Methodology(SSM)
“systems science”, i.e. scientific exploration and was introduced (Checkland, 1999). SSM is an
G
theory of systems in the various sciences and approach to solving complex unstructured human
I
general system theory as doctrine of principles problem situations based on holistic analysis and
applying to all systems (Skyttner, 2002). systems thinking. SSM is a methodology that aims
G
Von Bertalanffy stated that “The notion of a to bring about improvement in areas of social
I
system may be seen as simply a more selfconscious concern by activating the people involved in the
and generic term for the dynamic interrelatedness situation into a learning cycle which is ideally
of components” (Bertalanffy, 1976). Since its never ending. The learning takes place through
original conception General Systems Theory has the iterative process, using systems concepts to
evolved as new conceptions, and mathematical reflect upon and debate perceptions of the real
models have been developed such as cybernetics, world, taking action and again reflecting upon the
automata theory system analysis and others. Cur happenings using system concepts. The reflection
rently, properties which together comprise general and debate is structured by a number of systemic
systems theory of open systems include system models. These are conceived as holistic ideal types
interrelationships and interdependence of objects of certain aspects of the problem situation rather
and attributes, system holism, system entropy, than as accounts of it. It is given, that no objective
hierarchy, differentiation and others. and complete account of a problem situation can
be provided. Therefore, systems thinking and,
134
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
in particular, the soft systems approach are used As Checkland points out: “SSM was developed
for (a) identification and understanding of the because the methodology of systems engineering,
problem(s), and (b)identification, understand based on defining goals or objectives, simply did
ing, and formulation of the knowledge relevant not work when applied to messy, illstructured,
to these problems (knowledge elicitation) (Dar realworld problems.”
F
zentas, 1993). Using the methodology within its systems
In IS development, this need for extension is thinking process, the analyst has to formulate root
O
more apparent when problem understanding at definitions, to assemble the minimum amount of
higher conceptual levels is required, where the necessary activities and to structure activities into
problem is usually identified within illdefined conceptual models. Here the use of several relevant
O
systems (Darzentas & Spyrou, 1993). The soft systems is suggested in order to stress the different
systems approach, when applied to information viewpoints and beliefs of the actors involved, and
R
systems (Checkland & Scholes, 1999; Wilson, thus express the subjective nature of SSM. SSM
1984) offers the potential for developing op accommodates different interests and initiates
P
erational models which accommodate different debate. This accommodation is represented by
perceptions of the problem at higher levels. In a the systemically desirable and culturally feasible
L
conventional approach, a primary objective of an proposed changes. The debate about changes is
IS’s analyst, in order to design a formal IS, is the structured by the comparison of the conceptual
A
construction of a reliable operational model of models against the participants’ perceptions of
the situation. This is usually feasible when facing the part of the real world under examination. The
B
‘hard’, wellstructured problems but not for ‘soft’, methodology is conceptualized in Figure 1.
illstructured, human activity systems. Experience To do systems thinking is to set some con
has shown that even wellassembled information structed abstract wholes (referred to as systems
O
systems for ‘soft’ human activity systems have models) against the perceived real world, in order
L
collapsed because their shortcomings became to resolve complexity. The purpose of doing this
apparent during their operation (Iivari, 1991). may range from engineering some part of the
I G
Figure 1. SSM methodology in summary
I G
135
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
world perceived as a system, to seeking insight electronic voting system. The basic question
or lamination. Applying SSM to our identified in electoral administration no longer focuses
problematic area will lead to the production of on whether new technology developments are
conceptual models, rich pictures and root defini acceptable in electoral processes, but rather on
tions to help exorcise complexity. Making rich what kind of technology is suitable for a specific
F
pictures to indicate the many elements involved country, taking into account its political and social
in any human situation is something which has culture, level of technological infrastructure, and
O
characterized SSM from the start. Its rationale its electoral system (Maaten & Hall, 2008).
lies in the fact that the complexity of human af Systems thought, approaches Information Sys
fairs is always the complexity of multiple interact tems, as social systems, which have Information
O
ing relationships and pictures are a better medium Technology embedded inside them. According to
than linear prose for expressing relationships. this classification, it is not possible to design a
R
Rich pictures are Ad hoc drawings and do not robust, effective information system, incorporat
have a formal syntax. They serve as a vehicle to ing significant amounts of technology, without
P
help users explain their domain to developers. treating it as a social system. Within this scope,
They do this by making use of symbols and dia eVoting is identified as a ‘soft’ illstructured hu
L
grammatic conventions to represent a particular man activity system; as ICT is used to support the
situation in a manner that is explicit and under social process of voting. In accordance to SSM,
A
standable by users. They give users the opportu the initial step to building a model of a concept
nity to identify important aspects of their work, of a complex purposeful activity, requires a clear
B
missing elements and incorrect terminology definition of the activity involved. Using the meth
(Darzentas, & Spyrou, 1994). odology within the systems thinking process, the
analyst has to originally formulate root definitions
O
to assemble the minimum amount of necessary
L
SSM FOR ELECTRONIC VOTING activities and to structure activities into conceptual
models. The complexity and ambiguity surround
The EVoting System ing electronic voting is apparent from this initial
G
step, as no universally acceptable definition of an
I
An increasing number of countries and states electronic voting system exists.
throughout the world are currently in the process of Definitions of electronic voting systems differ
G
evaluating electronic voting solutions, by holding widely throughout the fields literature; for example
I
a succession of trials and pilots to determine the in Switzerland, evoting is meant to include not
benefits and drawbacks offered by their deploy only the casting of electronic votes during elec
ment, as concerns have been raised over the privacy tions, but ultimately also the giving of ‘electronic
issues, usability, cost and overall effectiveness of signatures’ for initiatives, referendums and can
the technology. It is a common fact, that backend didates proposals for membership to the National
computers are already an integral part of almost Council. The term in general is used to represent
all elections held internationally. Even in countries a broad variety of processes, ranging from voter
not officially exploring electronic voting, back end registration, to remote vote casting. From these
computer systems are most possibly introduced a number of initial root definitions (views) can
at some stage of the electoral process, either for be derived to represent evoting.
ballot counting or for voter list generation. These
backend “uncertified” computers may hold more Root Definition 1: An IS system that requires voters
dangers than an efficiently designed and protected to use a keyboard or touch screen to mark
136
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
their votes on a computer terminal, directly ing in accordance with most literature references,
connected to a standalone, pollingstation with the ability to achieve the greatest identified
located computer. benefits from the introduction of this technology
Root Definition 2: A system to electronically sup with a reduced amount of costs.
port a voting process, which enables voters to I. Method of vote casting: remote vote casting.
F
cast a secure and secret ballot over a private Evoting systems have the potential to be more
network or the internet, either from ATM usable than paper, especially for people with
O
like machines situated in kiosks, or remotely disabilities such as visual impairment or reduced
from any computer or digital device. motor control. Indeed, paper voting systems are
Root Definition 3: An electronic democracy IS to not free of usability problems (Jonathan, 2001;
O
support elections by mechanizing the pro Mcgaley, 2008). We often seem to turn a blind
cess of voter registration and vote casting, eye to the inequalities that exist in the voting ap
R
which may lead to reductions of costs and paratus at present. Individuals with disabilities
increase in speed. are often unable to perform their electoral duties
P
Root Definition 4: An electronic support system, unaided and in most cases require help during
offering optional, universal, accessible, vot vote casting. Entering the voting kiosk with a
L
ing channels, to all individuals, who have member of personnel denies them the right to
difficulties attending regular elections. privacy during the vote casting phase, making
A
Root Definition 5: An government owned e this group a target to a number of threats, coercion
democracy IS, aimed at supporting the etc. Offering these individuals the opportunity
B
expression of general will during elections, to perform their electoral duties over electronic
through the implementation of remote vote channels from remote locations, bridges such
casting over ICT (as an optional channel), discriminations. Remote evoting links the pos
O
in order to enhance democratic processes by sibility of quick and reliable counting, to that of
L
providing a cost effective and universally voting outside of polling stations and traditional
accessible solution. polling times, as well as to the possibility of
voting from abroad, irrespective of locations of
G
Various diversities on the role of IT in the diplomatic and consular mission. Internet voting is
I
electoral process are reflected in the significant dif both most globally and convenient to use as well
ferences and semantic distance existing amongst as most challenging with respect to legislation,
G
the root definitions, such as: technology and operation, and to understanding
I
and trust by the electorate. (Buchsbaum, 2004)
P+ Methods of vote casting(Remote or Local) Remote electronic voting offers the same advan
P+ Supervised or sole vote casting tages as pollsite electronic voting while adding
P+ Electronic voting offered as an optional the following benefits (Brown, 2003):
channel
P+ Electronic voting offered as an option to P+ Economies of scale, with respect to the size
*%;*>*;(/8<+ 4*15+ ;*-&#(81*"<+ *%+ /11"%;*%'+ of the electoral roll, (i.e. an increase in the
general elections size of the electoral roll does not increase
the expenditure of the election linearly).
Present research, following the iterative Research has stated that an OnLine voting
process within SSM throughout the research, system could actually cut the cost per voter
recursively concludes on the root definition that in half. (META Research Group, 2001)
seems to most accurately define electronic vot
137
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
P+ Allows geographic independence of the IV. Government owned It is necessary that the
voters, resulting in convenience of use. electronic voting system is government owned
P+ Facilitates increased electoral participa and maintained to protect election integrity and
tion.Studies led by the Centre for Research security, against fraud and manipulation. The gov
on Direct Democracy (c2d) showed that ernment must protect against permitting private
F
remote voting is not merely a complement interests from gaining an “information advantage”
to postal voting, but that it reached a new over the public which could lead to black mail or
O
category of citizens, voters that do not of even extortion.
ten participate in elections. Within the above described context electronic
voting is defined as “A government owned e
O
II. Optional ChannelAs long as evoting is democracy IS, aimed at supporting the expres
not universally available, it should not replace sion of general will during elections, through
R
the traditional way of casting a paper ballot in the implementation of remote vote casting over
a polling station, it should remain an optional ICT, as an optional channel, in order to enhance
P
and additional channel. (Remmert, 2004). In the democratic processes by providing a cost effective
current context electronic voting systems should and universally accessible solution.”
L
be considered as a complimentary means to tradi
tional election systems (Gritzalis, 2002).This gives Dimensions of Electronic Voting
A
citizens an “additional” channel to perform their
electoral duties which evidently can only minimize Critiques on electronic voting are often projected
B
any disparities that exist in the electoral public. as engineering problems, omitting to apprehend
If citizens are unable to perform their electoral the sociopolitical context, within which, electronic
rights from a personal computer at home, the op voting solutions exist. Academic and research lit
O
tion to perform it locally is always available and erature attempts to approach the issue from a wider
L
vice versa. Recent legal amendments are moving viewpoint, avoiding concentrate on a single field
towards this direction, as during 2008, due to in of knowledge, but incorporating into the field of
creasing social concerns regarding the insecurities electronic democracy, not only the technological
G
surrounding the use of electronic voting technol or legal questions, which determine the design
I
ogy, US Congressman Holt, submitted a bill to of an application, but also politics and society’s
Congress called the “Emergency Assistance for influence. EVoting, as proposed by Prosser and
G
Secure Elections Act of 2008” (H.R.5036, 2008), Krimmer (Prosser & Krimmer, 2004) differentiates
I
stating that the General Services Administration four separate dimensions: (i) Politics, (ii) Law,
would reimburse any state with the extra expen (iii) Technology, and (iv) Society. In the available
diture if they choose to provide paper ballots to literature, requirements are usually identified as
citizens, and would cover the additional outlay falling among the above mentioned fields, which
in hiring extra people to count them. This bill are included in the design process in the form of
ultimately provides the public with the choice to conditions that the system should meet (e.g. “the
vote manually, if they do not trust the electronic system shall allow onlinevoting from home”).
voting machines. Given the preliminary thinking expressed in
III. Universally Accessible Solution The the root definition and viewing, electronic vot
technological approach taken towards electronic ing systemically within a wider environment, a
voting in necessary to be implemented making use low level model is conceptualized (Figure 2). A
of design methodologies which will avoid intro number of relevant systems are identified, which
ducing additional accessibility or usability issues. in concert operate on an electronic voting system
138
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
Figure 2. A lowerlevel conceptual model of the evoting system
O F
R O
L P
B A
as enablers and contributors to its effectiveness. machines (DRE). The Irish government immedi
O
There is an immediate and identifiable dependency ately came under increased pressure, public
between systems, projecting the interrelationships scepticism and social opposition, over the purchase
L
of such an IS. These in turn, can be represented as of a controversial electronic voting system, which
‘Systems’ with interrelationships and coordinated was highly criticized as failing to meet user re
G
dependencies on an electronic voting system, quirements, so the Irish government dropped its
which in turn can be identified as a subsystem of political support, evidently leading to project
I
electronic democracy. failure, which in turn led to storing the evoting
The political system is identified as an all machines in the closet. The recursive pressures
G
important enabler for electronic voting. The po from identified systems are evident at this stage,
I
litical system supports, defines and controls the as technological decisions, political influence and
implementation of electronic democracy, but also social acceptance are entwined in the implemen
electronic voting, defined through the official tation of the system
attitude towards evoting, but also from initiatives When considering electronic elections through
commenced from a wider system, if one should a political scope, it is important to take into ac
exist, e.g. EU Initiatives. Without strong political count the context of the political format which the
support and clear political farsightedness, through IS system shall support. The requirements which
out the implementation and operation of elec voting procedures have to meet differ accordingly
tronic voting systems, failure is eminent. In 2004, to the election context, with respect to dimensions
the Irish government undertook plans to introduce of scale, election cycles, etc. Switzerland has
a nationwide electronic voting system, spending been considering electronic voting for a number
approximately €52 million on electronic voting of years, (trials have been held as early as 2001),
139
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
as due to the political context, the country was Along these lines, the requirements of an
projected as an ideal candidate. At least four electronic voting system, considered as design
times a year there are popular elections held in principles must comply with the legislation
Switzerland on national, cantonal and communal framework.
levels, for which currently remote electronic vot Often legal issues arise in the cases of trials
F
ing is seen as a viable option. and pilots. In the case of a pilot scheme where
Political official attitude towards egovernment the test results of the vote are not binding, there
O
and overall technological progress is decisive for is probably no need to establish a legal basis.
the success of electronic voting, as such a system However, conducting such a voting experiment
cannot be dealt with as a single oneoff solution. with official, binding results probably requires
O
A country’s technological progression and overall a change to the legislation. This new legislation
macroeconomic investment in ICT infrastructure, could take three different forms (Caarls, 2010):
R
has to play a highly crucial role in the political
agenda, for the enablement of electronic voting to P+ A temporary law permitting evoting
P
be accepted. A good communications infrastruc experiments;
ture, voters’ high ereadiness, the widespread use P+ A change in the existing electoral law or in
L
of the national ID card, have all been decisive the implementation of existing legislation;
prerequisites in countries that have successfully P+ A temporary law on evoting followed by
A
implemented electronic voting systems, such as changes in the existing electoral law.
Estonia.
B
Enabling Electronic voting is not limited to In most cases, legislation permitting experi
technical infrastructure. “In most countries to ments with evoting is subject to a specific time
use remote evoting channels, laws or even the limit or is geared to one or more specific elections
O
constitution have to be changed, which makes (for example, experiments may only be conducted
L
remote evoting very unlikely to happen on the during local elections). The advantage of a tempo
go. It needs a strategic intention of the govern rary law is that existing electoral legislation does
ment for this” (Krimmer, Triessnig, & Volkam, not have to be amended, which would probably
G
2007).The Political System has the dependency take more time and thus slow down the process
I
to affect the Legal System. It is a fact that technol (Caarls, 2010). It is also critical to define how
ogy often moves at a faster pace than the legal legal aspects constitute security requirements
G
system, but for electronic voting to meet with on a technical level and refine the security re
I
social acceptance, the legal regulation needs to quirements on the design level to corresponding
be in accordance with technological innovation. security requirements of the resulting system
Electronic voting needs to comply with the legal (Volkamer & Hutter, 2004). Common standards
and regulatory framework of the country in which on evoting, reflecting and applying the principles
the system is being implemented. For EVoting of democratic elections and referendums, to the
to achieve successful implementation, the exist specificities of evoting, are key to guaranteeing
ing legal principles for elections are exceedingly the respect of all the principles of democratic
decisive in the way EVoting should (could be) elections and referendums when using evoting,
implemented and at which stage. “Before intro and thus building trust and confidence in domestic
ducing electronic voting, member states should evoting schemes. (Remmert, 2004). In this re
have reviewed and secured all the legal matters spect, technological developments but also legal
in order to avoid conflicts during the process of regulations should be reviewed, ensuring their
an eenabled election.” (GGIS (2010) 5 E) overall contribution to society.The core message of
140
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
the CoE recommendation (EU Recommendation provide a voting channel with the ability to over
Rec(2004)11, 2004) is that evoting must respect come any existing inequalities, or at least avoid
all the principles of democratic voting, and must introducing any additional ones; as an electronic
be as reliable and secure as nonelectronic voting. voting election system may itself enforce unequal
The constitutions of most countries require that access to the electoral process, through the unequal
F
general elections respect Generality, Freedom, ownership of IT and related knowledge. The
Equality, Secrecy and Directness; reflecting all Digital Divide is a widely used concept that is
O
essential voting design principles. On the other defined as disparities in computer ownership and
hand, the legalized framework must protect, but Internet access, based on income (Neu, 1998).
also enable vote casting electronically, by regu The divide refers to an imbalance in physical ac
O
lating specific “policies” and technologies (e.g. cess to hardware and in the necessary knowledge
digital signatures). Political will, through a number that enables a digital citizen to participate in
R
of initiatives can normalize the legal framework electronic democracy and in evoting. Digital
to support technological advances. Divide is discussed to hold in the context of so
P
In Figure 3, the subsystems are described in cioeconomic, racial and geographic differences.
more detail, via relevant identified activities. The The digital divide is often referred to as the pri
L
activities are at an operational level, where the mary sociopolitical issue (Hoffman L.J., 2000)
characteristics and imposed peculiarities of the leading to inequality of citizens votes in the con
A
IS begin to take form. text of evoting. It is argued that while Information
As electronic voting targets at increasing social and Communication Technologies (ICTs), hold
B
collaboration, achieving social acceptance is the potential to improve the democratic process,
critical. Electronic voting IS systems, need to expand citizenship and empower the people, they
LO
Figure 3. A secondlevel conceptual model of the evoting system
I G
I G
141
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
also have the ability to perpetuate or exacerbate computer ownership, but also computer knowl
existing inequalities and other divides. edge, can be overcome. Specific policies should
It is a matter of democracy, equality, and equity be adopted towards attaining this end (Figure 4)
to guarantee that the traditional and the evoting and through the implementation of information
technologies are at least equivalent, with respect policies, directed towards bridging the gap. Infor
F
to ease and opportunity of access (Mitrou, Grit mation campaigns and political initiatives, can also
zalis, & Katsikas, 2002). Political initiatives are target overcoming societal differences effectively.
O
required to overcome any sociological inequali In this context, initiatives such as eInclusion and
ties while not amplifying any discriminations. One Laptop Per Child, but also overall funding
At this point, the interdependency between the of ICT infrastructure development, will present
O
political and the social system is clearly identifi opportunities to overcome economic distinctions
able. Through political support, in the form of and geographical differences in society, steering
R
campaigns, policies and initiatives, differences in towards an all inclusive platform.
Figure 4. A higherlevel conceptual model of the evoting system
L P
B A
LO
I G
I G
142
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
A wider political system, the European Union, as Design for all’(DFA) and the Principles of
has adopted three key actions: a) to adapt the Universal Design(UD).
existing regulatory framework to communication In accordance with these, an extensive list
industry needs in the Internet, b) to boost compe of Technical Requirements, addressing issues of
tition in local access networks, so as to encourage reliability, accuracy, efficiency, integrity, security,
F
widespread Internet takeup and highspeed In and equality, need to be established to guarantee
ternet access in Europe, and c) to ensure a high electronic voting’s successful implementation.
O
standard of user rights and privacy protection. In Recently, electronic voting trials were abandoned
addition, some have stated that as technology’s in Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK, while
primary goal is to become user friendlier; it is concerns have risen in Germany and France,
O
believed that the information gap will eventually when a published report illustrated that purchased
disappear. systems were highly insecure. These systems
R
A lack in capturing a complete set of social purchased from the same manufacturer required
needs represented through the design features of ultimate trust, since source code was undisclosed
P
an evoting system will ultimately lead to an unus and claims of security could not be verified.
able system. In recent French electronic elections, It is essential to the success of electronic voting
L
evoting machines were criticised of humiliating that federal standards are implemented to vali
a great number of electors, fuelling social opposi date and guarantee system effectiveness through
A
tion. According to some evoting satisfaction polls, regulation. In December 2005 the US Election
the fact was explained that at least 510% of the Assistance Commission, unanimously adopted
B
electors were not at ease with the electronic voting the 2005 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines,
system. These citizens could be publicly humili which significantly increase security requirements
ated by their difficulties in voting or the number for voting systems and expand access, including
O
of the citizens not coming to vote could actually opportunities to vote privately and independently,
L
grow.” (Digital Civil Rights in Europe, 2007). for individuals with disabilities. Empowering
According to a separate study, carried out by Paul federal testing laboratories to verify and guarantee
Verlaine Metz University, the voting equipment that systems comply with initial requirements and
G
also “creates huge accessibility problems to the standards is crucial. Essentially, the accredited
I
sight impaired, being a true discrimination source test labs will look at programming completeness,
for them”. In addition the study estimates that, with consistency, correctness, modifiability, structure,
G
these machines, 25% of the electors run the risk and traceability, along with its modularity and
I
of mistaking their proposed candidate, or of not construction. These should include functionality
finalising their vote. Since the 2000 Presidential testing, hardware testing and extensive software
election in America, a number of problems with evaluation.
voting systems in Florida stemmed from usability The fields’ literature identifies, but does not
and defective ballot design. An extensive list of limit technical requirements for electronic vot
user requirements, taking into consideration the ing to:
social sphere of influence needs, should guide the Availability refers to the property of a system
design process..To achieve optimum design and being accessible and usable upon demand by an
guarantee that design choices overcome accessi authorized entity. In the context of electronic
bility and usability inequalities, a methodological voting systems, this property refers to legitimate
usercentered design (UCD) needs to be adopted, voters provided with the means to cast their vote.
incorporating design principles and theories such Confidentiality refers to data and voter prefer
ences remaining private. An election is private,
143
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
if neither the election authorities nor anyone and uniform Public Key Infrastructure for digital
else can link any ballot to the voter who cast it, signatures becomes available” (Burmester &
and no voter can prove that he or she voted in a Magkos, 2003). A technological approach needs
particular way. to accurately Assess Relative IS systems and
Integrity refers to data and system precision, needs (Appreciate Related Subsystems) across
F
accuracy and consistency. Votes must be recorded the electronic democracy platform to achieve
correctly and safeguards must ensure that votes interoperability. Additionally, creating a database
O
cannot be modified, forged or deleted, without of eligible voters is in fact a prior step, vital for
detection. any poll or election which seeks to meet the mini
Authenticity refers to ensuring that the involved mum safety requirements. The digital electoral
O
data, transactions, communications or documents roll is usually constructed by means of a voter
(electronic or physical) are genuine. In elections it registration system that compiles voter data either
R
is vital that only registered voters are permitted to in person or remotely. In many countries, Public
cast a vote. The voting counts must be protected Key Infrastructure (PKI), digital signatures, and
P
from external reading during the voting process. the existing process of authentication have served
Voter identity and preferences must be secret. as absolute prerequisites for the creation of an
L
Accountability refers to information, selec efficient ecountry.
tively kept and protected, so that actions affecting Security is not restricted purely to the techno
A
security can be traced back to the responsible party logical approach taken, but also to the procedures
(audit). Corrupt voters or personnel, may attempt and standards that are put into place to overcome
B
to modify votes/count or the system. The property technological security shortcomings (Mohen,
of permitting an external auditing entity to verify 2001; Williams, 2004; Xenakis, 2004). This is
that the votes have been counted correctly and a represented by an interdependency, Figure 4,
O
voter to determine if a vote was counted accu between the technical sphere and the legal sphere;
L
rately, is crucial. All internal operations must be legal basis policies, must be laid out, encompassing
monitored, without violating voter confidentiality. all issues of electronic voting, but also detailed
Monitoring must include votes recorded and votes contingency plans must be in place in case a
G
tabulated, and all system programming and admin failure should occur.
I
istrative operations such as pre and postelection Through this iterative process it is apparent
testing. All attempted and successful changes to that electronic voting requires a number of fac
G
configuration status (especially those in violation tors to be present before System Implementation
I
of the static system integrity requirement) must can be achieved.
be noted. Monitoring and analysis of audit trails
must themselves be nontamperable. All operator P+ Technology
authentication operations must be logged. T existence of roll of registers or infra
To guarantee that these requirements are met, structure to create roll by electronic
a systemic approach is necessary across the wider registration
edemocracy system, as these design features need T Information Society Context
to be supported by all enablers and stakeholders. T Degree of the informatization in the
A pervasive infrastructure foundation has to be public administration
designed to ensure security throughout electronic T existence of a wider eid security in
government transactions and electronic voting. frastructure based on PKI
“Internet voting will become fully electronic T eVoting federal standards
(from registration to tallying) only when a secure P+ Government Support
144
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
T initiatives for perceiving and analyzing highly complex

T policies systems, and secondly, for designing within and
T campaigns for them. Traditional information systems, design
P+ EVoting Conforms with constitutional methods and engineering techniques often lack the
requirements capacity to capture IS’s complexity in a holistic
F
P+ Social Acceptance manner, resulting in a largely unmanageable,
T minimize digital divide though initia unscalable, error prone, single task oriented and
O
tives, policies and campaigns target insecure software systems. Information system
ing at bridging the gap architectures currently contain numerous dy
T support internet penetration namically interacting components, each with their
O
T increase country’s readiness. own thread of control which engage in complex
Ereadiness is the “state of play” of a interactions over distributed environments.
R
country’s information and communi Several important aspects of the General
cations technology Systems Theory (GST) are employed to provide
P
an insight within an electronic voting system.
In the process of SSM, comparing conceptual Throughout the iterative process, which is systems
L
models to reality, points to the need of under thinking, the system as a “whole”, can be concep
standing the prerequisites in adopting electronic tually broken into smaller subsystems, presenting
A
voting. SSM is a methodology that aims to bring the system hierarchy, but also component and
about improvement in areas of social concern by object interdependency holistically. Complex
B
activating the people involved into a situation or systems are organized in hierarchies wherein each
learning cycle, which ideally is never ending. The level is made up of several integrated systems.
learning takes place through the iterative process, In complex systems, specialized units perform
O
using systems concepts to reflect upon and debate specialized functions (differentiation principle).
L
perceptions of the real world, taking action in Focusing within the system of electronic vot
the real world and again reflecting upon the hap ing, still to be designed, a number of essential
penings. The reflection and debate is structured components but also their interrelationships on
G
by a number of systemic models. Comparing objects and attributes are identified (Figure 5) as
I
the systemic models presented through the SSM interdependencies on wider systems.
methodology against the perceived real world, As electronic voting is identified as a sub
G
in order to resolve complexity, leads to the con system of the wider supra system of electronic
I
clusion that electronic voting should be avoided democracy, within this scope, interrelationships
in cases which lack the prerequisites previously and interdependencies can be identified. Evoting
identified. Electronic voting is not identified as a needs to be viewed as a component of a coherent
one off solution, as it requires a systemic approach whole and that it makes use of the overarching
ranging across numerous dimensions, and requires infrastructure and its components that perform
properties existent throughout the interrelationship specialized tasks, (this is identified in diagram 4,
of the present systems. as appreciate related subsystems, which led to the
identification of requirements existence of a
Designing within the wider eid security infrastructure based on PKI).
eVoting System In the process of defining design principles for
achieving the required openness and flexibility, it
The purpose of employing System theory is two is crucial to view security and auditability through
fold. First, it is employed to provide a framework the above perspective. To achieve this goal, two
145
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
Figure 5. Designing within the featured evoting system
O F
R O
L P
B A
LO
systems are identified, the Audit System and the
Security System, with a number for interdependen
throughout the system, but additionally to the
wider edemocracy system. This system requires
G
cies and feedback loops (Figure 5).The audit sys flexibility, while providing the essential features
tem is an edemocracy sub system, which allows of authentication, identification and cryptographic
I
the actual behavior of the electronic voting system features.
to be monitored as a single and coherent whole. During the vote casting process a number of
G
Audit is an independent process for obtaining users, including Voters, Members of the Elec
I
evidence and evaluating performance according toral board and Administrators are required to
to a number of criteria. These criteria are set by interact with the evoting system. These users
a wider technical committee, in accordance with are able to interact with the system through the
the legal framework and political support; present available software/hardware agent used for vote
ing an additional interdependency between the casting. After votes are successfully cast, votes
evoting system and the wider political and legal are stored in the electronic ballot box software
systems as regulation can be evaluated through module. Following this phase, results are tallied
previously identified Federal standards, performed using the tallying software component which is
by federal test labs. used to calculate the result.
The purpose of Security subsystem is to moni System thinking is able to guide design and
tor the evoting system as a single operational unit, provide insight on some of the essential charac
and provide a horizontal security infrastructure teristics and elements of an eVoting IS. Disclos
146
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
ability is a critical issue for evoting that often cybernetics) many of which can be applied to IS
inaugurates debates on security, as it refers to the design and incorporated into the implementation
system software, hardware, microcode, and any process. In addition to openness and feedback,
custom circuitry being open for random inspec complementary laws of system thinking, can guide
tions (including examination of the documentation system design to incorporate important features
F
by appropriate evaluators), despite demands for se corresponding to the security infrastructure. The
crecy from the system vendors (Neumann, 1993). ‘Requisite Variety Law’ (Ashby, 1964) states that
O
In contradiction to system vendors, information “if a system is to be stable, the number of states
security experts and cryptographers often quote of its control mechanism must be greater than or
the term “security through obscurity”, meaning equal to the number of states in the system being
O
that some sort of secrecy or obfuscation is a part controlled.” Identified as the control mechanism
of the security model and the failure aspect of of an eVoting system, is its Security Infrastruc
R
many IS. Security through obscurity provides a ture. Systems thinking, translated into security
false sense of security though limited verifiability, engineering terms, dictates that for the security
P
which evidently leads to the vulnerabilities being infrastructure to be able to counter attacks on the
known by the wrong people. This principle in IS system, a crucial minimum set of controls must
L
security engineering, seems to be confirmable be implemented, as the identified vulnerabilities
by one of the most fundamental principles of on the system.
A
systems thinking, that openness and feedback An essential Systems Principle states that
loops are able to achieve negative entropy for “fundamental variables must be kept within cer
B
open systems. Entropy is an important part of the tain “physiological” limits if the organism is to
second law of thermodynamics, and is a measure survive” (Cannon, 1932) Within the context of
of how disorganized a system is. Closed systems IS design this can be translated into systems reli
O
are believed to attain an equilibrium state with ability terms and stated that to achieve reliability
L
maximum entropy (death or disorganization); an IS’s critical variables must be identified and
referring to the tendency of closed systems to maintained over a required threshold. It is crucial
progress to a state of greater disorganization, to periodically asses these variables with audits
G
break down, deteriorate, lose organization, and and take action.
I
eventually dissolve. Addressing and reversing Overall, we can apply a number of GST prin
entropy is one of the primary processes of Systems ciples to the design process of IS,
G
Thinking. Systems thinking, relies heavily upon
I
openness and feedback loops to achieve negative P+ ISs need to be designed as open systems
entropy—a process through which systems can P+ Feedback loops through periodical assess
become more organized and enhance their abil ment, necessary process to reduce disorder
ity to transform themselves through new inputs, in ISs
energy, and resources from the environment. P+ Reliability is achieved through the mainte
Evidently election source code openness leads nance of certain variables
to improved software, that has passed stricter P+ All IS have a hierarchical structure
evaluation, is more transparent and accountable
(Wagner, 2007), such as, publicly publishing FUTURE WORK AND DIRECTIONS
voting machine software under a free software
license, as is done in Australia. In this case, the application of SSM as an interpre
Systems theory has identified numerous tive learning approach, makes it possible to gain
principles (also common to the field of study of new insights into realworld activities, through
147
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
their comparison with those that are desirable within and for them. Within this context, electronic
in systems terms. It is apparent, that electronic voting is identified as a ‘soft’ illstructured human
voting implementation requires the support of activity system, and a number of systems and their
a number of fields, which operating in concert interdependencies have been identified. Through
can digitalize the electoral process. Cross nation this iterative process, this chapter has attempted
F
interoperability is gaining momentum in electronic to resolve complex issues and provide a clearer
democracy policies and initiatives. A systemic perspective of related interdependencies. As a
O
approach to electronic democracy across states, result of this process an electronic voting system
within a wider framework, is crucial to achieve has been conceptualized in a way that interdepen
such goals of wider collaboration. In addition, a dencies, characteristics and imposed peculiarities
O
systems approach can provide important benefits of the IS take form. SSM was employed to help
if applied to “business to government” electronic us with the formulation of the problem, space,
R
systems. and our attempt to gain a holistic understand
Evaluating specific IS characteristics and de ing, (a rich picture) of the problems. A potential
P
sign decisions through the viewpoint of General critique of SSM processes, as they have been
Systems Theory can lead to efficient and effec applied in certain cases, is that they become too
L
tive system design, disengaged from the hype of constrained by organisational and other taken
seasonal technological innovations. Future work forgranted structures, leading to solutions that
A
should be focused in this direction. We are cur solve immediate problems, but leave the situ
rently in the process of evaluating and validating ation that gave rise to the problems essentially
B
technical requirements, while generating a com unchanged. Additionally, a number of researchers
plete set of design principles for egovernment and practitioners regard SSM as a form of action
IS’s, which stem from GST. research. SSM places more emphasis than most
O
action research models on understanding the
L
situation in which intervention is desired and on
CONCLUSION formulating the action to be taken, while being
less explicit about ongoing research, reflection
G
The essential question about electronic voting and the overall cyclic nature of the process. Taking
I
seems to be not whether there should be some this approach allows an overall action research /
form of electronic voting, but when and where SSMbased methodology to be adopted, which is
G
it should be used in the electoral process. All of appropriate for a specific situation, and lets it be
I
the above factors indicate the need for consider adapted as work progresses.
ation and changes in the approach taken towards In this chapter we have attempted to apply SSM
the implementation of an ‘eVoting System’. A and evidently systems thinking in a comprehensive
wider interdimensional approach is necessary to and inclusive manner, which through iterative
gain knowledge and understanding of the true cycles of the methodology itself, will reveal the
dimensions of evoting. This chapter attempts to quandaries and resolve the complexity of the is
demystify the complexity surrounding electronic sues at hand. Evidently supplementing SSM with
elections by adopting such a methodology based other design methodologies can further enhance
on systems thinking and particularly, Soft Systems the design process of such an IS. Systems think
Methodology. ing as understood and presented in this chapter
In general, a systems theory approach is led to the identification of specific prerequisites
employed to provide a framework for perceiv and constraints, necessary for the deployment of
ing and analyzing highly complex systems in a electronic voting systems. Additionally, as GST
transdisciplinary method, as well as, for designing provides a framework for perceiving and analyzing
148
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
complex systems, but also for designing within Checkland, P. S. H. (1997). Information, systems
them, this methodology led to the generation of a and Information Systems: Making sense of the
set of essential system design principles necessary field. Chichester, UK: Willey.
for the implementation of evoting.
Christian Fuchs, R. B.R. (2006). Broadening
F
eparticipation: Rethinking ICTs and participa
tion. Association of Internet Researchers, Internet
REFERENCES
Research 7.0. Brisbane.
O
Ashby, R. (1964). An introduction to cybernetics. Clark, A. S. (2005). Revolutionizing the
London, UK: Chapman and Hall. voting process through online strategies.
O
Bekkers, V. J. J. M., & Zouridis, S. (1999). Elec Online Information Review, 29, 513–530.
doi:10.1108/14684520510628909
R
tronic service delivery in public administration:
Some trends and issues. International Review Darzentas, J. (1993). Knowledge systems for
P
of Administrative Sciences, 65(2), 183–196. island problems: Using systems thinking and
doi:10.1177/0020852399652004 knowledge formalisms for eliciting and represent
ing task knowledge. Systemic Practice and Action
L
Bertalanffy, L. V. (1976). General system theory:
Foundations, development, applications. George Research, 6(5), 541–548.
A
Braziller. Darzentas, J., Darzentas, J., & Spyrou, T. (1994).
Buchsbaum, T. M. (2004). Evoting: International Defining the design “decision space”: Rich pic
B
developments and lessons learnt . In Prosser, A., & tures and relevant subsystems. AMODEUS Project
Krimmer, R. (Eds.), Electronic voting in Europe Document TA/WP 21.
O
Technology, law, politics and society (pp. 31–42). Darzentas, J., & Spyrou, T. (1993). Information
Bonn, Germany: Gesellschaft für Informatik. Systems for primary health care: The case of the
L
Burmester, M., & Magkos, E. (2003). Towards Aegean Islands. European Journal of Information
secure and practical eelections in the new era Systems, 2, 117–127. doi:10.1057/ejis.1993.20
G
. In Gritzalis, D. (Ed.), In Secure electronic Davis, G., & Olson, M. (1985). Management Infor
I
voting (pp. 63–76). Berlin, Germany: Springer. mation Systems conceptual foundations, structure
doi:10.1007/9781461502395_5 and development. New York, NY: McGrawHill.
G
Caarls, S. (2010). Evoting handbook Key steps Deutsch, K. W. (1963). Nerves of government.
I
in the implementation of eenabled elections. Free Press.
Strasbourg, France: Council of Europe Publishing.
DiCaterino, A., & Pardo, T. A. (1996). The World
Cannon, W. (1932). The wisdom of the body. New Wide Web as a universal interface to government
York, NY: Norton. services. Retrieved from http://www.ctg.albany.
Checkland, P. (1999). Systems thinking, systems edu/resources/ abstract/itt962.html
practice: Includes a 30year retrospective. Chich Digital Civil Rights in Europe. (2007, April
ester, UK: Willey. 25). Evoting in France After the first round
Checkland, P., & Scholes, J. (1999). Soft systems of presidential elections. Retrieved 10 1, 2010,
methodology in action. Chichester, UK: Wiley. from http://www.edri.org/book/export/html/1167
149
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
C. Fraser, N. L. (2006). DEMOnet: Deliverable H.R. 5036. (2008). H.R.5036 Emergency Assis
5.1 Report on current ICTs to enable participa tance for Secure Elections Act of 2008. Retrieved
tion. DEMOnet Consortium. October 10, 2010, from http://www.opencongress.
org/ bill/110h5036/show
Frith, D. (2007). Evoting security: Hope or hype?
F
Network Security, 11, 14–16. doi:10.1016/S1353 Iivari, J. (1991). A paradigmatic analysis of con
4858(08)700412 temporary schools of IS development. European
Journal of Information Systems, 1, 249–272.
O
GGIS. (2010). Guidelines on transparency of
doi:10.1057/ejis.1991.47
eenabled elections. Directorate General of
Democracy and Political Affairs, Directorate of Jaeger, P. T. (2003). The endless wire: Egovern
O
Democratic Institutions. Project “Good Gover ment as a global phenomenon. Government Infor
nance . In The Information Society”. Strasbourg: mation Quarterly, 20(4), 323–331. doi:10.1016/j.
R
Council of Europe. giq.2003.08.003
P
Ghere, R. K., & Young, B. A. (1998). The cyber Janssen, D. (2003). Electronic government De
management environment: Where technology and sign, applications, and management. Information
ingenuity meet public purpose and accountability. Policy, 8(34).
L
Public Administration and Management: An
Krimmer, R., Triessnig, S., & Volkam, M. (2007).
Interactive Journal, 3(1). Retrieved from http://
A
The development of remote evoting around the
wfww.pamij.com/ gypaper.html
world: a review of roads and directions. Lecture
B
Gritzalis, D. (2002). Principles and requirements Notes in Computer ScienceProceedings of the
for a secure evoting system. Computers & 1st International Conference on EVoting and
Security, 21(6), 539–556. doi:10.1016/S0167 Identity, (pp. 115).
O
4048(02)010143
La Porte, T. M., De Jong, M., & Demchak, C. C.
L
Heeks, R. (2001). Building egovernance for de (1999). Public organizations on the World Wide
velopment: A framework for national and donor Web: Empirical correlates of administrative open
G
action. The University of Manchester, Institute ness. Retrieved December 2, 2010, from http://
for Development, Policy and Management Infor www.cyprg.arizona.edu/ publications/correlat.rtf
I
mation, Systems, Technology and Government:
Lehrer, J. (2009). How we decide. Houghton
Working Papers Series, Number 12/2001.
G
Mifflin Co.
I
Heeks, R. (2001). Understanding egovernance
Lehrer, J. (2010, May 2). Lost in the detailsHow
for development. The University of Manchester,
breaking everything down to particles blinds sci
Institute for Development, Policy and Manage
entist to the big picture. Wired Magazine.
ment Information, Systems, Technology and
Government: Working Papers Series, Number Maaten, E., & Hall, T. (2008). Improving the
11/2001. transparency of remote evoting: The Estonian
experience. Lecture Notes in Informatics3rd
Hof, S. (2004). Evoting and biometric systems?
International Conference on Electronic Voting
In A. Prosser, & R. Krimmer (Eds.), Electronic
2008, (pp. 3143). Castle Hofen, Bregenz, Austria.
voting in Europe Technology, law, politics and
society, (pp. 6372). Lake of Constance, Austria. McClure, C. R., & Bertot, J. C. (2000). The Chief
Information Officer (CIO): Assessing its impact.
Hoffman, L. J., & Cranor, L. (2000). Internet vot
Government Information Quarterly, 17, 7–12.
ing for public officials. Communications of the
doi:10.1016/S0740624X(99)000210
ACM, 44(1), 69–85. doi:10.1145/357489.357510
150
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
McGaley, M. (2001). Evoting: An immature Prosser, A., & Krimmer, R. (2004). The dimen
technology in a critical context. Doctoral Disserta sions of electronic voting technology, law, poli
tion. Department of Computer Science. National tics and society . In Prosser, A., & Krimmer, R.
University of Ireland, Maynooth. (Eds.), Electronic voting in Europe Technology,
law, politics and society (pp. 21–28). Constance,
F
Mellor, S. (2009). Foreword . In Spinellis, D.,
Austria: Lecture Notes in Informatics.
& George, G. (Eds.), Beautiful architecture.
O’Reilly Media. Prosser, R. K. (2003). Deploying electronic de
O
mocracy for public corporations (pp. 234–239).
META Research Group. (2001). META group mod
Electronic Government Proceedings.
els an Internetbased “Evote system. Retrieved
O
October 10, 2010, from http://www.allbusiness. Recommendation Rec, E. U. (2004)11. (2004).
com/specialtybusinesses/ 10434401.html Legal, operational, and technical standards for
R
evoting. Strasbourg, France: EU Recommenda
Mitrou, L., Gritzalis, D., & Katsikas, S. (2002).
tion Rec(2004)11 adopted by the Committee of
P
Revisiting legal and regulatory requirements for
Ministers of the Council of Europe.
secure evoting. Proceedings of the 16th IFIP
International Information Security Conference Remmert, M. (2004). Towards European standards
L
(IFIP/SEC2002). Egypt. on electronic voting . In Prosser, A., & Krimmer, R.
(Eds.), Electronic voting in Europe Technology,
A
Mohen, J. A. (2001). The case for Internet vot
law, politics and society (pp. 21–28). Constance,
ing. Communications of the ACM, 44, 72–85.
Austria: Lecture Notes in Informatics.
B
doi:10.1145/357489.357511
Republique Et Canton De Geneve. (2009). His
Moynihan, D. P. (2004). Building secure elec
tory and results of the tests and official ballots.
O
tions: Evoting, security, and systems theory.
Retrieved 10 10, 2010, from http://www.geneve.
L
ch/evoting/ english/historique.asp
doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2004.00400.x
Rosanvalon, P. (2006). Democracy past and future.
G
Neu, C. A. (1998). Email communication between
New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
government and citizens: Security, policy issues
I
and next steps. Sanford, C., & Rose, J. (2007, December). Char
acterizing eparticipation. International Journal
Neumann, P. (1993). Security criteria for elec
G
of Information Management, 27(6), 406–421.
tronic voting. National Computer Security Con
I
doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2007.08.002
ference Baltimore, Maryland.
Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art
Open University. (2008). Open University. Re
and practice of the learning organization. New
trieved June 28, 2010, from http://www.open2.
York, NY: Doubleday.
net/management_organisation/ systems/thinking/
introduction.html Skyttner, L. (2002). General systems theoryIdeas
and applications. World Scientific Publishing.
Parycek, P. S. (2003). Electronic democracy:
Chances and risks for municipalities. In A. K. Stiglitz, J. E. (2010). Freefall, America, freemar
Prosser, Edemocracy: Technology, right and poli kets and the sinking of the world economy. New
tics. Vienna, Austria: OCGOCG Publication #174. York, NY: Norton & Company, Inc.
151
6+N9@1".@+?5"$)9+6AA)$/#5+1$+:8"#1)$%*#+P$1*%'+D$.A8"Q*19
UN. (2004). Global egovernment readiness ADDITIONAL READING

reportTowards access for opportunity. United
Nations. Checkland, P. (1999). Systems thinking, systems
practice: Includes a 30year retrospective. Chich
UN & ASPA. (2001). Benchmarking egovern esterm, UK: Willey.
F
ment: A global perspective. Assessing the Progress
of the UN Member States. Checkland, P., & Scholes, J. (1999). Soft systems
methodology in action. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
O
Volkamer, M., & Hutter, D. (2004). From legal
principles to an Internet voting system . In Prosser, Gritzalis, D. (2002). Secure electronic voting.
A., & Krimmer, R. (Eds.), Electronic voting in Springer.
O
Europe Technology, law, politics and society Kersting, N., & Baldersheim, H. (2004). Elec
(pp. 111–120). Constance, Austria: Lecture Notes
R
tronic voting and democracy: A comparative
in Informatics. analysis. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
P
Von Lucke, J. R. (2004). Speyerer Definition von doi:10.1057/9780230523531
Electronic Government. Lekkas, D. (2003). Establishing and managing
L
Wagner, D. (2007). Written testimony before the trust within the public key infrastructure. Com
committee on house administration, elections puter Communications, 26(16), 1815–1825.
A
subcommittee. Washington, USA. doi:10.1016/S01403664(03)00077X
Wand, J. N., Shotts, K. W., Sekhon, J. S., Mebane, Peponi, K., Arnellos, A., Spyrou, T., & Darzentas,
B
W. R. Jr, Herron, M. C., & Brady, H. E. (2001). J. (2009). Analysis and comparison of systemic
The buttery did it: The aberrant vote for Buchanan methodologies for organisational design. In the
O
in Palm Beach County, Florida. The American 5th National & International Conference of the
Political Science Review, 95(4), 793. Hellenic Society for Systemic Studies: From
L
Systems Thinking to Systems Design & Systems
Williams, B. J. (2004). Implementing voting sys Practice, Xanthi.
G
tems The Georgia method. Communications of the
ACM, 47, 39–42. doi:10.1145/1022594.1022620 Peponi, K., Arnellos, A., Spyrou, T., & Darzentas,
I
J. (2009). A new way of classifying and comparing
Wilson, B. (1984). Systems: Concepts, method systemic methodologies. In the 23rd European
ologies and applications. Chichester, UK: Wiley. Conference on Operational Research, EURO
I G
Won, S.K., Yeo, E.H., Lee, B.S., & Arabi, A. XXIII, Bonn
(2007). CMPC (Computer mediated political com Zissis, D., & Lekkas, D. (2009). The security
munication) and its impact on the political process paradox, disclosing source code to attain secure
in Korea. The Journal of Communication, 1(1). electronic elections. 9th European Conference on
Xenakis, A. A. (2004). Procedural security in eGovernment, (p. 741). London, UK.
electronic voting. In 37th Hawaii International Zissis, D., Lekkas, D., & Papadopoulou, A. E.
Conference on System Sciences. Hawaii. (2009). Competent electronic participation chan
Yildiz, M. (2007). Egovernment research: nels in electronic democracy. Electronic . Journal
Reviewing the literature, limitations, and ways of EGovernment, 7(2), 195–208.
forward. Government Information Quarterly, 24,
646–665. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2007.01.002
152
153
Chapter 8
Educational and Democratic
Potential of Digital Games
O F
O
in e-Government
Erkki Patokorpi
IAMSR, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
Sami Leppimäki
P R
L
A
Franck Tétard
ABSTRACT
OB
L
Digital games have, or can be made to have, certain characteristics that make them suitable for educa
tion, communication, and the promotion of civic skills in eGovernment: hypertextuality, interactivity,
G
reusability, updateability, objectlikeness, reprogrammability, personalizability, multimodality, and
so forth. From the citizens’ point of view, the functions of societal games can be divided into learning
I
support and the enhancement of participation in society. Enlightened participation in the civic society
requires both. Learning by games should promote the understanding of complex social issues and their
G
mutual relationships. For learning to act as a springboard to informed action, one would also have to
I
understand the consequences of actions and events. Consequently, learning by playing serious games
is best understood as reasoned practical action in a virtual world.
INTRODUCTION about the Internet’s ability to do so, and claim

for instance that the Internet is no different from
The Internet has generally been seen as a potential the radio and television which by now have
means of widening democratic participation in been efficiently subsumed under the control of
civic affairs (see e.g. Grossman, 1995). On the traditional political actors. It will not take long
other hand, some writers have voiced scepticism before the political elite learn how to utilize the
new media as well to their own advantage (Ferber
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch008 et al., 2008). Today, professional politicians are
:>(#/1*$%/8+/%>+R".$#)/1*#+,$1"%1*/8+$-+R*'*1/8+</."@+*%+";<$=")%."%1
routinely using blogs, Facebook and twitter, for constraints, although games can equally well be
instance. Admittedly, the emergence of new media made contextaware, exploiting the information
and access to it by the man of the street alone does emerging in a particular place, time and situation.
not solve all problems of civic participation and Therefore games are a suitable tool for interaction
good, democratic governance. However, the new between the authorities and the citizens. Games
F
media, especially the web 2.0 technologies, which also lower the threshold for citizens to be more
by definition are more difficult to be controlled active members of the civic society.
O
from above, provide all sorts of new collaborative The chapter gives a rough conceptual as
and engaging tools, including games, which may sessment of game technology development and
be used to promote a more egalitarian society. adoption, discusses the general role of forms of
O
The chapter at hand investigates how digital reasoning and incentives to action or contempla
games (i.e. computer games, online games, mobile tion in playing, and presents a social and cultural
R
games) are nowadays and could in the future be rationale for the use of games by citizens in terms
utilized in promoting civic skills as well as used of social capital. Also, some examples of exist
P
as a tool for education and communication in ing game applications for eGovernment from
eGovernment. Digital games have, or can be around the world are briefly presented. The role
L
made to have, certain characteristics that make of gamelike applications will be assessed from
them suitable for this sort of educational pur the government’s (e.g. costeffectiveness and
A
poses: hypertextuality, interactivity, reusability, interactivity) and the user’s point of view (e.g.
updateability, objectlikeness, reprogrammabil updateability and personalizability). We avoid
B
ity, personalizability, multimodality, and so forth using the term simulation because it easily leads
(Patokorpi et al., 2007). From the citizens’ point to begging the question of what takes place in the
of view, the functions of societal games can be player or group of players, and between them and
O
divided into learning support and the enhancement the digital world. Instead, we build on a general
L
of participation in society. Learning by games idea of learning as, in essence, an inferential
should promote the understanding of complex process, and a conception of practical reasoning
social issues and their mutual relationships. For derived from C.S. Peirce’s logical writings. Thus
G
learning to act as a springboard to informed it will be argued that an analysis of the playing of
I
action one would also have to understand the digital games could benefit from seeing it in terms
consequences of actions and events. Enlightened of learning as reasoned action. A comprehensive
G
participation in the civic society requires both of empirical showcase of this method applied to the
I
the abovementioned things. The use of games design and playing experience of digital games is
is not limited only to societal issues, like for beyond the scope of the present chapter.
instance to explain taxation. They can also be
used to illustrate natural or ecological events and
developments (e.g. floods). Games have several BACKGROUND
benefits in the context of eGovernment. First,
games are easily intelligible to citizens, suited Game Industry
especially to illuminate complex, illstructured
issues. Second, games are a costeffective way to The rapid development of the Information and
give information about economic, ecological and Communication Technology (ICT) and related
social issues. Third, games enable the use of real infrastructure has given rise to digital games and
information in real time. In addition, games free gaming as part of our way of life. Although the
their users from geographical, spatial and temporal global game industry as a business is roughly in
154
:>(#/1*$%/8+/%>+R".$#)/1*#+,$1"%1*/8+$-+R*'*1/8+</."@+*%+";<$=")%."%1
the same league as the film industry, it is still not accountability of informational and transactional
fully recognized as an independent part of the exchanges within government, as well as between
economy. The position of game industry in the a government and the citizens (Tambouris et. al.,
ICT sector and more broadly in the economy as 2001). In this way eGovernment is an essential
a whole is somewhat ambiguous. Only recently part of the development towards a true knowledge
F
digital games as products and game industry society.
as an industry branch have increasingly been One of the new aspects of eGovernment is the
O
considered to be essential components of the usage of digital games in the interaction between
emerging socalled creative economy. Besides government authorities and citizens. Especially
being a substantial multinational business, the in the context of European Information Society
O
significance of digital games and the development development digital games have been regarded
efforts of the industry have increased also from the first and foremost as a form of entertainment
R
technological point of view. Today, it is believed and therefore as part of popular culture. It has
that the game industry is a forerunner in some been suggested that the information society de
P
technology fields and applications (Snellman and velopment in Europe has been somewhat elitist,
Magnusson, 2006; Tekes, 2007). From the end focusing on rational thinking and fueled mostly
L
users’ and consumers’ point of view digital games by technological development. In this context
have today a very important role especially in the digital games have for years been associated with
A
sphere of leisure and entertainment. However, entertainment alone. Therefore the opportunities of
also other roles for digital games, like educa digital games in fields like education, learning and
B
tion, learning and policy making have gradually policy making, have been in many cases ignored
appeared (Eskelinen, 2005). The term “serious (Eskelinen, 2005). However, in these fields digital
games” has been coined to mean “games used games could have many advantages since they
O
for training, advertising, simulation or education” could be used as a tool to lower the threshold for
L
(Susi et al., 2007, p. 3). Zyda (2005, p. 25) defines citizens to be more active members of the civic
a serious game as “a mental contest, played with society. In addition, the digital games are also a
a computer, in accordance with specific rules, way to offer a well established and well adapted
G
that uses entertainment to further government interface to the users, i.e. the citizens. Therefore
I
or corporate training, education, health, public digital games are applicable also to the more
policy, and strategic communication objectives”. serious uses than pure entertainment. It is also
G
suggested that digital games could also move the
I
Games and eGovernment focus of eGovernment related innovation from
the technological one to the societal and cultural
The term eGovernment is used to describe the domains (Eskelinen, 2005). Consequently, the
ebusiness of the state. The same ICT infrastruc utilization of digital games in eGovernment could
ture, hardware and software are applicable in lead into the discovery of some whole new forms
both eGovernment and eCommerce. The main of interaction between government authorities
benefits for using ICT in the interaction between and citizens.
the government and the citizens come from the Playing digital games requires a certain degree
technological reengineering of public services of computer literacy. The young and even middle
with the use of the Internet and enhancing the aged people in countries where the information
access to and delivery of government services to society is already at a highly advanced stage of
citizens. By using ICT it is possible to increase development presumably have a very low thresh
the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and old when moving from playing games for fun to
155
:>(#/1*$%/8+/%>+R".$#)/1*#+,$1"%1*/8+$-+R*'*1/8+</."@+*%+";<$=")%."%1
playing serious games for eGovernment purposes. ment of eGovernment. However, there is also an
The older generation, and the people in developing abundance of opportunities for serious use of digi
countries as well as socially marginalized young tal games in the developing world. For example,
people in industrialized countries (Livingstone there are positive experiences of using digital
and Helspers, 2007) will find it more of a struggle games as an educational tool in highly demand
F
to engage in civic affairs through serious games. ing environments like the urban slums and rural
Apart from the affluent part of the older generations areas of India. It seems that the benefits, like for
O
in industrialized countries, these digital havenots instance an improved enjoyment of the learning
will need resources and support from the govern experience and resulting spontaneous adoption,
ment to give them access to digital networks in will overcome the barriers (Kam et. al., 2008).
O
the first place (Kam et al., 2008; Sipior and Ward,
2005). Owning or having access to a computer or Examples of Games in eGovernment
R
a smart mobile phone is virtually a basic right in
today’s information society. Thanks especially to The examples of games presented here illustrate
P
the fact that serious, digital games can be made the variety of existing societal games. For each
to retrieve real information in real time in a real game, general information and a brief introduc
L
context and together with many other people at tion is given. A short description of the game
the same time, the sense of taking part in common experience from the player’s perspective is also
A
affairs can be heightened. It is up to the government included. Finally, the educational, interactive and
officials and various democratic organs to decide participatory aspects of each game are analysed.
B
how much transparency, involvement and close The Budget Hero1 is one of the several on
encounter with the citizens they dare to allow. line games published and administrated by the
The potential of digital games in eGovernance American Public Media which is a nationwide
O
is increasingly recognized in different countries radio producer in the USA. The Budget Hero
L
around the world. From the government’s per exemplifies a relatively popular genre of the
spective, digital games have many advantages American societal games, i.e. budget games. There
as a tool for eGovernance. For example, the are several similar games in the USA for city,
G
European Union considers games as one of the state and federal level. The Budget Hero’s idea
I
technologies with a great potential for engaging is to present a simplified model of the US federal
the public in democratic processes and foster budget for the public to evaluate and modify at
G
ing public participation. Although digital games will. Thereby, the main purpose of the game is to
I
are already a natural part of the leisure time of clarify the underlying fiscal mechanisms of the
younger generations, games technology still rarely budget and related economic policy options. At the
appears in the European Union’s eGovernment beginning of the game session basic information
plans. Electronic governance is actively pro concerning the structure of the budget is presented
moted in the European Union but there are still to the player. Subsequently the focus areas of fiscal
many barriers for more extensive use. The digital decision making reflecting the player’s individual
divide has been identified as one of the barriers value preferences are chosen. The player’s task
(eGovernment Unit, DG Information Society and the main content of the game is the fiscal
and Media European Commission, 2007). In the decision making, i.e. controlling the expenses and
developing countries the potential of games in revenues of the federal government in relation to
the eGovernment seems somewhat grimmer. time. As the game progresses the consequences
There are severe impediments, like illiteracy and of the player’s actions are illustrated in the form
inadequate infrastructure, hindering the evolve of indicators like deficit/surplus ratio, size of
156
:>(#/1*$%/8+/%>+R".$#)/1*#+,$1"%1*/8+$-+R*'*1/8+</."@+*%+";<$=")%."%1
government, and budget bust year and debt % of citizens and city budget balance. Thereby, the
GDP ratio. After the actual game experience the game gives children a chance to see the results
result sheet presenting the consequences of the of their policy making. The game portrays the
chosen policy options can be printed out. city level decision making as a very democratic
It should be noted that the Budget Hero is process where the authorities and citizens are in
F
a societal game published and maintained by a close communicational relationship in decision
media corporation not a governmental organiza making. In this way the game has a strong demo
O
tion. In this sense it is a third party contribution to cratic aspect to it. With a frequent possibility for
the communication relationship between citizens updating the Stockholmsspelet could be a good
and authorities. It is not clear to the outsider how platform to present current economic and social
O
objective the information and the policy options problems and relevant key issues of the city region
presented in the game are. However, Budget Hero to the children. Still, in its current form the game
R
has relatively strong educational aspect incorpo seems to be a static application without this kind of
rated as it clarifies the complexities of the fiscal real life and real time features. As the Stocholms
P
policy in a way that is easy for the general public spelet is closely linked to the city of Stockholm
to comprehend. Consequently, it is assumable that it is presumably used mostly in Swedish schools.
L
the game also raises general awareness among However because the language of the game is
the citizens concerning the economic policy. The Swedish, it could be utilized also for the teaching
A
interactive and participatory aspects of the Bud of language. In fact it is used for this purpose for
get Hero are not explicit as it does not offer any example in Finnish schools.
B
automated information channel between citizens Matkalla Suomen kaupungeissa (i.e. Travelling
and government authorities. It is merely offering a in Finnish cities)3 is a game where players can
simple tool for the citizens to simulate economic travel within selected chosen cities in Finland.
O
decision making. However, it could easily be Players can choose different means of transporta
L
updated to highlight the topics of the most current tion (car, bicycle, foot, public transport network).
public discussions. Thereby, it is easy to iterate After players have ended their travel, they get
and vary different situations of decision making information about how much time, money, and
G
in the game. Presumably games like Budget Hero energy was used and how much CO2, NOx and
I
are useful in stimulating the public discussion fine particle emissions was produced. Informa
concerning the key issues of economic policy. tion about noise level of different transportation
G
Stocholmsspelet2 is a game published by the modes and impacts on the player’s shape (e.g. if a
I
city of Stockholm. It is an educational game target bicycle is chosen as a transportation mode) is also
ed to elementary school level pupils. The purpose given. Players can also compare different means
of the game is to illustrate the decision making of of transportation and their respective effects on
the authorities in the city of Stockholm. The basic the environment. The game is relatively intuitive
idea of the game is that children put themselves and it has features that enable some degree of
in the role of the city mayor for one 4year term. personalization.
When acting as the mayor the children are facing Ekotallaaja4 is a game where players can mea
problems related to the infrastructure of the city sure their consumption habits in terms of ecologi
and ultimately the wellbeing of its citizenry. In cal sustainable land use. After answering several
the game the mayor has to be able to make swift questions, players can get information about how
monetary decisions, but also to understand their much resources they use, and their impact on
consequences and make choices. The success of the environment. The game as such is more of
the mayor is measured by the happiness of the a simple calculator than a real game experience.
157
:>(#/1*$%/8+/%>+R".$#)/1*#+,$1"%1*/8+$-+R*'*1/8+</."@+*%+";<$=")%."%1
However, it summarizes a lot of information and – in a global digital gaming market of $10 billion.
delivers compact personalized results of the size The application areas of serious games are many:
of the player’s ecological footprint. government, defence, healthcare, marketing and
Förivisa5 is an online trivia game about the city communications, education, corporate, industry,
of Turku in South Western Finland: players have and so on. Serious games can serve many purposes:
F
to answer questions about the city of Turku, its health (e.g. games about occupational safety),
history, its inhabitants, and so forth. By answering training (e.g. games for employee training), educa
O
right to the questions within a short time, players tion (e.g. games for continuous adult education),
get points and are listed on the “hall of fame” of advertising (e.g. games for recruitment), science
the game. Förisuunnistus is a game where players and research (e.g. opinion research), production
O
have to navigate through an itinerary within the (e.g. product design), work (e.g. command and
city of Turku by identifying places of interests with control).
R
the help of clues (e.g. pictures)6. Turkupeli7 is Serious games can be defined and classified
a game where players have to identify places of according to their characteristics. As there are
P
interests in Turku based on a given clue. Together many definitions of serious games, their distinctive
these three games highlight different character characteristics or features have been a subject of
L
istics of the city. As a group the games may have debate among researchers. Generally, it can be said
different usages and roles. To the ordinary traveller that serious games cover one or several aspects
A
they function as an interactive introduction to the or learning: training, teaching, and informing.
city of Turku, but to the residents they offer the Therefore, the inclusion of a pedagogical frame
B
opportunity to know their surroundings better. work, with clear learning outcomes, seems to be
an important feature of serious games, compared
to normal video games. However, according to
O
SERIOUS GAMES FOR Zyda (2005), pedagogy is subordinate to the
L
LEARNING WHAT TO DO game story. Several pedagogical approaches
can be applied to games. The current trend is to
Serious Games: Characteristics, apply forms of constructivist, collaborative and
G
Impacts, and Issues situated learning in order to promote knowledge
I
construction and skills development. We are far
Susi et al. (2007) point out that a quick review of from oldtime approaches based on behaviourist
G
existing literature seems to give several definitions learning and pure fact acquisition, which led to
I
of the term “serious games”, though the term is the failure of edutainment in the 1990s.
a fairly established concept. The concept of seri According to Sawyer and Smith (2008), serious
ous games is related to other concepts such as games borrow many characteristics and features
elearning, edutainment, and gamebased learning. from normal games. Serious games make use of
While it is possible to find several tangency points technologies, techniques, structures and tools,
between these concepts, it should be noted that it borrowed from the video game industry. Hard
is not possible (and certainly not purposeful) to ware independence is a debatable issue: while
try to define strict borders between those concepts normal games can be developed and optimized
(e.g. according to Susi et al., gamebased learning to run on specific hardware (e.g. because of hard
is a branch of serious games, but not all games ware manufacturer’s exclusive rights to a given
used in gamebased learning are serious games). game), serious games should be ideally hardware
A study by van Eck (2006) claims that the se independent in order to reach their audience and
rious games market reached $20 million in 2006 minimize accessibility issues.
158
:>(#/1*$%/8+/%>+R".$#)/1*#+,$1"%1*/8+$-+R*'*1/8+</."@+*%+";<$=")%."%1
It has also been discussed whether serious P+ Hardware and software infrastructure: due
games are games as such or rather simulations. to the limitations mentioned above, the
The issues of fun and player engagement are hardware and software infrastructure is
closely intertwined with that discussion. Accord sues must be solved. Developers need to
ing to many researchers, there is a contradiction get access to a technology base (both hard
F
in making education content fun to use as it ware and software) that is reusable, open
tends to divert the attention of the learner from source and extensible.
O
the learning objectives. The motivational aspect P+ Cognitive aspects: developers need to learn
is recognized as important in learning, and it has how to effectively integrate pedagogical
been recognized that the “story” is an important approaches within the story of games.
O
element to engage learners in their learning activi P+ Immersion: developers need to capital
ties. There is an extensive body of literature on the *C"+$%+)"#"%1+;">"8$=."%1<+*%+15"+&"8;+$-+
R
positive and negative impacts of gaming (in the humancomputer interaction
broad sense of gaming). Susi et al. (2007) outline P+ Business and revenue models: serious
P
that serious games support the development of a games do not use the same revenue models
number of different skills: analytical and spatial as commercial games. Appropriate revenue
L
skills, strategic skills and insight, learning and models must be developed for the actors of
recollection capabilities, psychomotor skills, and the serious games sector.
A
visual selective attention. They also point out that
games can have several negative impacts such as: Playing as Learning through
B
health issues, psychosocial issues, and effects of Reasoning What to do
violent computer games.
There is a consensus about the benefits of Interpreting the playing of digital games in terms
O
serious games among the proponents of games in of simulation and information processing alone
L
education. However, as van Eck (2006, no pagi would miss perhaps the most salient aspect of it,
nation) puts it: “research has focused on efficacy which comes close to learning by doing, and which
rather than explanation”. In other words, research we call learning by reasoned action. Playing digital
G
is needed in terms of (i) why games are engaging games involves perception, action and interaction
I
and effective in learning, and (ii) how to integrate with objects, which can be interpreted as involving
games and learning processes to maximise their conscious and unconscious inferential processes
G
learning potential. In order to be accepted by their (i.e. reasoning of some sort). Reasoning, in turn,
I
potential users, serious games have to reach the may be seen as a learning process, and vice versa,
same level of quality as normal games in terms of learning as reasoning. Reasoning, in turn, is here
graphics, appeal, and playability. However, seri seen as practical reasoning under uncertainty in
ous games developers do not necessarily have the a situation, triggering action. By playing digital
resources needed to reach the same quality level games players learn through inferential processes
as normal games. Zyda (2005) mentions some (reasoning) in interaction with a virtual environ
stumbling blocks to further development: lack of ment (and context) which calls for an action or
resources, slow learning curve, lack of standards, decision.
expensive proprietary technology, and increased According to Charles Sanders Peirce (1934–63;
complexity of game designs. Thus the future of CP 2.623), there are three basic forms of logic:
serious games seems to lie in how the following induction, deduction and abduction. Peirce sees
issues will be addressed: these three basic forms as complementing each
other in everyday thought. Abduction’s job is to
159
:>(#/1*$%/8+/%>+R".$#)/1*#+,$1"%1*/8+$-+R*'*1/8+</."@+*%+";<$=")%."%1
come up with hypotheses or guesses which would 1996). Generally speaking, people naturally
explain a surprising observation or fact. In other seem to resort to abduction under uncertainty in
words, abduction looks for reasons or causes for a situation. Patokorpi (2006, p. 74; 2007, p. 172)
things or events. Abduction needs to be followed lists nearly twenty different forms of abductive
by deduction, whose job is to logically derive the reasoning, giving many examples. Three forms
F
consequences of a cause or reason. Finally, induc of abductive inference are of particular interest
tion’s job is to empirically test the predicted con in this context: quasiautomatic, speciesspecific
O
sequences, which have been obtained by deduction abduction, doxastic abduction, and manipulative
(CP 6.469; CP 7.220; Hoffmann, 1997; Patokorpi, abduction. As a form of qualitative reasoning,
2006; Pückler, u/d; Rizzi, 2004). The mutual order abduction is, as was mentioned earlier, operative
O
of these forms of reasoning varies according to the in perception, action and interaction with objects.
task at hand, but what is important to bear in mind The perceptual phenomena studied by Gestalt
R
is that in all good reasoning (everyday reasoning psychology in which we automatically round up
included) we tend to use all three basic forms of perceptions fall within quasiautomatic, species
P
reasoning in tandem. For instance, let us assume specific abduction. An example of a doxastic
that I suddenly feel dizzy, that is, I feel that I am abductive inference is when we hit the brakes (an
L
passing out, fainting. Previously when I have felt action as a conclusion) upon seeing red lights in
dizzy I have had trouble with my inner ear. This traffic. The use of geometrical auxiliary figures
A
is an inductive inference, generalizing from past by hand in geometrical analysis is a case of ma
individual instances. But then I detect that this nipulative abduction (Bertilsson, 2004; Eco, 1983;
B
time there is something different in my feeling Magnani, 2004; Patokorpi, 2006).
of dizziness. Previously I have had a feeling of Consequently, abduction, as a form of every
the world around me starting to spin, but now it day reasoning, involves perception, action and
O
goes dark before my eyes. This is an abductive interaction with (real or virtual) objects. Playing
L
inference, focusing on differences and seeking digital serious games is an interactive process of
reasons or causes for them. My first guess was doing and reasoning in the virtual world, in which
that I have trouble with my inner ear, but, because the reasons and causes inferred by abduction can
G
of the differences I detected, now I have to start be followed to their consequences (by deduction)
I
looking for another reason. Let us assume that and put to test (by induction). As Naomi Waldron
I have read somewhere that the feeling of the (2007) rightly observes, games give us a chance
G
world turning dark before my eyes is a symptom to make mistakes, even in situations that in a real
I
of heart trouble or trouble with blood circulation. world would be critical, and learn from them. Pay
Now deduction kicks in. By deduction I conclude ing close attention to the design of the clues that
that having trouble with my inner ear (affecting function as reasons and causes for the player, the
my sense of balance) is not something I should designer may elevate the game experience above
be alarmed about but need only to sit down for a that of trial and error. When the dynamic structures
moment. In case of heart trouble I should perhaps of the game world are in harmony (whatever that
consult a doctor. Consequently, wise decisions and means) with their counterparts in the real world,
sensible action in everyday life frequently require the inferential processes going through the mind
the use of all three forms of reasoning combined. of the player should be close to what goes on in
There are indications that abduction is a the mind of a person in a similar situation in the
central form of reasoning that users resort to in real world.
digital environments or the Internet (see esp.
Cunningham, 1998; Patokorpi, 2006; Turkle,
160
:>(#/1*$%/8+/%>+R".$#)/1*#+,$1"%1*/8+$-+R*'*1/8+</."@+*%+";<$=")%."%1
Distributed Intelligence 2007; Singer and Fehr, 2005). Furthermore, we

still have language and communication that are so
Button (2008) accuses cognitive scientists, who central to our species; people can tell others what
use the term distributed cognition for purposes of goes on in their mind. Inner mental representa
bridging social and cognitive aspects of human tions, which also include reasons (hypotheses)
F
behaviour, of merely rephrasing social phenomena reached through some forms of abductive infer
in cognitive parlance. To translate, says Button, ence, cannot be thrown overboard. The arcane
O
things taking place in our sociocultural world and superfluous cognitive jargon instead could be
in the cognitive language of ‘plans,’ ‘memory,’ thrown overboard, as ordinary language often is
‘processing,’ and so forth does not add anything of quite sufficient for explaining social (coordinated)
O
substance to the sociological analysis. We agree, action. A model of practical reasoning which is
and steer clear from reinterpreting joint action and not tied to the computational model of the mind
R
thought in the real world in “the arcane language nor to the traditional concept of information (e.g.
of cognitive science and a computational model representationalism), allows one to bridge social
P
of mind” (Button, 2008, p. 89). Also, we do not and cognitive analyses of human action.
adhere to the computational model of the mind.
L
Notwithstanding, we claim that there is joint Social Capital
(distributed) thought (cognition) as well as exter
A
nalized support for individual and joint (social, There is a TV series called “Faking it” in the UK.
distributed) action in the form of artefacts. In the “Faking it” falls in the gender of reality TV, and
B
wake of Magnani (2004a; 2004b), we prefer to call the idea is to coach, in a period of few weeks,
this externalized support in the form of artefacts a completely ordinary person to do the job of
“epistemic mediators”. A similar suspicion as that a professional (professional dog trainer, sailor,
O
of Button’s above seems to exist about digital symphony orchestra conductor, and so forth).
L
games and their epistemic mediators, which are The MTV show “Made” might be more relevant
thus seen as cases of illusory shadow boxing. Yet to American readers. Though the show, “Made,”
the virtual is not a product of the digital world is slightly different because it tends to focus on
G
alone but virtual artefacts have been used ever teaching an individual a skill, like dancing, that
I
since perception and consciousness emerged in could be considered more of a hobby than be
life. Button is right in stating that in many cases a coming a professional. More often than not these
G
reference to inner mental representations does not people succeed in conning the experts evaluating
I
explain what people are doing because action (and their performance. Given that their performance is
meaning) is, as a rule, in so many ways tangled convincing, why are these people seen as faking
with and constituted by complex social practices it? After all, they have acquired the skills and often
(and public, shared meanings). But to conclude do, at least momentarily, perform on a par with
that inner mental representations and thought in real professionals. The answer is: because they
general do not add to our understanding of human do not have the social and cultural underpinnings
(individual as well as social) behaviour would that should go with a skill, talent or performance.
be wrong. We have access to our own as well as One may know how to sing but it does not make
other’s inner mental representations through in one a singer. Pierre Bourdieu (1985) speaks
trospection, mind reading, and indirectly through about social and cultural capital, which has to
behaviour interpretation by reasoning from exter be properly appropriated through inheritance or
nal behaviour to reasons for action (Camerer et al., authorized schooling in order to the skill, talent or
2004; Camerer et al., 2005; Selart and Patokorpi, knowledge to be acknowledged in society. It does
161
:>(#/1*$%/8+/%>+R".$#)/1*#+,$1"%1*/8+$-+R*'*1/8+</."@+*%+";<$=")%."%1
not mean that social and cultural capital is some appreciate the central role of the virtual also in
thing imaginary, quite the contrary. Bourdieu’s the real world outside of any digital technologies.
point is that these two forms of capital are guised We largely live in a humanmade world, which is
by economic capital, that is, economic capital turning into more and more digital. Some things
can be exchanged into cultural (e.g. skills) and that we nowadays do in the real world are more
F
social capital (e.g. connections). Thus economic dependent on virtual elements than real ones; a
inequality reproduces itself as cultural and social fighter pilot has for instance to trust the gauges
O
inequality. Free digital games for eGovernment more than what her body tells her. Clues are the
purposes could be a short cut to skills and knowl stuff that abductions are made of, and the clues
edgeability in a variety of walks of life. Digital that surround us and on which our life depends in
O
games and other gamelike applications seem to today’s knowledge society are increasingly virtual.
have the capacity to quickly raise novices close Detailed empirical studies of what goes on or is
R
to the level of skilful and knowledgeable actors. likely to go on in a player’s head, and, based on
Moreover, we all will be winning if more and this knowledge, how to design a good, purpose
P
more people would be given a chance to acquire ful game seem a feasible way of finding out what
civic skills and knowledge as well as participate makes good educational games good. Practical
L
more in democratic decision making. reasoning in general and abductive reasoning in
particular are the tools of the man in the street,
A
Solutions and Recommendations although there hardly is any hard and fine line
between professional and amateurial reasoning. A
B
Playing digital games is a sort of doing that at some sort of understanding of issues that concern
its best deeply engages, on both emotional and all of us (i.e. civic affairs) is always better than no
intellectual levels, the person playing. This type of understanding at all. Serious games may help us
O
learning can be characterised as learning by doing. gaining at least a better understanding of things.
L
Although the playing field is not real but virtual, And, if we have ways of predicting, designing
what goes on in the head of the player may bear and testing what kind of understanding and skills
close resemblance to what goes on in the mind a given game promotes, the professionals of the
G
of a person performing a similar task in the real given field should be able to check whether the
I
world. The mainstream view on logic, which fo players have a fighting chance to learn useful and
cuses on the socalled higher intellectual processes truthful things. Finally, knowing things like how
G
like deductive reasoning, cannot accurately and society works, and the rights and responsibilities of
I
comprehensively enough catch the perceptual and the members of that society, in a word, civic skills,
mental processes and their connection to action is the kind of social capital whose distribution by
and interaction to allow a useful analysis of the the means of digital games can hardly have other
processes of the mind. A Peircean view on logic than good consequences in a democratic society.
does. Abductive logic in particular could provide
a means of analysis because abduction is an infer
ential process that cuts across perception, action FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS
and interaction (interaction with digital objects as
well as with other players). The Peircean approach An obvious topic for further research is a detailed
is a world apart from a behaviourist approach empirical study of how digital games for eGov
that severs perception sharply apart from thought ernment purposes function in terms of everyday
and reasoning. It also differs from a narrower un reasoning and practical reasoned action. In other
derstanding of pragmatism which does not fully words, do the serious digital games enhance our
162
:>(#/1*$%/8+/%>+R".$#)/1*#+,$1"%1*/8+$-+R*'*1/8+</."@+*%+";<$=")%."%1
ability to make informed decisions and act in a application and use of games and game design
reasonable way in the real world or is it so that for other than entertainment purposes – especially
social capital simply cannot be exchanged into for eGovernment purposes – has been modest.
digital currency. In this chapter we have devel Games for eGovernment purposes are usually
oped a preliminary theoretical argument for the called serious games. Serious games differ from
F
former alternative, levelling the way for detailed games for entertainment purposes alone mainly
and comprehensive empirical studies of the topic in that their design incorporates some sort of a
O
in the future. This sort of research falls under the pedagogical framework. Instead of pedagogical
label of ecological rationality that has recently been approaches based on behaviouristic and straight
applied for instance in behavioural economics. forward information acquisition that were popular
O
Many open questions round the digital divide in the early years of educational games, construc
still remain. In today’s information society, access tivist approaches to learning are now in mode.
R
to digital networks and repositories should be a Serious games should be hardware independent
basic right for all. However, not only the develop in order to make them more widely accessible
P
ing countries but also the socalled information so to citizens, which requirement makes the work
cieties have their digital havenots. More research of serious games developers harder. However,
L
into the situation of digital haves and havenots the greatest problem from the point of view of
in both developing and industrialized countries is game design and especially research is how to
A
called for. What kind of obstacles do developing explain what makes serious games effective and
countries as compared to industrialized countries engaging in learning. When serious games are
B
face? What can game developers and government used for eGovernment purposes, the questions
officials do to bridge the digital divide? Also, of effective and engaging learning are related to
empirical studies on both successful and failed issues like informed participation in democratic
O
serious games projects for eGovernment purposes decision making and transparency of governance.
L
are required. The subsection on examples of games in e
Little has been done to compare gamelearning Government gives an inkling about the scope
to other mediums of learning. It is common of issues already rendered in a gamelike form.
G
knowledge that different individuals have different Concepts like interactivity, costeffectiveness
I
personal learning styles. For instance, some indi and updateability that are used there to describe
viduals prefer visual information wheras others the games are general features which at best help
G
are auditory learners. It would also be interesting finding some common ground between technical
I
to know how different personal learning styles design and the pedagogical framework. However,
affect gamebased learning. Does one size fit all it does not suffice if one is to find out what makes
or are there individuals who for some reason do a particular game good or bad in terms of its edu
not benefit from serious games? cational and democratic potential. It is possible to
make a bad game even if one had utilized all the
features listed there. A sharper tool for assessing
CONCLUSION educational games for governance is required.
We suggest a Peircean view on practical logic
As the economic importance of the creative indus as a means of analysing the learning process
tries as a whole has increased, also the economic and outcome of digital games. This suggestion
potential of games is beginning to be more fully is discussed in some detail in the subsection on
appreciated. Nowadays digital games are in the solutions and recommendations above, and will
forefront of technological development, but the not be repeated here. The chapter at hand is con
163
:>(#/1*$%/8+/%>+R".$#)/1*#+,$1"%1*/8+$-+R*'*1/8+</."@+*%+";<$=")%."%1
fined to presenting a general argument in favour Ferber, P., Foltz, F., & Pugliese, R. (2005). The
of seeing online playing as a process of reasoned internet and public participation: State legislature
action in the possible worlds of digital games. A websites and the many definitions of interactivity.
comprehensive empirical study is required to test Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 25(1),
the general theoretical claim made here. 85–93. doi:10.1177/0270467604271245
F
Grossman, L. (1995). The electronic republic:
Reshaping American democracy in the informa
O
REFERENCES
tion age. New York, NY: Viking.
Bertilsson, T. M. (2004). The elementary forms Hoffmann, M. (1997). Is there a ‘logic’ of abduc
O
of pragmatism: On different types of abduction. tion? In the Proceedings of the 6th Congress of the
European Journal of Social Theory, 7(3), 371–389. IASSAIS, International Association for Semiotic
R
doi:10.1177/1368431004044199 Studies in Guadalajara, Mexico.
P
Bourdieu, P. (1985). The forms of capital. In Kam, M., Agarwal, A., Kumar, A., Lal, S., Mathur,
J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and A., Tewari, A., & Canny, J. (2008) Designing
research for the sociology of education, (pp. 241 elearning games for rural children in India: A
L
258). Greenwood Press. format for balancing learning with fun. Paper
presented at Designing Interactive Systems Con
A
Button, G. (2008). Against ‘distributed cogni
tion’. Theory, Culture & Society, 25(87), 87–105. ference 2008, Cape Town. Retrieved from http://
www.eecs.berkeley.edu/ ~mattkam/publications/
B
doi:10.1177/0263276407086792
DIS2008.pdf 14.09.2010
Camerer, C., Loewenstein, G., & Prelec, D. (2004).
Licari, D. (2006). Serious games: A ‘state of the
O
Neuroeconomics: Why economics need brains.
The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 106(3), market’ review. Coventry University, Enterprises
L
555–579. doi:10.1111/j.03470520.2004.00377.x for Digital Central.
Camerer, C., Loewenstein, G., & Prelec, D. (2005). Livingstone, S., & Helsper, E. J. (2007). Grada
G
Neuroeconomics: How neuroscience can inform tions in digital inclusion: Children, young people
and the digital divide. New Media & Society, 9,
I
economics. Journal of Economic Literature, 42,
9–64. doi:10.1257/0022051053737843 671–696. doi:10.1177/1461444807080335
G
Eco, U. (1983). Horns, hooves, insteps . In Eco, Magnani, L. (2004a). Modelbased and ma
I
U., & Sebeok, T. A. (Eds.), The sign of three (pp. nipulative abduction in science. Founda
199–219). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University tions of Science, 9(3), 219–247. doi:10.1023/
Press. B:FODA.0000042841.18507.22
eGovernment Unit, DG Information Society and Magnani, L. (2004b). Reasoning through doing.
Media European Commission. (2007). Breaking Epistemic mediators in scientific discovery. Jour
barriers to egovernment, overcoming obstacles nal of Applied Logic, 2, 439–450. doi:10.1016/j.
to improving European public services. Modinis jal.2004.07.004
study Contract no. 29172. Mitchell, A., & SavillSmith, C. (2004). The use
Eskelinen, M. (2005). Pelit ja pelitutkimus luo of computer and video games for learning – A
vassa taloudessa. Sitran Raportteja 51. Helsinki: review of the literature. London, UK: Learning
Edita Prima Oy. and Skills Development Agency.
164
:>(#/1*$%/8+/%>+R".$#)/1*#+,$1"%1*/8+$-+R*'*1/8+</."@+*%+";<$=")%."%1
Patokorpi, E. (2007). Logic of Sherlock Holmes Snellman, K., & Magnusson, C. (2007). Mo
in technology enhanced learning. Journal of Edu biilisisältöiset palvelut Suomessa 2006. Idean
cational Technology & Society, 10(1), 171–185. enterprises: Espoo.
Patokorpi, E., Tétard, F., Qiao, F., & Sjövall, N. Squire, K., & Jenkins, H. (2003). Harnessing the
F
(2007). Mobile learning objects to support con power of games in education. Insight (American
structivist learning . In Koohang, A., & Harman, Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses), 3, 5–33.
K. (Eds.), Learning objects (pp. 187–222). Santa
O
Susi, T., Johannesson, M., & Backlund, P. (2007).
Rosa, CA: Informing Science Press.
Serious games – An overview. (Technical Report
Peirce, C. S. (1934–63 ). In Hartshorne, C., & HSIKITR07001). University of Skövde.
O
Weiss, P. (Eds.), Collected papers of Charles Sand
Tambouris, E., Gorilas, S., & Boukis, G. (2001).
ers Peirce (Vol. 1–7). Cambridge, MA: Belknap
R
Investigation of electronic government. eGOV
Press of Harvard University.
project, European Commission, IST Programme.
P
Pückler, von T. (n.d.). Peirce und Popper über
Tekes, (2007). FENIX – Interactive computing
Hypothesen und ihre Bildung. Retrieved June 6,
2003–2007. Technology Programme, Final Report
2010, from http://user.unifrankfurt.de/ ~wirth/
L
2/2007. Finnish Funding Agency for Technology
texte/P%FCckler.html
and Innovations, Tekes.
A
Rizzi, A. (2004). Abduzione ed inferenza statistica.
Turkle, S. (1996). Life on the screen: Identity in
Dipartimento di Statistica, Probabilità e Statistiche
the age of the Internet. London, UK: Weidenfeld
B
applicate. Statistica e Società, 2, 15–24.
and Nicolson.
Sawyer, B., & Smith, P. (2008). Serious games
van Eck, R. (2006). Digital gamebased learning:
O
taxonomy. Retrieved June 10, 2010, from http://
It’s not just the digital natives who are restless.
www.dmill.com/presentations/ seriousgames
L
EDUCAUSE Review, March/April 2006, (pp.
taxonomy2008.pdf
1630). Retrieved June 2, 2010, from http://
G
Selart, M., & Patokorpi, E. (2007). Managing so www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Review/ EDU
cial interaction as a key to organizational decision CAUSEReviewMagazineVolume41/ DigitalG
I
making: From problem solving to sensemaking ameBasedLearningItsNot/158041 No pagination
and design. Discussion paper 2007/2. Bergen, in the online version
G
Norway: Norwegian School of Economics and
von Wangenheim, C. (2009). Empirical evaluation
I
Business Administration.
of an educational game on software measurement.
Singer, T., & Fehr, E. (2005). The neuroeconom Empirical Software Engineering, 14, 418–452.
ics of mind reading and empathy (pp. 340–345). doi:10.1007/s1066400890926
AEA Papers and Proceedings.
Waldron, N. (2007). Engaging hardtoreach
Sipior, J. C., & Ward, B. T. (2005). Bridging the audiences through serious games. Whitepaper.
digital divide for egovernment inclusion: A United Workstar. Retrieved July 20, 2008, from http://
States case study. The Electronic [from http:// videolinq.tafe.net/learningtechnologies2007/
www.ejeg.com/]. Journal of EGovernment, 3, files/naomi_waldron.pdf
137–146. Retrieved September 14, 2010
Zyda, M. (2005). From visual simulation to virtual
reality to games. Computer, (September): 25–32.
doi:10.1109/MC.2005.297
165
:>(#/1*$%/8+/%>+R".$#)/1*#+,$1"%1*/8+$-+R*'*1/8+</."@+*%+";<$=")%."%1
ADDITIONAL READING Kiili, K. (2005). Digital gamebased learning: To

wards an experiential gaming model. The Internet
Abt, C. (1981). Serious games. New York, NY: and Higher Education, 8(1), 13–24. doi:10.1016/j.
Viking. iheduc.2004.12.001
Bartle, R. (2003). Designing virtual worlds. In
F
Manovich, L. (2001). The language of new media.
dianapolis: New Riders. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
O
Bourdieu, P. (2000). The social structures of the Michael, D., & Chen, S. (2006). Serious games:
economy. London, UK: Polity Press. Games that educate, train and inform. Boston,
MA: Thomson Course Technology.
O
Carter, L., & Bélanger, F. (2005). The utilisa
tion of eGovernment services: Citizen trust, Negroponte, N. (1996). Being digital. Vintage.
R
innovation and acceptance factors. Information
Systems Journal, 15(1), 5–25. doi:10.1111/j.1365 Papert, S. (1981). Mindstorms. Children, comput
ers and powerful ideas. New York, NY: Harvester
P
2575.2005.00183.x
Wheatsheaf.
Castells, M. (2001). The Internet galaxy: Reflec
Roszak, T. (1995). The making of a counter cul
L
tions on the Internet, business, and society. New
York, NY: Oxford University Press. ture: Reflections on the technocratic society and
its youthful opposition. Berkeley, CA: University
A
Castells, M. (2010). The rise of the network soci of California Press.
ety: The information age: Economy, society, and
B
culture, 2nd ed. WileyBlackwell. Rutter, J., & Bryce, J. (Eds.). (2006). Understand
ing digital games. London, UK: Sage Publications
Curtin, G. (2004). The world of egovernment. Ltd.
O
Routledge.
Salen, K., & Zimmerman, E. (2004). Rules of
L
DiMaggio, P., Hargittai, E., Neuman, W. R., & play. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Robinson, J. P. (2001). Social implications of
G
the Internet. Annual Review of Sociology, 27(1), Shapiro, A. L. (1999). The control revolution:
307–336. doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.307 How the Internet is putting individuals in charge
I
and changing the world we know. New York, NY:
Florida, R. (2002). The rise of the creative class Public Affairs.
G
– And how it’s transforming work, leisure, com
Squire, K. (2005). Gamebased learning: Pres
I
munity and everyday life. New York, NY: Basic
Books. ent and future state of the field. Masie Center,
eLearning Consortium.
Gilbert, D., & Balestrini, P. (2004). Barriers and
benefits in the adoption of egovernment. Inter Stiftung, B. (2002). Balanced egovernment:
national Journal of Public Sector Management, Egovernment – Connecting efficient administra
17(4), 286–301. doi:10.1108/09513550410539794 tion and responsive democracy. A study by the
Bertelsmann Foundation.
Iverson, K. (2004). Elearning games: Interac
tive strategies for digital delivery. Prentice Hall. Teo, T. S. H., Srivastava, S. C., & Jiang, L. (2009).
Trust and electronic government success: An em
pirical study. Journal of Management Information
Systems, 25(3), 103–137.
166
:>(#/1*$%/8+/%>+R".$#)/1*#+,$1"%1*/8+$-+R*'*1/8+</."@+*%+";<$=")%."%1
Wellman, B. (2001). Physical place and cyber Serious Games: Games designed for purposes
place: The rise of personalized networks. Interna other than merely entertainment, that is, to educate,
tional Journal of Urban and Regional Research, train, investigate, inform, or advertise.
25(2), 227–252. doi:10.1111/14682427.00309 Social Capital: The contacts that a person
has with other people are seen as having value
F
Westera, W. (2008). Serious games for higher edu
analogical to for instance how physical objects
cation: A framework for reducing design complex
have value.
ity. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 24(5),
O
Societal Games: Games pertaining to matters
420–432. doi:10.1111/j.13652729.2008.00279.x
related to a group of interdependent individuals
Abduction: A form of practical reasoning

ENDNOTES
1
R O
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/features/
P
typically used under uncertainty in a context. budget_hero/
Distributed Intelligence: The mind seen as 2
http://www2.stockholm.se/stockholmspelet/
L
not only restricted to what is inside the head but 3
http://ilmansuojelu.ytv.kaapeli.fi/matkalla/
also including objects and other minds as external v1.02/
A
sources. 4
http://www.tampereenkaupunki.net/ekotal
eGovernment: The use of new information laaja/peli/index.html
B
and communication technologies in order to 5
http://www.forivisa.fi/
enhance all kinds of interaction between citizens 6
http://www.forivisa.fi/index.
and government officials for the purposes of gov php?option=com_joomlaquiz_
O
ernance, business and civic engagement. add&Itemid=62
L
Practical Reasoning: To engage oneself in 7
http://www.turku360.fi/peli/peli.htm
deliberation on what to do in a context or situation.
I G
I G
167
168
Chapter 9
Managing Interactional
Performance in E-Government
O F
O
Françoise Simon
R
Research Center on Mediations, University of HauteAlsace, France
ABSTRACT
L P
A
Currently, citizenusers show a noticeable preference for inperson communication, over Internetbased
delivery channels. As a result, governmental agencies still face high numbers of contacts via more
B
traditional service channels such as phone and desk. This chapter deals with the issue of interactional
performance in public eservice delivery. It offers a conceptual framework built on the literature of media
choice and the theory of perceived justice. As such, it examines the interplay of service complexity, media
O
richness, and social cues on individual media preferences. In addition, it presents key factors which
L
lead citizenusers to the perception of a sense of equity through electronic communication. Finally, this
chapter concludes by highlighting a number of possible directions for future action.
INTRODUCTON
I G promoting egovernment primarily as a method

to create an electronic face for the government
G
Since the early days of egovernment, there have and outline the policy of government agencies
I
been many predictions that egovernment will (Chadwick & May, 2003; Mahler & Reagan, 2006).
metamorphose the delivery of government service Currently, citizenusers show a marked preference
for citizenusers. As a matter of fact, the primary for inperson communication, over Internetbased
reason why people actually use egovernment is communication options when they perceive their
to collect information from public websites and request as being rather complex (Ebbers et al.,
to file tax forms (Ebbers, Pieterson & Noorman, 2008; Gagnon, Posada, Bourgault & Naud, 2010;
2008; Reddick, 2005). This is in concordance Streib & Navarro, 2006). Similarly, their views
with the ways in which the government use of on the value of egovernment services may not
the Information and Communication Technolo correspond with factors classically associated
gies (ICTs) has been framed in the mid1990s, with the digital divide, such as race and income
(Streib & Navarro, 2006). As a result, studies
from various countries show that governmental
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch009
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
agencies still face high numbers of contacts via be defined as a “dynamic sociotechnical system
more traditional service channels, i.e., phone and encompassing interactions among societal trends,
desk (Ebbers et al., 2008). human elements, changing technologies, informa
Keeping in mind the citizenusers’ prefer tion management, interaction and complexity, and
ences for traditional channels when interacting the purpose and role of government” (p. 257). As
F
with the public sector, that may be irrespective outlined by Dawes, human elements go far be
of digital divide, this chapter offers a conceptual yond the notions of human–computer interaction
O
framework to explain how to get satisfaction and to include some key aspects as identity, personal
commitment from users in making up for the lack choice, privacy, trust, adjustment and learning,
of relational cues which does characterize the and acceptance of change.
O
electronic medium. Our rationale is based on the This perspective introduces at least two di
analyses conducted both in the fields of services mensions which underlie the public eservice
R
marketing and information systems management, delivery interactional performance, which is the
in order to improve the organizations’ performance level of satisfaction reached by the organization’s
P
through interaction in itself, especially when partner in communication during their interaction.
service situations are inherently complex. In so In the first instance, it somehow reflects the ten
L
doing, this paper presents a critical overview of sion which does exist between personal media
literature on media choice which highlights the preferences and adjustment to imperative com
A
relevance of social presence to mediated environ munication technologies when interacting with
ments as well as that of the media richness theory public organizations. In the second instance, it
B
with regard to the ambiguity of citizenusers’ highlights the importance of trust which refers to
requests. It argues also for a more systematic the potential outcomes in terms of commitment
approach to trust breakdowns which generally to the organization as well as the mechanisms
O
result in citizenusers being more sensitive to needed to build and maintain trust in egovernment
L
the issue of perceived justice. The results of a processes and services. However, much of the ex
survey related to public complaint handling in a isting work on the development of egovernment
French context are conducive to identify major has explored it from a supplyside perspective. In
G
antecedents of the sense of equity which may be addition, the demandside explanation has been
I
perceived through interaction. Finally, this chapter relatively unexplored beyond the initial stages of
concludes with recommendations for improving cataloguing information on the Web (Reddick,
G
interactional performance. 2005). Furthermore, the lack of understanding
I
of the potential of technologies by many officials
(e.g., Jaeger, Paquette & Simmons, 2010) and the
BACKGROUND tendency to use egovernment primarily as a way
to make information available and distribute the
From a global perspective, electronic government views of government agencies (e.g., Mahler and
can be defined as including all ICTs supporting Regan, 2006) have somewhat promoted websites
government operations, engaging citizens, and which are not “designed to be centred on the need
providing government services. Advanced stages of users” (Jaeger & Bertot, 2010, p. 3) and hindered
of public eservice delivery development usually the potential interactional effects of egovernment.
involve twoway interactions as well as full online As a consequence, there is a need to focus on the
transactions, including delivery and payment way in which public eservice delivery through
(Layne & Lee, 2001). According to the conceptual interaction in itself leads to users’ satisfaction
framework proposed recently by Dawes (2009) for and trust building.
considering the future, egovernment can further
169
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
MEDIA PREFERENCES OF CITIZEN munication. The theory builds on a contingency

USERS: A CONTINGENT APPROACH approach in that it hypothesizes on the relationship
between task perceived analysability and media
Customers or citizenusers’ media preferences choice. Task analysability refers to the degree to
in service delivery are likely to result from the which tasks involve the application of objective
F
interplay of individual and situational factors, and wellunderstood procedures that provide
and such a premise argues in favour of a con predetermined responses to potential problems.
O
tingent approach of media preferences. Indeed, An unanalysable task requires individuals to
communication research as well as studies in think about, create, or find satisfactory solutions
the information systems field highlight that us to problems outside the domain of facts, rules or
O
ers elaborate attitudes toward media according procedures. Media Richness Theory assumes a
to affective and cognitive factors, which are rational selection process that matches situational
R
related to individual perceptions of media social media preference with levels of uncertainty and
presence and richness. From a cognitive point of equivocality. Uncertainty refers to a state of mind
P
view, the media richness theory (Daft & Lengel, experienced by an individual when information
1984, 1986) posits that individuals are likely to is insufficient. Uncertainty leads individuals to
L
choose or prefer a media according to how well its search for additional data. Equivocality refers to
perceived richness matches the complexity of the the ambiguity inherent to the information itself as a
A
task they have to perform. Since public services result of differences between frames of references.
may be intrinsically complex, the media richness Equivocality may be reduced through the exchange
B
theory is appropriate to explain how citizenusers of subjective views between communication
elaborate media preferences whenever they need partners in order to define the problem and the
interacting with public organizations. Grounded on key aspects of the topic. Thus, the mere provision
O
the rationalexperiential theory of the psychologist of data does not necessarily reduce equivocality.
L
Epstein (1994), an additional cognitive view is to Furthermore, uncertainty and equivocality tend
consider the influence of cognitive style on media to strongly reduce task analysability.
preferences and the interplay of cognitive style In the Media Richness Theory, the primary
G
and task complexity. From an affective point of feature of an information medium is its richness,
I
view, individuals seek to capture social presence, which is defined as the ability for the information
that is a sense of “being together with another” to change the understanding of the partner within
G
(Biocca, Harms & Burgoon, 2003, p. 459) when a certain time interval. Daft and Lengel (1984,
I
they interact with organization representatives, 1986) suggested that media differ in the amount
whatever the nature of the medium. This is why of “rich” information they can convey. Richness
a better understanding of how to enrich the users’ in this context is a function of four factors: the
perceptions of electronic channel socialness is of capability of a medium (1) to provide immediate
key interest to improve the egovernment. feedback, (2) to transmit verbal and nonverbal
communication cues, (3) to provide a sense of
The Media Richness Theory personalization and (4) to simulate the variety
Relevance in the Context of meaning that can be conveyed by natural
of Public Eservice language. Research studies, which have been
primarily used to study intraorganizational com
The Media Richness Theory (Daft & Lengel, munications (e.g., Daft, Lengel & Trevino, 1987),
1984, 1986) attempts to describe the conditions ranked communication media according to their
under which a specific medium is chosen for com richness. Facetoface communication was found
170
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
to be the richest medium followed by telephone, important in shaping how an individual develops
email, written addressed documents as memo a richness perception for a given channel. Four
or letter, Web sites and unaddressed documents. experiences are identified as being particularly
Indeed, facetoface communication allows rapid relevant: experience with the channel, experi
mutual feedback; conveys nonverbal cues such ence with the topic of the message, experience
F
as gestures, tones, and eye movement; and gives with the organizational context, and experience
both parties increased personal attention. Thus, in communicating with the coparticipants. Em
O
facetoface communication is the baseline for pirical research demonstrated that the acquisition
describing media richness since the message can of relevant experience in each of these domains
be adjusted, clarified, and reinterpreted instantly. by partners in communication leads to develop
O
At the core of the Media Richness Theory is associated knowledge bases that may be used
the rational shaping of individuals as cognitive more effectively both to encode and decode rich
R
optimizers: individuals rank different tasks by messages on a channel (Carlson & Zmud, 1999).
their equivocality, then rank media according to Thus, individuals whose experiences build such
P
how well their richness matches that equivocality, knowledge bases will perceive the channel as
then choose the match that maximizes the effec becoming increasingly rich. Alternatively, partici
L
tive performance of the task. The theory contends pants who do not develop these knowledge bases
that effective communication reduces ambiguity will not develop capabilities for engaging in richer
A
levels by achieving a good match between media communication and will therefore have a relatively
and the level of equivocality (rather uncertainty) stable perception of the channel’s richness.
B
in a message. This rational claim was supported In the context of a public service encounter, task
in a large number of studies examining managers’ analysability may be low due to the objective com
hypothetical media choice (Fulk & CollinsJarvis, plexity of topics and to the perceived ambiguity of
O
2001). Other empirical researches have been ap texts and procedures for citizen users. In addition,
L
plied to study the use of electronic mail (see for the ignorance of public organizations contributes
example Lee, 1994) and online stores (Brunelle, to increase the level of task equivocality from the
2009) as well as the impact of media on the per citizen user’s point of view. In such situations,
G
ceived quality of a service (Froehle, 2006). the citizenuser has difficulty in defining his or
I
As Carlson and Zmud (1999) and King and her problem and elaborating cognitive ways to
Xia (1997) pointed out, the media richness theory think about solutions. Besides, eservice delivery
G
was generally supported when tested on socalled generally occurs with higher levels of anonymity
I
traditional media, such as facetoface meetings, reducing the opportunity to acquire experience
telephone calls, letters, and memos. However, with communication partners. On the whole, it
inconsistent empirical findings have resulted from seems that regardless of the user’s experience of
the introduction of new media such as electronic the medium, public eservice delivery is likely to
mail. These inconsistencies have encouraged a promote high levels of task equivocality which
reconsideration of the media richness theory to can not be alleviated by experience and familiarity
handle new media. As a result, an extension of the with public service representatives.
theory has been formulated: the channel expansion If we now consider experience with the medium
theory (Carlson & Zmud, 1999). involved in public eservice, that is generally elec
The channel expansion theory suggests that tronic messaging or website, eservice delivery
past experiences influence how an individual deserves a more nuanced appraisal beyond the
develops a richness perception for a given chan digital divide. Indeed, websites consultation and
nel. This theory identifies certain experiences as electronic messaging are largely used by families
171
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
in developed countries as shown by statistics situation and the person (Epstein, Pacini, Denes
on ecommerce or the most recent surveys on Raj & Heier, 1996). From a situational point
this topic. The European Interactive Advertising of view, the cognitiveexperiential selftheory
Association reported in April 2008 that almost predicts that interpersonal interaction relates to
threequarters (73%) of European people living the experiential system, whereas reasoning and
F
with children are logging on to the internet each problem solving mobilize the rational system.
week. In January 2006, according to the same From an individual point of view, the theory
O
source, 80% of German internet users had made posits that people differ in the degree to which
at least one online purchase in the previous six they characteristically rely on one system rather
months, which is to be compared with a 60% than the other.
O
average for the whole of Europe. To sum up, the As such, rationalexperiential thinking styles
Media Richness Theory leads us to consider that are relevant in explaining attitudes toward auto
R
when a citizen user logs on to the internet on a mated selfservice because service users anticipate
regular basis, the more experience he or she has and actually make much of a mental effort when
P
with public organisations and different topics of using it instead of being supported by the organi
interest, the more likely he or she is to perceive zation’s representatives. Automated selfservice
L
public websites or electronic messaging as being broadly refers to automated kiosks using self
rich media and to consequently elaborate consis scanning, online ordering and payment, website
A
tent media preferences. information searching or online complaining.
As pointed out by Simon and Usunier (2007),
B
The Interplay of Individual automated selfservice involves more cognitive
RationalExperiential Style effort than traditional interactions with service
and Service Complexity personnel for two basic reasons. In the first place,
O
users often experience difficulties in navigating
L
As reported by Simon and Usunier (2007), the the interface of selfservice technologies due for
cognitiveexperiential selftheory (Epstein, 1994) instance to the low visibility of information, the
proposes the assumption that people have two system resistance to change initiated by users, the
G
fundamentally different but parallel modes for cognitive effort required to meet particular goals,
I
processing information: or the premature choices imposed upon users. In
the second place, the unique features of a face
G
A. A “rational” system in which the person toface communication cannot be duplicated in
I
operates primarily at the conscious level. It is an automated service. In contrast to automated
intentional, analytical, verbal, and relatively interaction, facetoface communication promotes
affect free. the transmission of pragmatic and nonverbal mes
B. An “experiential” system that is more au sages which help interpret propositional content.
tomatic, preconscious, holistic, and “asso In addition, the organization’s representatives can
cianistic,” according to the term coined by provide their experiences and personal opinions
Epstein (1994). It is also primarily nonverbal while being asked questions by the users. Answers
and intricately associated with affect. from service personnel provide immediate feed
back to consumers and enable them to verify and
A basic assumption in the cognitiveexperi adapt information that was explicitly stated in the
ential selftheory is that all human behaviour is interaction, this statement being highlighted by
simultaneously influenced by both systems, with the media richness theory.
their relative contribution varying according to the
172
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
In summary, facetoface communication re simulated by the medium whereas social presence
quires a lower level of cognitive effort than using captures the sense of being together with another.
communication technologies to understand service The theory of social presence has been largely
content. As a consequence, service users high in used to describe and understand how people so
rational style are more likely to prefer to engage cially interact in online environments. The most
F
in the search for structured information involving widely used conceptualization of social presence
conscious cognitive tasks, such as those required is proposed by Short, Williams & Christie (1976),
O
for selfservice technology. By contrast, consum where social presence is defined as “the degree
ers high in experiential style tend to rely on service of salience of the other person in the interaction
employees (or other customers) to make up their and the consequent salience of the interpersonal
O
minds about service options and obtain service relationships” (p. 65). As pointed out by Biocca
delivery, rather than use ICT. This claim was et al. (2003), their approach has roots in symbolic
R
supported in an empirical research investigating interactionism (Blumer, 1969) and social psycho
the attitudes toward several automated services, logical theories of interpersonal communication.
P
the services varying in their analysability levels Symbolic interactionism has emphasized that
(Simon & Usunier, 2007). Besides, service com symbolic representations were central to social
L
plexity, which is the degree of ambiguity and un phenomena, contributing to our conceptualiza
certainty involved in the provideruser interaction tions of the social realm and helping form the self.
A
processes and consequences (Daft et al., 1987), This theoretical framework guided the emphasis
was found to moderate the influence of cognitive of social presence theories on: (a) the awareness
B
styles on preference for service technology. Thus, of and the representation of the other, (b) the “so
the more likely a user is to perceive a service as cialness” of the medium and, (c) the presence or
intrinsically complex, the more his or her cogni absence of verbal or nonverbal cues in mediated
O
tive style is likely to influence his or her attitude communication.
L
toward selfservice technology. Consequently, Besides this widely used conceptualization,
when public service is anticipated to be complex, the early presence research also has proposed a
individuals with respectively high experiential variety of definitions to highlight the different
G
or low rational style will tend to avoid eservice aspects of social presence. In particular, the sen
I
delivery and require facetoface communications. sorimotor approach (Biocca et al., 2003) views
social presence as the sensory awareness of others
The Social Presence as a Stable
G
often achieved through selfpresentation features
I
Propriety of the Medium such as signatures, avatars, and personal profiles.
Indeed, the other is frequently embodied by some
Presence has been recognized as a key performance agent or simpler representational device in medi
goal for many information systems. Different ated interactions (Cassell, Sullivan, Prevost &
media may generate different levels of presence, Churchill, 2000). Another approach extends so
which is broadly defined as the perceptual illusion cial presence to include behavioural engagement
of nonmediation. Several researchers (see for a (e.g., eye contact, nonverbal mirroring, and turn
review Biocca et al., 2003) have presented pres taking), this conceptualization of social presence
ence as consisting of two interrelated dimensions: being especially relevant to highbandwidth media
telepresence and social presence. Telepresence, applications such as immersive virtual reality and
also known as physical presence, describes the computer games (Biocca et al., 2003).
illusion of being physically present in the setting In the final analysis, Short et al. (1976) posited
that communication media differ in their degree
173
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
of social presence and conceptualized social pres (Walther, 1996). Walther (1992) argued that the
ence primarily as a quality of the communication human’s social nature is the same in computer
medium. From their perspective, a medium with mediated communication and in facetoface en
a high degree of social presence is seen as being vironments, the communicators being motivated
sociable, warm, and personal, whereas a medium to develop impressions and relations despite the
F
with a low degree of social presence is seen as hindrances that electronic media may impose. As
less personal. Most research in the information a major issue, Walther (1995) demonstrated that,
O
systems field adopted this conceptualization and given enough time, users in computermediated
measured social presence as the extent to which a communication are able to develop the same level
person perceives a medium as unsociable/sociable; of intimacy as in facetoface communication.
O
insensitive/sensitive; cold/warm; and impersonal/ Walther (1994) also found that the possibility of a
personal. In other words, social presence denotes future interaction positively influences the degree
R
stable properties of the medium and allows com to which people socially interact online. In addi
paring different media. For instance, facetoface tion, the way partners used emoticons was shown
P
interaction is seen as having a high social presence, to influence interpersonal communication online
whereas computermediated communication is (Walther & D’Addario, 2001). Thus, emoticons
L
considered low in social presence since nonverbal fill the part of clarifying textual messages which
and relational cues are filtered out. In the context is similar to how nonverbal displays work in a
A
of eservice delivery, the sensorimotor approach facetoface context.
suggested by Biocca and his colleagues points In some cases, computermediated interactants
B
outs that representational devices, by embodying may exhibit a greater proportion of more direct
organizations’ representatives, may enrich the and intimate uncertainty reduction behaviours than
social presence of electronic messaging. unmediated participants do, and demonstrate sig
O
nificantly greater gains in attributional confidence
L
The Hyperpersonal Perspective over the course of the conversations (Walther,
in Electronic Communications 1996). In other words, computermediated com
munication may surpass the levels of affection
G
Recent findings suggest that the user’s behaviours and emotion of parallel facetoface interaction,
I
which are used to make up for the cues that are encouraging “hyperpersonal” communication.
filtered out, matter as much as the medium’s sup Such phenomena not only take place in contexts
G
posed ability to create a sense of social presence in devoted to social or recreational interaction such
I
computermediated and online environments. For as games or chat systems, but also in decision
instance, participants in online discussions, using making groups.
text alone, are able to project their personalities In the hyperpersonal perspective, senders se
into online discussions and create a social presence lect and express communication behaviours that
(Swan & Shih, 2005). Most of these researches are more stereotypically desirable in achieving
are built on the theoretical framework proposed their social goals without fear of contradiction.
by Walther (1992) in the Social Information At the other end, the receivers construct idealized
Processing theory. Walther developed this model images of their partners and relationships, result
in response to previous theories which assumed ing in an overattribution of similarity (Spears
that the absence of nonverbal cues led to a quasi & Lea, 1992) and, through reciprocation, they
absence of sociability and failed to acknowledge confirm these idealized images. These processes
that just as cues are filtered out, other cues are may be further enhanced when the interaction
filtered into computermediated communication is also asynchronous, allowing communication
174
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
partners to relax time constraints. As noted by Moon (2000) demonstrates that humans and
Walther (1996), “In asynchronous interaction, one computers may engage in intimate selfdisclosure
may plan, contemplate and edit one’s comments exchanges when the language on the computer
more mindfully and deliberatively than one can is entirely text based. As a second cue, voice (or
in more spontaneous, simultaneous talk” (p. 26). humansounding speech) is likely to encourage
F
To sum up, Walther’s social information process the use of rules associated with human–human
ing theory argues that given the same investment relations since humans are uniquely capable of
O
of time and involvement, people will find ways speech. Steuer and Nass (1993) find that people
to compensate for any cues that are filtered out, respond to different voices on the same computer
allowing relation quality in computermediated as if they were different social actors and that
O
communication to be the same or even higher people respond to the same voice on different
as in facetoface communication. Such an as computers as if it was the same social actor. Qiu
R
sumption is highly relevant to eservice delivery and Benbasat (2005) conducted a laboratory
since it points out how imperative the addition of experiment to empirically test the effects of text
P
extended time is when communicating through tospeech voice on consumer trust toward service
electronic messaging. representatives. In this study, texttospeech voice
L
was implemented to deliver answers aloud. The
Websites Socialness Perceptions results demonstrated that the presence of a voice
A
significantly increases the consumers’ trust toward
As noted by Wang, Baker, Wagner & Wakefield the service representatives.
B
(2007), a growing body of research supports the Interactivity is a third social cue whose main
contention that in human–computer interactions, facets are twoway communication and synchron
people treat the computer as a social actor rather icity. Synchronicity refers to the degree to which
O
than only as a medium. The basis for this argu the users’ input into a communication and the
L
ment is the social response theory (Moon, 2000), response they receive from the communication
which states that people apply social rules to are simultaneous, which is considered immediate
respond to computers when computers possess feedback. Twoway communication and immedi
G
humanlike attributes, or social cues. Thus, people ate feedback are key characteristics in interper
I
treat computers as social actors even though they sonal communication. Indeed, all websites have
are aware that they are interacting with machines. some degree of interactivity due to the nature of
G
Researchers suggest that mindlessness is the Web browsing (Hoffman & Novak, 1996).
I
reason for these responses (Nass & Moon, 2000), Finally, as a social role cue is derived by
which occur as a result of unconscious attention observing the roles the entities perform, it could
to contextual cues (e.g., human characteristics) be filled simply by giving a label to an entity.
on the computer screen. These cues trigger the People tend to take labels at face value because
individuals’ various scripts and expectations in doubt requires greater cognitive effort (Steuer
accordance with their prior experiences. When a & Nass, 1993). Research has demonstrated that
computer possesses humanlike cues, people tend people perceive computers as filling roles and
to respond automatically to the computer with then respond accordingly simply by physically
their own oversimplified social scripts including labelling or referring to the computers by their
reciprocity behaviours. In this respect, Steuer and role (e.g., “tutor”) (Steuer & Nass, 1993).
Nass (1993) suggest that four cues are particularly So far the most prevalent communication
relevant to eliciting social responses: language, modality in online environments has been text.
human voice, interactivity, and social role. Thus, Email, instant messaging, and discussion
175
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
forums have been widely used to facilitate com to specify the attributes that they would like the
munication between online shoppers and vendors. product or service to have), as more personalized
Although voice channels also are available through and social (Komiak & Benbasat, 2006). Thus,
some websites, most small and mediumsized a website utilizing a recommendation system
vendors cannot afford dedicated call centres and generates customized web pages in response to
F
service staff (Qiu & Benbasat, 2005). With the a user’s query, creating the impression of being
help of emerging multimedia technologies, private engaged in a oneonone dialogue with that user.
O
or public organizations can now use computer This gives a sense of personal connection with
generated voice and humanoid avatars to embody the website, resulting in a higher social presence
customer service representatives, thus enriching emanating from the medium.
O
the interactive experiences of their customers. On the whole, the social response theory pro
For instance, in keeping with the social re vides a useful framework to improve public orga
R
sponse literature, Wang et al. (2007) used in their nizations’ websites in highlighting the contribution
experiment an avatar designed to include a social of social cues such as avatars, humansounding
P
role, a human voice, language and interactive speech, interactivity and virtual human roles. In
expressions through interactive web pages, in particular, a stronger sense of social presence in
L
order to render highsocial a travel website. Thus, mediated environments is likely to reduce avoid
the website contained a graphically represented ance behaviours from users whose cognitive style
A
female character in the form of a tour guide to be is highly experiential in terms of the psychologist
consistent with the travel theme of the website. Epstein (1994).
B
The tour guide character was designed to exhibit
appropriate employeelike attributes, such as a Relational Consequences of Social
friendly attitude, a professionallooking appear Presence in an Online Environment
O
ance, customized assistance, and greetings. The
L
research demonstrated that this highsocial web A growing body of research supports the conten
site induced perceptions of socialness, leading tion that in human–computer as well online interac
to increased pleasure and arousal, both of which tions, social presence contributes to the user’s trust
G
positively influence hedonic and utilitarian value, and interactional satisfaction. For instance, em
I
and patronage intentions. pirical studies have found that email adoption is
Another way to enrich the users’ interactive influenced by the perceived social presence of the
G
experiences in many websites is through wel medium (Gefen & Straub, 1997) and that the sense
I
coming the user by name as he or she enters the of social presence contributes to the customer’s
website and making website and subsequent email trust and satisfaction with ecommerce websites
communications personalized. Recommendations (Kumar & Benbasat, 2002). Some researchers
and consumer reviews are also acknowledged as have found that trust is likely to be affected by
significant features of a website contributing to a the media richness. Bos, Olson, Gergle, Olson, &
higher social presence (Kumar & Benbasat, 2006). Wright (2002) studied the emergence of trust in
Websites such as Amazon.com generate recom four different communication situations: face to
mendations by using methods that indirectly infer, face, video, audio, and text chat. They found that
based on clickstream data, information about a the first three richer situations were significantly
customer’s needs and preferences. Users perceive more advantageous than text chatting. Similarly,
recommendation agents that provide advice by Greenspan, Goldberg, Weimer, & Basso (2000)
specifically focusing on their needs for using used a controlled experiment to study prospective
the product or service (rather than asking them homebuyers who selected houses using three me
176
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
dia, which were website, telephone, and a system whereas the outcomes are defined as the positive
combining telephone and television. Their results or negative consequences that occur as a result
demonstrated that the telephone and the telephone of the exchange with the partner. Inequity exists
television system, which are richer media than when an individual perceives that his or her output/
website according to the media richness theory, input ratio is unequal to his or her referent’s ratio.
F
can lead to higher levels of trust. Seiders and Berry (1998) suggest that perceived
justice is particularly salient in the context of
O
services, because intangible benefits can be dif
INTERACTIONAL JUSTICE ficult to evaluate for users especially when the
IN EGOVERNMENT service complexity is high. In service encounters,
O
customers or citizenusers often participate in the
Grounded on the social justice theory (Adams, service production and are directly exposed to the
R
1965; Blau, 1964), the concept of perceived organization’s operating systems, practices, and
justice has been widely used in the context of policies (Lee & Rao, 2009), resulting in many
P
services, to account for users’ satisfaction with opportunities for a fairness breakdown from the
service handling. Since public service results user’s point of view. In addition, public service
L
in many opportunities for a fairness breakdown delivery is concerned with the implementation of
from the citizenuser’s point of view, perceived governmentally mandated restrictions which are
A
justice appears to be a valuable concept to explain likely to involve fairness considerations. In mar
both public interactional performance and some keting literature, the impact of perceived justice
B
relational outcomes such as satisfaction and com was examined in the context of service failures
mitment. We draw on a survey related to public and subsequent recovery. Taking into account
complaint handling in a French context to show the public service perceived complexity and the
O
that empathy and the organization’s efforts are regulatory restrictions it is associated with, the
L
key antecedents of interactional performance. concept of perceived justice appears highly rel
In so doing, we also examine the influence of a evant when explaining citizen’s satisfaction with
service channel on perceived justice, keeping in public service, and further with public eservice.
G
mind the task equivocality issue. Besides, service handling involves perceptions
I
of justice at different levels (Bies & Shapiro,
Perceived Justice as a Valuable 1987; Greenberg, 1996). Thus, the users’ interac
Concept to Explain Public
G
tion with the organization’s representatives, the
I
Service Users’ Perceptions procedures an organization uses to handle service
and complaints, and the outcomes of service all
Social justice theory views social interaction as generate perceptions of justice. Consistent with
a reciprocal exchange governed by a norm of work in social and organizational psychology,
justice, in which individuals seek to maximize service research has consequently taken a three
outcomes and minimize inputs (Adams, 1965; dimensional approach to perceived justice thus
Blau, 1964). When a person perceives that he or including procedural, interactional, and distribu
she is not being treated fairly, this person feels tive justice (e.g., Smith, Bolton & Wagner, 1999).
distressed and seeks restoration. The assessment Distributive justice is concerned with a distribution
of how equitable the exchange is depends on the of resources, which affects the individual’s well
individual’s view of the value and the relevance being. It describes the fairness of the complaint
of the exchange partners’ inputs and outcomes. or service outcome as the customer or citizen
The inputs are the contributions to the exchange, user perceives it. Procedural justice reflects the
177
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
perceived fairness of the servicehandling policies service failure. For instance, in a bank industry
and procedures. In particular, procedural justice research that captured the customers’ perceptions
refers to the methods the organization uses to deal over time following a service failure and a recovery
with the problems arising during service delivery, attempt, Maxham and Netemeyer (2002) found
in aspects such as accessibility, timing/speed, that procedural and interactional justice are more
F
process control, and flexibility to adapt to the influential in forming an overall satisfaction with
citizenuser’ s recovery needs. Interactional justice the organization than distributive justice. Besides,
O
refers to the perceived fairness of the behaviour Karatepe (2006) found in a hotel industry study
that employees exhibit toward the organization’s that the effect of interactional justice on a com
users. Interactional justice is defined as the custom plainant’s satisfaction was stronger than that of
O
ers’ perception of the extent to which they have distributive and procedural justice. In summation,
been treated with justice, honesty, and courtesy in public servicerelated perceived justice is likely
R
their personal interaction with the organization’s to positively affect attitude as well as trust and
representatives in charge of the service (Maxham commitment toward the organization, interactional
P
& Netemeyer, 2002). justice contributing specifically to such relational
effects.
L
Satisfaction and Trust as Positive
Outcomes of Perceived Justice Empathy and Organization’s
A
Efforts as Key Antecedents of
Researches analyzing the effects of recovery Interactional Performance
B
related justice on emotions show that low levels
of perceived justice correspond to high levels As mentioned above, interactional justice refers
of negative emotions and low levels of positive to the extent to which service users perceive
O
emotions (VarelaNeira, VazquezCasielles & they have been treated with justice, honesty, and
L
IglesiasArguelles, 2008). As demonstrated by courtesy in their personal interaction with the
DeWitt, Nguyen and Marshall (2007) within the organization’s employees. Since public service
hospitality industry, when a customer experiences offers many opportunities for a fairness break
G
a good recovery, he or she tends to perceive a high down due to perceived service complexity and
I
level of justice that, in conjunction with positive regulatory restrictions, we state that interactional
emotions, creates a positive attitude toward the justice strongly contributes to the extent to which
G
service provider and increases the likelihood of a public organization provides satisfaction to its
I
future patronage. In contrast, customers who users through service interaction, that is interac
experience poor service recovery perceive low tional performance. In this respect, most of the
levels of justice and are likely to exit the relation researches pertaining to the interactional justice
ship with the service provider. Other findings are and interaction relatedservice quality identified
that perceived justice is strongly correlated to the empathy and efforts as key antecedents of inter
satisfaction with the service encounter, which actional performance in addition to courtesy (e.g,
positively affects trust and commitment toward Tax, Brown, & Chandrashekaran, 1998; Homburg
the organization (Maxham & Netemeyer, 2002 ; & Fürst, 2005).
VazquezCasielles, Alvarez & Diaz Martin, 2010). Following Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry
Each dimension of perceived justice may vary (1988), many scholars highlight that empathy
in importance depending on the context analyzed, is among the most important features of service
which refers to the type and characteristics of the quality and further, interactional performance.
service delivered, as well as the features of the In a broad sense, empathy is defined as the phe
178
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
nomenon that connects two otherwise isolated to objectively measure their perceptions. On the
individuals to each other (Davis, 1996). This whole, 439 interactions were performed which
construct includes identification and emotional encompassed 101 public organizations and 338
contagion and involves understanding the internal private companies. Public transport, social ser
states of others (Preston & de Waal, 2002). As vices, payment of taxes, lost objects, recycling
F
such, empathy refers to caring, attentiveness and bins and water supply accounted for the largest
understanding the customer’s needs when provid share of public services. Taking into account the
O
ing services. As the second important antecedent channels effective availability according to the
of interactional performance, effort refers to the features of the organization and the complaint, the
force or energy with which work is accomplished available channels were randomly allocated for
O
(Brown & Peterson, 1994). Therefore, interac each interaction. In this way, the mystery custom
tional efforts can be conceptualized as the amount ers were confronted with a channel irrespective
R
of positive energy spent by the organization’s of their own preferences.
representatives in delivering service and solving As a result, the distribution of the channels in
P
problems in favor of customers or citizenusers the case of public (respectively private) organiza
(Karatape, 2006). In recent years, the concept tions was the following one: 30% (36%) for the
L
of perceived efforts has indirectly received an telephone, 57% (45%) for the email and 17%
increasing interest through theories about recipro (19%) for the letter. All the variables examined in
A
cal behaviours (e.g., Palmatier, Jarvis, Bechkoff the study were measured with reliable scales. We
& Kardes, 2009; Tsang, 2006). In this latter used multiple linear regressions in which scales
B
perspective, the organization’s investment in the were summated, to assess the validity of hypoth
relationship and interactional efforts generate esized relations between variables. We found
customers’ feelings of gratitude, which lead to that perceived efforts and empathy contributed
O
gratitudebased reciprocal behaviours, resulting significantly and strongly to interactional justice,
L
in enhanced trust and commitment (Palmatier et explaining 78% of the variance of the dependant
al., 2009). variable. This model remained accurately adjusted
whatever the nature of the medium (facetoface,
G
A Survey of Public Complaint telephone, email) and the organization’s type
I
Handling in a French Context (public versus private).
Consistent with media richness and social
G
Since empathy as much as interactional per presence theories, task equivocality moderated
I
formance were studied empirically only in the the relation between interactional justice and
context of facetoface or phone interactions, both independent variables (empathy and per
additional research is needed to understand the ceived efforts), the influence of empathy being
effects of both empathy and perceived efforts on significantly stronger when equivocality was
interactional performance, whatever the nature high. Other moderators were experience variables
of medium (facetoface, telephone, email). With such as experience with the channel, experience
this objective in mind, we conducted a survey in with the messaging topic and experience with
a French context in which mystery customers the organizational context, as suggested by the
lodged a complaint against private companies as channel expansion theory. When considering the
well as public organizations, and assessed their single issue of eservice recovery in the context
responses. The mystery customers were voluntary of public organizations, we obtained results in
students specifically trained up in playing roles line with previous data. Perceived efforts and
as well as in the use of psychometric scales used empathy explained 82% of the variance of the e
179
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
interactional justice which in turn accounted for P+ Information allowing the user to better un
89% of the satisfaction with complaint handling. derstand the organization and management
In summation, this research examined interactional structure of the service provider as well as
performance in service recovery in the case of the topics related to the service. In particu
French public organizations. As expected, inter lar, key terms have to be systematically de
F
actional performance was mainly explained by &%";+/%;+4)*11"%+*%+/%+(<")A-)*"%;89+<198"?+
perceived empathy and efforts, this being valid An additional solution is to show detailed
O
for the electronic channel. Besides, the influence testimonials from people who used the or
of empathy was all the greater since equivocality ganization’s services.
was high. This result suggests that people manage
O
task equivocality by requesting a support that will Adapting Texts to Support Empathy
provide a thorough understanding of their needs.
R
As nonverbal cues are filtered out in electronic
messaging, text remains the only cue for the mes
P
STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING sage to express the extent to which the organiza
INTERACTIONAL PERFORMANCE tion‘s representative intends to understand the
L
IN PUBLIC ESERVICE DELIVERY user’s needs and internal state. As a consequence,
the public sector’s employees have to make sure
A
Based on the previous analysis of causal factors in that their emails contain formulas of courtesy and
perceived interactional performance, it is possible express their interest in the citizenuser’s situation
B
to envision a range of methods which specifically in an elaborate way. In the same vein, electronic
address three major aspects of mediated interaction messages must include some inducement to renew
in the public sector, that is to say, citizenusers’ contact in case of necessity.
O
experience in regard to service complexity, elec
L
tronic text adjustment with respect to empathy Developing Social Presence
issues, and social cues involving representational in Mediated Environments
devices as well as virtual roles and electronic
G
messaging extended time. As an indispensable solution to reduce technol
I
ogy avoidance behaviours, the development of
Increasing CitizenUser’s Experience social presence in mediated environments which
to Make up for Service Complexity
G
are offered by public organizations encompasses
I
three major recommendations. In the first place,
As service complexity is a main hindrance to websites design should include embodied cues
interactional performance in egovernement, a such as avatars and humansounding speech. As
comprehensive plan for reducing this complex a second type of social cues, virtual roles have to
ity would minimally bring improvements to the be defined and actually filled by avatars. Finally,
organization’s website by including: public sector employees have to be made aware
of and accept the necessity of extended time in
P+ Tools for helping users visualize service electronic messaging.
systems with interactive mapping tech
niques which would be displayed on the
organization’s website and inform them
about service process steps and the range
of options available.
180
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS channels, especially when having a highly expe

riential cognitive style, since they perceive that
As the above strategies mean to apply to the public the electronic channels may be lacking a sense of
sector some of the solutions tested in service com social presence. In this respect, the literature of
panies, additional research is needed to empirically media choice indicates valuable ways to enrich
F
evaluate to what extent these recommendations electronic communications via social cues in
lead to improve users’ satisfaction with eservice cluding extended time for electronic messaging,
O
delivery as well as under what conditions they adapted texts as well as embodied representational
should be implemented. For instance, the addition devices. Thus, our conceptual framework builds in
of an avatar in the form of a public organization’s a large part on issues related to media preferences
O
representative to a public website deserves further from which we infer how to make up for the ab
researches pertaining to its social role definition sence of nonverbal cues and finally, how to curb
R
as well as to the adequate methods to test it and the impact of service complexity. In so doing, we
the key factors explaining the users’ acceptation. neglected the literature on technology acceptance
P
In the same vein, exploratory researches in the (Davis, 1989) which notably emphasizes how both
public sector have to be conducted in order to the ease of use and the functionality of mediated
L
find discursive approaches grounded on pragmatic interfaces will benefit the adoption of ICTs. Even
language to finetune the adaptation of texts in though the usability as well as the usefulness of
A
electronic messaging. Furthermore, the coming public websites remains a challenge (Bertot &
extension of customer relationship management Jaeger, 2006), we believe that such an issue fails
B
to the public sector (King, 2006) offers opportu to specifically address the public organizations’
nities for investigations into the potential of this deficiencies in making electronic communications
management approach to improve interactional more social. By contrast, the concept of inter
O
performance in egovernment. Indeed, customer actional performance which is embedded in the
L
relationship management, which is enabled by theory of perceived justice, allows organizations
ICTs, seek to develop deep customer insight to remain focused on the relational benefits of
through numerous interactions in order to predict the interaction whatever the medium. The extent
G
future customer needs and to steer them towards to which government agencies reckon with this
I
appropriate services. In this respect, the trade form of performance and measure its progress in
offs between privacy issues and personalized delivering eservices will be a major issue through
G
egovernment services including personal profiles the course of egovernment.
I
as well as recommendation agents, deserve greater
attention to enhance satisfaction through interac
tion in eservice delivery. REFERENCES
Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange .

CONCLUSION In Berkovitz, L. (Ed.), Advances in experimental
social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 267–299). New
According to the terms of the media richness York, NY: Academic Press.
theory, equivocality encompasses a large part of Bertot, J. C., & Jaeger, P. T. (2006). Usercentered
the requests and consultations which are filled egovernment: Challenges and benefits for govern
by citizenusers when interacting with the public ment Web sites. Government Information Quar
sector. As a result, citizenusers tend to prefer terly, 23, 163–168. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.02.001
facetoface interactions through phone or desk
181
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
Bies, R. J., & Shapiro, D. L. (1987). Interactional Daft, R., & Lengel, R. (1984). Information rich
fairness judgments: The influence of causal ac ness: A new approach to managerial behavior and
counts. Social Justice Research, 1, 199–218. organization design . In Staw, B. M., & Cummings,
doi:10.1007/BF01048016 L. L. (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior
(Vol. 6, pp. 191–233). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
F
Biocca, F., Harms, C., & Burgoon, J. K. (2003).
Toward a more robust theory and measure of Daft, R., & Lengel, R. (1986). Organizational
social presence: Review and suggested criteria. information requirements, media richness and
O
Presence (Cambridge, Mass.), 12(5), 456–480. structural design. Management Science, 32,
doi:10.1162/105474603322761270 554–571. doi:10.1287/mnsc.32.5.554
O
Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social Daft, R., Lengel, R., & Trevino, L. (1987). Message
life. New York, NY: Wiley. equivocality, media selection, and manager per
R
formance: Implications for Information Systems.
Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism:
Management Information Systems Quarterly, 17,
P
Perspective and method. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
355–366. doi:10.2307/248682
PrenticeHall.
Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness,
L
Bos, N., Olson, J. S., Gergle, D., Olson, G. M., &
perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of
Wright, Z. (2002). Rich media helps trust develop
Information Technology. Management Infor
A
ment. In Proceedings of CHI 2002 (pp. 135140).
mation Systems Quarterly, 13(3), 319–340.
New York, NY: ACM Press.
doi:10.2307/249008
B
Brown, S. P., & Peterson, R. A. (1994). The
Davis, M. H. (1996). Empathy: A social psycho
effect of effort on sales performance and job
logical approach. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
O
satisfaction. Journal of Marketing, 58, 70–80.
doi:10.2307/1252270 Dawes, S. S. (2009). Governance in the digital age:
L
A research and action framework for an uncertain
Brunelle, E. (2009). Introducing media richness
future. Government Information Quarterly, 26,
G
into an integrated model of consumers: Intentions
257–264. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2008.12.003
to use online stores in their purchase process.
I
Journal of Internet Commerce, 8(3), 222–245. DeWitt, T., Nguyen, D., & Marshall, R. (2008).
doi:10.1080/15332860903467649 Exploring customer loyalty following service
G
recovery: The mediating effects of trust and
Carlson, J. R., & Zmud, R. W. (1999). Channel
I
emotions. Journal of Service Research, 10(3),
expansion theory and the experiential nature of me
269–281. doi:10.1177/1094670507310767
dia richness perceptions. Academy of Management
Journal, 42(2), 153–170. doi:10.2307/257090 Ebbers, W. E., Pieterson, W. J., & Noordman, H.
N. (2008). Electronic government: Rethinking
Cassell, J., Sullivan, J., Prevost, S., & Churchill, E.
channel management strategies. Government In
(Eds.). (2000). Embodied conversational agents.
formation Quarterly, 25, 181–201. doi:10.1016/j.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
giq.2006.11.003
Chadwick, A., & May, C. (2003). Interaction be
Epstein, S. (1994). Integration of the cognitive and
tween states and citizens in the age of the Internet:
the psychodynamic unconscious. The American
Egovernment in the United States, Britain, and the
Psychologist, 49, 709–724. doi:10.1037/0003
European Union. Governance: An International
066X.49.8.709
Journal of Policy, Administration and Institutions,
16(2), 271–300. doi:10.1111/14680491.00216
182
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
Epstein, S., Pacini, R., DenesRaj, V., & Heier, Jaeger, P. T., & Bertot, J. C. (2010). Designing,
H. (1996). Individual differences in intuitive–ex implementing, and evaluating usercentered and
periential and analytical–rational thinking styles. citizencentered egovernment. International
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Electronic Government Research, 6(2),
71(2), 390–405. doi:10.1037/00223514.71.2.390 1–17. doi:10.4018/jegr.2010040101
F
Froehle, C. M. (2006). Service personnel, tech Jaeger, P. T., Paquette, S., & Simmons, S. N. (2010).
nology, and their interaction in influencing cus Information policy in national political campaigns:
O
tomer satisfaction. Decision Sciences, 37(1), 5–38. A comparison of the 2008 campaigns for President
doi:10.1111/j.15405414.2006.00108.x of the United States and Prime Minister of Canada.
O
Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 7,
Fulk, J., & CollinsJarvis, L. (2001). Wired meet
1–16. doi:10.1080/19331680903316700
ings: Technological mediation of organizational
R
gatherings . In Putnam, L. L., & Jablins, F. M. Karatepe, O. M. (2006). Consumer complaints
(Eds.), New handbook of organizational com and organizational responses: The effects of
P
munication (2nd ed., pp. 624–703). Newbury complainants’ perceptions of justice on satisfac
Park, CA: Sage. tion and loyalty. International Journal of Hos
L
pitality Management, 25, 69–90. doi:10.1016/j.
Gagnon, Y.C., Posada, E., Bourgault, M., & Naud,
ijhm.2004.12.008
A. (2010). Multichannel delivery of public ser
A
vices: A new and complex management challenge. King, R. C., & Xia, W. D. (1997). Media appropri
International Journal of Public Administration, ateness: Effects of experience on communication
B
33(5), 213–222. doi:10.1080/01900690903405535 media choice. Decision Sciences, 28(4), 877–910.
doi:10.1111/j.15405915.1997.tb01335.x
Gefen, D., & Straub, D. W. (2000). Managing user
O
trust in B2C eservices . EService Journal, 1, 1. King, S. F. (2006). Citizens as customers: Explor
L
ing the future of CRM in UK local government.
Greenberg, J. (1996). The quest for justice on the
Government Information Quarterly, 24(1), 47–63.
job: Essays and experiments. Thousand Oaks, CA:
G
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.02.012
Sage Publications.
Komiak, S. Y. X., & Benbasat, I. (2006). The im
I
Greenspan, S., Goldberg, D., Weimer, D. M., &
pact of personalization and familiarity on trust and
Basso, A. (2000). Interpersonal trust and common
adoption of recommendation agents. Management
G
ground in electronically mediated communica
Information Systems Quarterly, 30(4), 941–960.
I
tion. CSCW’00 Proceedings. Philadelphia, PA:
ACM Press. Kumar, N., & Benbasat, I. (2002). Parasocial
presence and communication capabilities of a
Hoffman, D. L., & Novak, T. P. (1996). Marketing
website: A theoretical perspective, eService
in hypermedia computermediated environments:
Journal, 1(I3), 524.
Conceptual foundations. Journal of Marketing,
60(July). Kumar, N., & Benbasat, I. (2006). The influ
ence of recommendation systems and consumer
Homburg, C., & Fürst, A. (2005). How organiza
reviews on evaluations of websites. Information
tional complaint handling drives customer loyalty:
Systems Research, 17(4), 425–439. doi:10.1287/
An analysis of the mechanistic and the organic
isre.1060.0107
approach. Journal of Marketing, 69, 95–114.
doi:10.1509/jmkg.69.3.95.66367
183
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
Layne, K., & Lee, J. (2001). Developing fully Qiu, L., & Benbasat, I. (2005). An investigation
function egovernment: A four stage model. Gov into the effects of texttospeech voice and 3D
ernment Information Quarterly, 18(1), 122–136. avatars on the perception of presence and flow of
doi:10.1016/S0740624X(01)000661 live help in electronic commerce. ACM Transac
tions on ComputerHuman Interaction, 12(4),
F
Lee, J., & Rao, H. R. (2009). Task complexity and
329–355. doi:10.1145/1121112.1121113
different decision criteria for online service accep
tance: A comparison of two egovernment compli Reddick, C. G. (2005). Citizen interaction with
O
ance service domains. Decision Support Systems, egovernment: From the streets to servers?
47, 424–435. doi:10.1016/j.dss.2009.04.009 Government Information Quarterly, 22, 38–57.
O
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2004.10.003
Mahler, J., & Regan, P. M. (2006). Crafting the
message: Controlling content on agency websites. Seiders, K., & Berry, L. L. (1998). Service fair
R
Government Information Quarterly, 24, 505–552. ness: What it is and why it matters. The Academy
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.06.008 of Management Executive, 12, 8–20. doi:10.5465/
P
AME.1998.650513
Maxham, J. G. III, & Netemeyer, R. G. (2002).
Modeling customer perceptions of complaint han Short, J., Williams, E., & Christie, B. (1976).
L
dling over time: The effects of perceived justice The social psychology of telecommunications.
on satisfaction and intent. Journal of Retailing, 78, London, UK: Wiley.
A
239–252. doi:10.1016/S00224359(02)001008
Simon, F., & Usunier, J.C. (2007). Cognitive,
B
Moon, Y. (2000). Intimate exchanges: Using com demographic, and situational determinants of
puters to elicit selfdisclosure from consumers. service customer preference for personnelin
The Journal of Consumer Research, 26(March), contact over selfservice technology. International
O
323–339. doi:10.1086/209566 Journal of Research in Marketing, 24(2), 163–173.
L
doi:10.1016/j.ijresmar.2006.11.004
Nass, C., & Moon, Y. (2000). Machines and
mindlessness: Social responses to computers. Smith, A. K., Bolton, R. N., & Wagner, J. (1999).
G
The Journal of Social Issues, 56(1), 81–103. A model of customer satisfaction with services
doi:10.1111/00224537.00153 encounters involving failure and recovery. JMR,
I
Journal of Marketing Research, 36, 356–372.
Palmatier, R. W., Jarvis, C. B., Bechkoff, J. R., &
doi:10.2307/3152082
G
Kardes, F. R. (2009). The role of customer gratitude
I
in relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, Spears, R., & Lea, M. (1992). Social influence and
73, 1–18. doi:10.1509/jmkg.73.5.1 the influence of the “social” in computermediated
communication . In Lea, M. (Ed.), Contexts of
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L.
computermediated communication (pp. 30–65).
(1988). SERVQUAL: A multipleitem scale for
London, UK: HarvesterWheatsheaf.
measuring consumer perceptions of service qual
ity. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), 12–40. Steuer, J., & Nass, C. (1993). Voices, boxes, and
sources of messages computers and social ac
Preston, S. D., & de Waal, F. B. (2002). Empathy:
tors. Human Communication Research, 19(4),
Its ultimate and proximate bases. The Behavioral
504–527.
and Brain Sciences, 25(February), 1–72.
184
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
Streib, G., & Navarro, I. (2006). Citizen de Walther, J. B. (1995). Relational aspects of com
mand for interactive egovernment: The case putermediated communications: Experimental
of Georgia consumer services. American Re observations over time. Organization Science,
view of Public Administration, 36, 288–300. 6(2), 182–203. doi:10.1287/orsc.6.2.186
doi:10.1177/0275074005283371
F
Walther, J. B. (1996). Computermediated com
Swan, K., & Shih, L. F. (2005). On the nature and munication: Impersonal, interpersonal, and hyper
development of social presence in online course personal interaction. Communication Research,
O
discussions. Journal of Asynchronous Learning 23(1), 3–43. doi:10.1177/009365096023001001
Networks, 9(3), 115–136.
Walther, J. B., & D’Addario, K. P. (2001). The
O
Tax, S. S., Brown, S. W., & Chandrashekaran, impact of emoticons on message interpretation
M. (1998). Customer evaluations of service com in computermediated communication. Social
R
plaint experiences: Implications for relationship Science Computer Review, 19(3), 324–347.
marketing. Journal of Marketing, 62, 60–76. doi:10.1177/089443930101900307
P
doi:10.2307/1252161
Wang, L. C., Baker, J., Wagner, J. A., & Wake
Tsang, J.A. (2006). The effects of helper inten field, K. (2007). Can a retail website be social?
L
tion on gratitude and indebtedness. Motivation Journal of Marketing, 71, 143–157. doi:10.1509/
and Emotion, 30(September), 199–205. jmkg.71.3.143
A
VarelaNeira, C., VazquezCasielles, R., &
B
IglesiasArguelles, V. (2008). The influence of
emotions on customer’s cognitive evaluations ADDITIONAL READING
and satisfaction in a service failure and recovery
O
context . The Service Industries Journal, 28(4), Berger, C. R., & Calabrese, R. J. (1975). Some
L
497–512. doi:10.1080/02642060801917612 exploration in initial interaction and beyond: To
ward a developmental theory of communication.
Vazquez Casielles, R., Alvarez, L. S., & Díaz Human Communication Research, 1, 99–112.
G
Martín, A. M. (2010). Perceived justice of ser doi:10.1111/j.14682958.1975.tb00258.x
vice recovery strategies: Impact on customer
I
satisfaction and quality relationship. Psychology Bertot, J. C. (2003). The multiple dimensions
and Marketing, 27(5), 487–509. doi:10.1002/ of the digital divide: More than the technology
G
mar.20340 ‘haves’ and ‘have nots.’ . Government Information
I
Quarterly, 20(2), 185–191. doi:10.1016/S0740
Walther, J. B. (1992). Interpersonal effects in 624X(03)000364
computermediated interaction: A relational per
spective. Communication Research, 19, 52–90. Biocca, F., & Nowak, K. (2001). Plugging your
doi:10.1177/009365092019001003 body into the telecommunication system: Medi
ated embodiment, media interfaces, and social
Walther, J. B. (1994). Anticipated ongoing inter virtual environments . In Lin, C., & Atkin, D.
action versus channel effects on relational com (Eds.), Communication technology and society
munication in computermediated interaction. (pp. 407–447). Waverly Hill, VA: Hampton Press.
Human Communication Research, 20, 473–501.
doi:10.1111/j.14682958.1994.tb00332.x
185
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
Blodgett, J. G., Hill, D. J., & Tax, S. S. (1997). Nass, C., Moon, Y., Fogg, B. J., Reeves, B., &
The effects of distributive, procedural and in Dryer, C. D. (1995). Can computer personalities
teractional justice on postcomplaint behaviour. be human personalities? International Journal
Journal of Retailing, 73, 185–210. doi:10.1016/ of HumanComputer Studies, 43(2), 223–239.
S00224359(97)900038 doi:10.1006/ijhc.1995.1042
F
Christopher, M., Payne, A., & Ballantyne, D. Pacini, R., & Epstein, S. (1999). The relation of
(2002). Relationship marketing: Creating share rational and experiential information processing
O
holder value. Oxford, UK: Butterworth. styles to personality, basic beliefs, and the ratiobi
as phenomenon. Journal of Personality and Social
Del Río Lanza, A. B., Vazquez Casielles, R., &
O
Psychology, 76(6), 972–987. doi:10.1037/0022
Diaz Martín, A. M. (2009). Satisfaction with
3514.76.6.972
service recovery: Perceived justice and emotional
R
responses. Journal of Business Research, 62(8), Reeves, B., & Nass, C. (1996). The media equa
775–781. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2008.09.015 tion: How people treat computers, television, and
P
new media like real people and places. Cambridge,
Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in
UK: Cambridge University Press.
everyday life. Garden City, NY: Anchor.
L
Reichheld, F. F. (1996). The loyalty effect. Boston,
Horst, M., Kuttschreuter, M., & Gutteling, J. M.
MA: Harvard Business School Press.
A
(2007). Perceived usefulness, personal experi
ences, risk perception and trust as determinants Rice, R. (1992). Task analyzability, use of new
B
of adoption of egovernment services in The media, and effectiveness: A multisite explora
Netherlands. Computers in Human Behavior, tion of media richness. Organization Science, 3,
23(4), 1838–1852. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2005.11.003 475–500. doi:10.1287/orsc.3.4.475
O
Lean, O. K., Zailani, T., Ramayah, T., & Fer Rogers, E. M. (1995). Diffusion of innovation (4th
L
nando, Y. (2009). Factors influencing intention ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.
to use egovernment services among citizens in
G
Thomas, G. P. (1992). The influence of processing
Malaysia. International Journal of Information
conversational information on inference, argument
Management, 29, 458–475. doi:10.1016/j.ijin
I
elaboration, and memory. The Journal of Con
fomgt.2009.03.012
sumer Research, 19, 83–92. doi:10.1086/209288
G
Lombard, M., & Ditton, T. (1997). At the heart of
Trevino, L., Lengel, R., & Daft, R. (1987). Media
I
all: the concept of presence. Journal of Computer
symbolism, media richness, and media choice in
Mediated Communication, 3(2).
organizations . Communication Research, 14,
Miller, K. (2005). Communication theories: Per 553–574. doi:10.1177/009365087014005006
spectives, processes, and contexts (2nd ed.). New
Vargo, S. L., & Lusch, R. F. (2004). Evolving to a
York, NY: McGrawHill.
new dominant logic for marketing. Journal of Mar
Morales, A. C. (2005). Giving firms an ‘e’ for keting, 68, 1–17. doi:10.1509/jmkg.68.1.1.24036
effort: Consumer responses to higheffort firms.
Verdegem, P., & Verleye, G. (2009). Usercentered
The Journal of Consumer Research, 31(March),
egovernment in practice: A comprehensive model
806–812. doi:10.1086/426615
for measuring user satisfaction. Government Infor
mation Quarterly, 26(3), 487–497. doi:10.1016/j.
giq.2009.03.005
186
E/%/'*%'+0%1")/#1*$%/8+,")-$)./%#"+*%+:;<$=")%."%1
Walther, J. B., & Parks, M. (2002). Cues filtered Equivocality: The ambiguity of information
out, cues filtered in . In Knap, M. L., & Daly, J. due to the existence of multiple interpretations
A. (Eds.), Handbook of interpersonal communi about a given situation.
cation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Interactional Performance: The way in
which the organization manages to get social
F
Yildiz, M. (2007). Egovernment research:
benefits and consequent satisfaction from its user
Reviewing the literature, limitations, and ways
through the interaction with the organization’s
forward. Government Information Quarterly, 24,
O
representative, which may be a human or a ma
646–665. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2007.01.002
chine (automated kiosk, website, computer, …).
Zeithaml, V. A., & Bitner, M. J. (2009). Services Media Richness: The ability for a medium to
O
marketing (5th ed.). McGraw Hill. carry various cues of information.
Perceived Justice: The perception of how
R
equitable the exchange is depending on an indi
vidual’s view on the value and relevance of the
P
inputs and the outcomes of the exchange partner.
Social Presence: Captures the sense of “ being
Empathy: The phenomenon that connects
L
together with another”.
two otherwise isolated individuals to each other.
Task Analysability: The degree to which a
It includes identification and emotional contagion
A
task involves the application of objective and well
and involves understanding the internal states of
understood procedures that provide predetermined
others.
B
responses to potential problems.
LO
I G
I G
187
188
Chapter 10
Social Networks, Civic
Participation, and
O F
O
Young People:
R
A Literature Review and Summary
of the Educational Challenges
Sonia Lara
University of Navarra, Spain
L P
A
Concepción Naval
B
University of Navarra, Spain
O
ABSTRACT
L
The latest report from the Pew Research Center (2010) shows that 93% of American teenagers and
G
4&#1B'8)#73,'#,2'3<2'N132*123/'81)'3<83'TUV'&5'3<2='<8+2'3<2.*'$*&C72'&1'8',&G.87'123F&*-',.32I'N1'3<2'
UK, data from Ofcom (2010) has come up with similar results. Citizen participation has traditionally
I
been determined by demographic and socioeconomic factors. Accordingly, the citizens who participate
most actively are middleaged and have a high socioeconomic and educational level. By contrast, it
G
is young people of low socioeconomic status and educational level who participate the least. Some
I
reports show modest signs that the use of the Internet could be another means to promote participation
6&3<'&17.12'81)'&5J.12I'(<2'=8.1'$#*$&,2'&5'3<.,'G<8$32*'.,'3&'*2+.2F'3<2'*2,28*G<'7.32*83#*2'G&1G2*1.1B'
how social networks contribute to social participation.
INTRODUCTIONI 2009; Davies & Cranston, 2008; DCLG, 2008;

Ofcom, 2008, 2010; Smith, Schlozman, Verba
A large number of recent studies have addressed & Brady, 2009; Sylvester & McGlynn, 2009;
the prevalence of the use of social networks Taylor & Keeter, 2010; Wildbit, 2005). Such
among young (and not so young) people (see, media are attributed a significant role in fostering
amongst other publications Bringué & Sádaba, socialization and a sense of belonging to a com
munity, although the results of research to date
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch010 are divided as to whether these social networks
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
contribute in a real way to the development of CIVIC PARTICIPATION: A

greater civic involvement (see, amongst other GENERAL FRAMEWORK
studies, Boulianne, 2009; Jenkins, Purushotma,
Clinton & Robison, 2009; Jenning & Zetner, 2003; Participation is a complex and widely debated
Smith et al., 2009; Ofcom, 2009). concept (Livingstone & Markham, 2008), which
F
The key issue that arises in the context of these also has multiple dimensions that are difficult to as
research studies, and which is to be addressed in similate (Norris, 1999; Scheufele & Nisbet, 2002;
O
this chapter, can be framed in terms of the follow Pattie, Seyd & Whitele, 2004). Indeed, we may
ing set of questions: How may the use of social distinguish as many aspects of participation as the
networks affect civic behaviour and attitudes realities to which it is applied, and moreover, tak
O
among citizens? Does such use foster real civic ing into account the diversity of forms it assumes
participation or, in contrast, does it lead to isolation in function of the spatialtemporal coordinates in
R
from the real world as a result of engagement in which it materializes (Haste, 2004). Furthermore,
online activities? Are there generic, quantitative there is as yet no general agreement regarding the
P
and/or qualitative differences between offline and definition of participation, or how to measure it,
online social and civic participation? Exactly what which makes it an even more complicated issue
L
types of activities are carried out through social to address.
networks? Can such activities be described as Participation is defined in the Cambridge
A
involving real civic participation? Do such activi Dictionary as “when you take part or become
ties foster participation in real life activities in a involved in something”. Etymologically, we
B
verifiable way? What conclusions may be drawn can discern its meaning in an active sense in the
from the use of social networks in encouraging Latin verb participare, “to take part,” and in a
participative behaviours? And last but not least, causative sense, “to make (someone/something)
O
can networkers be educated in their use of social take part,” which completes the action of giving
L
networks so as to foster greater participation in with that of receiving in terms of participation.
civic life (or Society), both on and offline? As such, another meaning for the term arises, that
Our aim is to respond to these questions by of “impart, announce, communicate” (Naval &
G
providing a review of the recent literature on this Altarejos, 2000; Redondo, 1999).
I
issue, including reports published in the US and Thus, the notion of commonality is implicit in
the UK, as well as academic studies in the field. all the definitions of participation as the result of
G
First of all, we will take a look at the concept participation is “having something in common”.
I
of civic participation in general, focusing in Hence, if what we call community arises from the
particular on young people, before considering union of individuals who have something in com
the use and consumption of social media among mon, participation turns out to be an inseparable
young citizens when compared with the habits dimension of community.
and behaviour of citizens in other age groups. Certainly, there is no community without
Thirdly, we will analyze the current influence participation and it is precisely participation
of social network use on different types of civic which makes it possible to constitute a commu
participation, both online and offline. Finally, and nity (Redondo, 1999, 163). A true community is
by way of conclusion, we will try to provide some impossible if there is no sharing in something
guidelines on how to encourage participation. which is common to its members, in other words
if there is no participation. For various reasons,
participation is an element that is characteristic
of all democratic institutions. One of these is its
189
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
full realization in the form of communication. the lack of participation among young people,
During participation an essential dimension of it is clear that this problem exists amongst the
communication – giving is evident, but without young and adults in our contemporary society.
this implying any loss on the part of the person The evident lack of social trust affects all of us
who gives. “That which is specific to communi and in a range of different environments: from
F
cation is precisely this: giving without becoming the family to other social situations. In line with
impoverished. One who communicates does not this point of view, and from the perspective of a
O
relinquish what is being given, nor does he relin social capital model, Putnam (Putnam, 2000; Pat
quish himself (...). It is precisely for this reason tie, Seyd & Whiteley, 2004) highlights an issue
that communication cannot be defined without that is of special transcendence for civic action:
O
referring to the concept of participation, which the importance of social or interpersonal trust in
expresses this idea of ‘making something extend’ order to promote voluntary participation at the
R
to another, which is the essential constitutive ele local level. This type of trust also strengthens
ment of communication” (Redondo, 1999, 178). community relationships and it fosters civic com
P
But here we refer to a specific aspect of par mitment (Livingstone & Markham, 2008, 353).
ticipation, to civic participation which is based on However, we should not forget certain positive
L
two fundamental aspects of the citizen´s interac aspects that can also be perceived. For example,
tion with civil society, namely: communication some forms of social action or participation have
A
and cooperation. been seen to increase in recent decades, such as
Civic participation is also called political the involvement in voluntary programmes or more
B
participation by some authors and which looks generically, more informal forms of social partici
specifically at questions such as: participation in pation (Power Inquiry, 2006; Bromley, Curtice &
elections (voting), interest in political issues (not Seyd, 2004). This is the opinion of Bennett (1998),
O
only in relation to political parties) and participa who points out that this increase in voluntary
L
tion in actions which seek to find answers to social work is related to an increase in social trust, civic
problems, in other words commitment to the search participation and political commitment (Fine &
for solutions (Livingstone & Markham, 2008). Harrington, 2004; Cohen, 1999; Eliasoph, 1998).
G
The first problem that must be addressed is the There are many social and political factors
I
need for consensus on a theoretical framework that directly influence civic participation or its
to understand and define civic participation. A absence, such as social expectations and political
G
second problem, which is more specific to young efficiency (Inglehart, 1977; Haste, 2004), political
I
people, is the discontinuous pattern of activity trust (Bromley, Curtice & Seyd, 2004), the ability
in the public sphere, and the absence of clear to discuss social problems or issues (Eveland,
and predictable patterns of civic behavior. Thus, 2004; McLeod & Becker, 1974; Dahlgren, 2003),
in addition to considering who participates and social capital, etc. However, since we are going
how, it is important to consider the motivations to focus on young people, we will first briefly
involved and the context in which participation introduce them.
occurs (Benedicto & López, 2008). We feel that through education we can exert
It is commonplace to hear that we are witness a positive influence and thus encourage the more
ing a decline in civic participation, which does committed civic participation.
not make it any less important or serious. Indeed,
special emphasis is usually placed on the fact that
this issue is more worrying among the young.
Without denying this reality –the importance of
190
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
Young People comply with established regulations (obeying laws

and not evading taxes). Keeping oneself informed
We focus on young people for two reasons. Firstly, and participating in associations take priority over
they have their whole lives ahead of them and politically more explicit obligations, including
thus have much to contribute to society. Secondly, voting (Jover & Thoilliez, 2009), while ecological
F
given our educational perspective, we feel that consumption falls somewhere between the two.
young people, like infants, are at a stage in their The final position in this ranking is occupied by
O
lives at which education can have a great impact military service (Benedicto & López, 2008).
on their future development. When trying to understand the young people
In order to understand the social commitment of today, we need to remember that they were
O
of the young, it would be a good idea to first ex born and live in a world full of new technologies,
plore, albeit briefly, what young people are like screens and advertising (Naval, Sádaba, Bringué &
R
today, what their vital experiences are, and how Pérez, 2003; Loader, 2007). They have at hand new
they live and feel about the world around them. technologies and possibilities for consumption that
P
In this way, we will be in a better position to were unknown to previous generations, although
understand their relationship with the social and sometimes they lack the “primary experience”
L
political world (Martín, 2007; Naval, Repáraz & required for proper cognitive and social develop
Ugarte, in press). ment. This refers to the experience life instils in
A
In general, and in terms of the fundamental them as a result of social interaction, as well as
concerns of citizens, we can say that political the development of most of their emotional and
B
issues take a second place in the list of young social skills, which constitutes a real educational
people’s priorities. We currently live in a markedly challenge.
individualistic society. Accordingly, the issues In conjunction with these issues concerning
O
that worry us most are related to employment, civic participation and young people, we will
L
housing and health, as well as leisure, and hence, need to take into account a third element that
civic or communal matters concern us much less. will be addressed in this paper: information and
Furthermore, substantial differences are not seen communication technologies and more specifi
G
amongst young people from different Western cally, social networks and the role they can play
I
countries (Bonet, Martín & Montero, 2007). as facilitators or obstacles to civic participation.
As for the actual life experiences of the young
G
(Benedicto, 2008; Naval, Repáraz & Ugarte, in
I
press), we can consider that they find themselves THE USE AND CONSUMPTION
at the crossroads of four paradoxes: integration OF SOCIAL MEDIA AMONGST
and autonomy; dependence and independence; YOUNG PEOPLE
vulnerability and tenderness; continuity and rup
ture. However, in this chapter we will concentrate In educational circles we are currently engaged in
more on our particular interests and thus, when an important debate about how to educate a new
we talk about civic and political issues, what do generation known as “digital natives,” the “Net
young people understand them to mean? Essen generation,” the “Google generation” or “millenni
tially, they refer mainly to solidarity and respect als” (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005; Prenskey, 2001;
for social norms as the basis for civic life. Tapscott, 1988; Strauss & Howe, 2000). This new
For the vast majority of young people being a generation is comprised of young people who have
good citizen is to show solidarity with the people of either grown up or are growing up in constant
one’s own country and the rest of the world, and to contact with the media. They were born in the
191
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
digital era, which started in 1981, and they are said lescence and youth, a period in which there is a
to be born consumers of technology: they rapidly greater need for the affirmation and development
assimilate multimedia information in the form of of personal identity. The historical period effect:
images and videos, just as well or better than if it specific circumstances (wars, social or scientific
were textual; they consume data simultaneously movements, or technological changes) can have
F
from different sources; they expect instantaneous a more pronounced impact on young people dur
answers; they are permanently online and create ing a period in which their values and habits are
O
their own digital materials. As active creators of a less consolidated than when they are that much
new digital culture, they are developing their own older. Taking these issues into account, generally
Web sites, diaries and blogs. They form part of a speaking these studies characterize millennials as
O
new participative culture (Jenkins et al., 2006). the generation with the greatest ethnic variation
There are numerous and recent studies that in comparison to their predecessors. The majority
R
describe the penetration of the use of social net are politically progressive and they are the first
works amongst young and not so young citizens. generation to live with social networks (YouTube,
P
Some of the most significant results from these Google and Wikipedia) as something natural and
studies will be considered below. necessary in their lives. They are less religious and
L
The Pew Research Centerii has been conduct more inclined to trust institutions than previous
ing a series of studies to learn more about the generations at their age.
A
next generation of Americans, who they call A recent report from the Pew Research Center
“millennials,” and in these studies they compare (Lenhart, Purcell, Smith & Zickuhr, 2010) gives us
B
this generation with previous generations. The an approximate idea of how American teenagers
peculiar and interesting thing about these studies (1217 years), young adults (1829) and adults
is that, starting from the year 2010, they enable (individuals over 30 years of age) are currently
O
us to compare the young people of today with using social media. In the case of the United
L
previous generations when they were young. Kingdom, Ofcom, an independent regulator and
Accordingly, we can differentiate four groups competition authority for UK communications
in these studies: Millennials (born after 1981), industries, has recently published a report on the
G
Generation X (born from 1965 to 1980), Baby use of the internet amongst people over the age
I
Boomers (born from 1946 to 1964) and the Silent of 16 in the UK (Ofcom, 2010). The data which
Generation (born between 1928 and 1945). Now, was compiled yielded similar results to those
G
in 2010, Millennials are less than 30 years of age, obtained in the Pew Research Center studies in
I
Generation Xers are 30 to 45, Baby Boomers are the USA. In this chapter, we preferred to employ
46 to 64 and members of the Silent Generation the American data because it covers more is
are aged 65 to 82. sues, it compares the data with habits in previous
The differences we encounter in these new years and it involves a study of four generations.
young people may be due to three overlapping Whatever the case, both the Ofcom and the Pew
effects, and Keeter & Taylor (2009) warn us to Research Center data can give us an idea of the
bear these in mind when we analyze the data. international tendencies in network consumption
The life cycle effect: young people today are patterns in two developed countries.
very different to adults, although when they grow In the data shown below certain trends over
up, they will almost certainly be quite similar to recent years can be perceivediii.
their counterparts when they are their age. The A. The Internet is a central and indispens
age group effect: the differences that are found able element in the life of American teenagers
may be due to the intrinsic characteristics of ado and young people. Thus, 93% of teenagers and
192
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
young adults use the Internet compared to 73% are those who decide not to participate owing to
of adults (81% of adults aged 3049 years, 70% various social factors: a) young people who are
of 5064 yearolds and 38% of adults over the age short of time because they are very busy doing
of 65). The increase in Internet users in the last activities at and outside of school, at work, etc. –
nine years has been proportionate and modest in normally they have a very full social life; b) young
F
all age groupsiv. It is noteworthy that teenagers people who are concerned about their safety; c)
are assiduous users of the Internet (63% use it on marginalized young people who think that social
O
a daily basis and 26% weekly, while only 11% networks are for popular people (cool kids); and
use it less often). d) young people who think they are too nice (too
B. The use of Social Network Sites (SNS) has cool) to be SNS users. A third category consists
O
proliferated among teenagers and young adults. of former users who have stopped participating
The data shows that 73% of teenagers, 72% of in SNS for various reasons, for example because
R
young adults and 47% of adults are SNS users. their friends no longer use them, their boyfriend
The number of users increased in all age groups or girlfriend has asked them to stop using a site,
P
in recent years. Taylor and Keeter’s study (2010) they have had a bad experience which has made
shows that there was an increase of 68% amongst them log off permanently, etc.
L
Millennials in SNS users in the last five years, a Some changes have been observed in the way
figure that reached 43% in Generation X, 25% teenagers communicate through SNS between
A
amongst Baby Boomers and 4% in the Silent 2006 and 2009. There was a slight decrease in
Generation. It also reveals that the frequency of the sending of group messages (50%), comments
B
social network use is greater amongst users in the added to friends’ messages (52%) and private
young adult group than in other generations. In messages (66%). On the other hand, various
addition, 55% of Millennial users log on every behavioural patterns failed to show significant
O
day or several times a day, compared to 38% of changes: making comments about photos of
L
Generation X users and 37% of Baby Boomers. friends (83%), sending text (IM or text messages)
With respect to teenagers who use the Internet via a site (58%), or making comments on a friend’s
every day, 80% log on to an SNS, while 62% of page or wall (86%).
G
those who use the Internet least often log on to C. A decrease in the use of blogs by teenagers
I
social networks, which indicates that the frequency and young people. In general, it can be seen that
of Internet use is related to SNS use. If 93% of teenagers (1217 years) share (38% vs 30%), re
G
teenagers and young adults use the Internet, we mix (21% vs 15%) and participate in blogs (14%
I
might perhaps ask ourselves why the participation vs 11%) to a greater extent than people over 18
of young people in some kind of social network is years of age. Nevertheless, if we compare the
not greater. Boyd (2008) proposes three possible results for 2006 and 2009, we detect a greater
reasons. Firstly, there are young people who are production of blog content in subjects over the
deprived of the possibility of going online, either age of 18, whilst among teenagers blog activity
because of social restrictions imposed by their has declined slightly. In 2006 28% of users under
parents, who do not allow them to have an SNS the age of 18 wrote blogs. In 2009 this figure
profile, or because of the requirements of certain fell to 14% for teenagers and to 15% for young
schools which explicitly prohibit pupils from adults. This change in behaviour is attributed
belonging to an SNS, albeit for structural restric to the fact that SNS have become fashionable
tions (such as not having an Internet connection, amongst young people and that the most popular
filters in homes or at school which do not permit ones do not include a blog utility. Another pos
access to social networks, etc). Secondly, there sible explanation is that blogs have traditionally
193
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
been employed to talk about things people have using WiFi. However, men and adults with a high
been doing and the same activity can be realised income and educational status are those that are
through social networks. Finally, Twitter, a util more likely to use WiFi.
ity which enables us to keep in touch rapidly and F. Main News Sources.Taylor and Keeter
briefly with the news and interests of others, was (2010) showed that the two main news sources
F
more popular amongst people over 18 years of for young adults and Generation X’ers are televi
age (37% of young people aged 18 to 24, 25% of sion and the internet (65%59% and 61%53%
O
young people aged 25 to 29, 22% of adults from respectively), with no evidence of specific dif
3049, 9% of 5064 yearolds and 4% of people ferences between these two generations. On the
over 65) than amongst teenagers (8%), accord other hand, in older generations the main source
O
ing to data collected in September and December for obtaining news is the TV, this being the case
2009 (Lenhart et al., 2010). The data collected a for 76% of Baby Boomers and 82% of the Silent
R
month later, in January 2010 (Taylor & Keeter, Generation.
2010), showed that its use had evened out between G. Activities Performed in the Last 24 Hours.
P
different generations: Millennials (14%), Genera Millennials differ from older generations, both in
tion X (10%), Baby Boomers (6%) and the Silent terms of the type of activities they perform and the
L
Generation (1%). time they assign to them (Taylor & Keeter, 2010).
D. Mobile Phones and WiFi Equipment. Young adults like to watch videos online, place
A
Mobile phone ownership has greatly increased messages on the online profiles of their friends or
amongst teenagers in the last four years, for play video games more than other adults. Adults
B
example we have gone from a situation in which over the age of 30 are more inclined to watch over
18% of 12yearolds had a mobile in 2006 to one an hour of TV or to read newspapers on a daily
in which 58% had one in 2009, or in the case of basis. There is barely any difference between the
O
17yearolds, this figure has risen from 64 to 83%. generations in their use of email (just over 50% of
L
According to Taylor & Keeter (2010), Millennials everyone over the age 18 uses it). This latter find
tend to use a mobile as something which is neces ing coincides with the conclusions drawn by Boyd
sary and important in their lives, and 83% of them (2008), who proposed that teenagers and young
G
go to bed with their mobile, as opposed to 46% people find email a boring and outofdate tool.
I
of adults over 30 years of age. Young adults are They only use it to contact teachers and parents,
keener on sending messages using their mobile and to send document attachments. They prefer
G
than other adults. Among users who declare that to employ social networks or send text messages
I
they have received or sent messages in the last using their mobile phone in order to stay in touch
24 hours, young adults have sent 20 messages with their friends and acquaintances. Different
(25% say they have sent 50 messages), whereas studies demonstrate how teenagers and young
for other adults the number is 8. people use SNS to contact people they know in
With regard to WiFi equipment, there was the real world (Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2007;
greater consumption amongst young people than Lampe, Ellison & Steinfield, 2006; Lenhart &
adults. As for computers, laptops and netbooks Madden, 2007)
are more popular with people under the age of 30 To sum up, along with Boyd (2008, p. 118), we
than desktop computers. It is the same for mp3 conclude that these differences in behaviour do
players or game consoles. not stem from the technology but rather they are
E. WiFi use depending on Age. 81% of young most likely driven by how these tools fit into the
adults, 63% of adults aged 30 to 45 and 34% of behaviour of different groups: “The differences
people over 50 years of age log on to the Internet may stem from the ways in which teens learn to
194
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
manage relationships during the period in which memberships; forms of expression, producing new
they are learning to negotiate social network sites, creative forms; collaborative Problemsolving,
while these sites are forcing adults to develop new working together in formal and informal teams
skills to handle new social situations.” For young to complete tasks and develop new knowledge;
people social network sites are a place for meeting circulars, shaping the flow of media.
F
their peers, the “place” where they can stay in touch We might summarize these manifestations of
with the people they know and spend time editing participative culture into two types: behaviours
O
their profiles, leaving comments and displaying that lead us to communicate, express and make
personal information. Young people grow up others participants of what we think and do; and
and learn to socialize in network environments, those which lead us to collaborate with others in
O
just as adults learnt to socialize in squares, bars, launching projects, solving problems, defending
sports clubs, etc. when they were young. Instead, an idea, etc. From the point of view of social
R
adults learn to use social network sites to establish participation and civic commitment, this latter
professional contacts and to reestablish contact form is of special interest. Hence, it is worth our
P
with former colleagues from school or university. while examining to what extent online social
We could say that adults logon in order to be on networks are or are not encouraging greater social
L
line and that young people live online. Precisely participation in comparison with traditional forms
because young people have grown with up and of offline participation.
A
interact through social networks, we are presented
with a particularly relevant means of encouraging Emerging Citizenship
B
civic participation. among Young Adults
To better understand how young people (1525
O
THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL years) involve themselves in political and social
L
NETWORK CONSUMPTION life in this new digital era, we might take the
ON CIVIC PARTICIPATION thoughts of Bennett (2008) as a starting point,
who poses the change from the traditional ideal
G
Most young people use the Internet to communi of the Dutiful Citizen (DC) to the Emerging Youth
I
cate and to share digital content, behaviours that Experience of SelfActualizing Citizenship (AC).
are fostering a participative culture according Characteristics of the DC include an obligation
G
to Jenkins et al. (2006). It is a culture with few to participate in governmentcentered activities,
I
barriers with regards the promotion of artistic voting being the core democratic act. The DC
expression and civic commitment, which sup informs himself about political and social issues
ports the creation of people’s own materials so and the government by following the mass media,
that they can be shared. In addition, this culture he joins civil society organizations and/or he ex
relies on some form of informal mentorship from presses his interests through parties that typically
others who know more than novices do and who employ oneway conventional communication to
make the members of this culture believe that mobilize supporters.
their contributions matter. It is an environment In contrast to the Dutiful Citizen, a new citi
in which people have a certain level of social zen is emerging amongst the young. The AC is
interconnection (or at least they are aware of characterized by a diminished sense of obligation
what other members think about what they have towards government (a higher sense of individual
created). The forms that this participative culture purpose), for whom voting is less meaningful
take include: affiliations, formal and informal SNS than other, more personally defined acts such as:
195
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
consumerism, community volunteering or trans lower amongst the young. Thus, while 69% of
national activism. The AC mistrusts the media Millennials indicate that they always or nearly
and politicians, which is reinforced by a negative always vote, a higher percentage of people over
mass media environment, and the AC favours 30 years of age give the same response (85% of
loose networks of community action that are often Gen X, 89% of Baby Boomers and 91% of the
F
established or sustained through friendships and Silent Generation).
peer relationships. The close social ties of the B. Participation in Voluntary Activities. In the
O
AC are maintained by interactive information last twelve months the respondents were asked
technologies. about their participation in voluntary activities,
The features proposed by Bennett for an Actu working with an organization or offering any other
O
alizing Citizen are very well reflected in the data kind of aid to others without receiving remunera
on “Political and civic engagement” collected by tion. In this case, 57% of young adults, 54% of
R
Taylor and Keeter (2010). In this report people are Gen X, 52% of Baby Boomers and 39% of the
asked about their participation in eight different Silent Generation had participated.
P
activities to assess civic commitment: in terms C. Expression of Political Voice. Another way
of voting, voluntary activities, contacts made in of participating in political and social life is through
L
person or online with members of the government, communication with politicians. In fact, as far as
signatures or petitions in paper format or online, signing petitions online is concerned, there are no
A
and purchases or decisions not to buy products on substantial differences between participation rates
the basis of a company’s social or political values. among adults aged 18 to 65 years, which is in the
B
Some of the results are summarized below. region of 20%. With regard to signing petitions
A. Participation in Voting. Traditionally, in paper format, a participation of 30% for Baby
young adults have participated less in elections Boomers stands out in comparison to the rest of
O
than people over 30 years of age. However, rates the generations, for whom the proportion is about
L
of participation in presidential elections amongst 20%. Another way of participating is to contact
young adults (1829 years) increased from 40% in politicians by email, or to leave messages on of
2000 to 51% in 2008. The participation of adults ficial pages or official profiles on social network
G
over the age of 30 during the same period was sites. In this form of participation Generation
I
about 67% and it was not modified significantly. X’ers and Baby Boomers are the most active
The increase in the participation of the younger (2530%), compared to the youngest and most
G
population may be due to various factors: sig senior respondents (about 15%). With respect to
I
nificant changes in campaigns, polarization with contact made with a politician in person, Baby
respect to the president and the two wars during Boomers are noticeable for having higher rates
his presidency; or special efforts on the part of than Generation X’ers and the Silent Generation,
political parties and organizations to mobilize the albeit a lower rate than young adults.
participation of the younger generation. Despite D. Consumption Patterns determined by Po
this increase in participation, the data collected litical Views (Political Consumerism). There are
during the elections to nominate the governor in two further ways of intervening in political and
New Jersey and Virginia in 2009 demonstrate a social life in order to manifest one’s own convic
participation rate of 10%, which shows a tendency tions. We can stop buying a specific product or
for participation to decline amongst the young service as a sign of protest against the social or
est group. Another way of evaluating political political values held by a particular company or
commitment is to ask how often people vote, organization, committing ourselves by means
and here we again find that voting frequency is of a personal boycott. Another alternative is to
196
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
purchase or request the services of a company have the perception that social networks have a
to support the values they defend. This is called very positive influence in fostering relationships.
“buycotting”. Boycotting behaviour is similar At least the popular perception and belief is that
amongst Millennials, Generation X’ers and Baby these networks serve to unite more than to isolate
Boomers (about 35%), although it receives slightly people (Ofcom, 2010; Taylor & Keeter, 2010).
F
less support amongst the Silent Generation (25%). In the study conducted by Ofcom (2009) on
On the other hand, purchases made for political the United Kingdom population over the age
O
reasons are slightly higher amongst Millennials of 16, we can see that the people who involve
(34%) than the other generations (Generation themselves most in public life are middleaged
X’ers 30%, Baby Boomers 27% and the Silent citizens (4060 years) with a high socioeconomic
O
Generation 18%). and educational level. By contrast, the population
As can be seen, the current civic participation that participates least consists of young people
R
characteristics of young people are very similar to with a low socioeconomic and educational
those described by Bennett (2008). In particular, level, and with few qualifications. As well as
P
it is noteworthy that participation in voting and demographic and socioeconomic variables, it
contact with politicians is lower amongst young seems that the Internet is becoming an important
L
adults. On the other hand, young people are more factor in prompting the participation of citizens.
committed in terms of voluntary activities than In the sample of regular Internet users, the rate of
A
adults, as they are to behaviours related to politi participation online and offline is greater than for
cal consumerism. The belief that participation in the rest of the population. Similarly, amongst the
B
voluntary work is a valid way of putting the social least privileged population –in which participation
participation required of all citizens into practice is generally always lower greater participation
has gained significant ground (a possible reason is found amongst people who have access to the
O
could be the existence of servicelearning pro Internet at home compared to those for whom
L
grammes in schools and universities, cf. Naval, this is not a possibility. It appears that Internet
Ugarte & MartínezOdria, 2009). facilitates participation, partly because it helps to
save the time needed for civic activities, which
G
Evidence of the Impact was cited by the respondents as the chief obstacle
I
of Social Networks that prevented them from involving themselves
more actively in the social and political life of their
G
Many social networks have been attributed con country. While in the more underprivileged popu
I
siderable potential for fostering socialization and lation group a lack of interest is the main reason
membership of a community. However, there are for not participating, the lack of Internet access
contradictory research results as to whether or and of awareness of what can be done online are
not they are really influencing the development also barriers leading to limited participation online.
of greater civic participation. We find evidence Likewise, and in reference to Internet use, the
contrary to this hypothesis in the metaanalysis Pew Internet study that analyzes the civic commit
conducted by Boulianne (2009), which maintains ment of Americans over 18 years of age (Smith
that the use of the internet has a negative effect et al., 2009) shows that there are modest signs of
on civic participation due to the amount of time the influence of social networks in prompting a
spent online in detriment to the time employed change towards a more participative attitude and
offline. However, there is no evidence that the civic involvement. Among its most striking find
Internet has a positive and substantial impact on ings are that online activity reflects the same type
this commitment. In relation to this, all generations of behaviour and tendencies that we observe in
197
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
real life, satisfying a range of criteria: age, socio technologies will continue to leave people with
economic level (educational level and income), lower incomes and levels of education behind.
broadband access, etc. Moreover, this study shows
a strong correlation between civic participation
(number of activities engaged in online and offline) FINAL THOUGHTS
F
and socioeconomic status. However, when the
group of young people is compared to the older Given the data presented in this chapter, we might
O
group, the differences in participation between ask ourselves what can be done, from an educa
these age collectives are reduced slightly if online tional and political perspective, and from the point
activity is compared, partly owing to the fact that of view of the media, to encourage greater social
O
young people are more inclined to use the Inter involvement on the part of citizens. Although the
net, although older people continue to be more data is not conclusive, there are indications that
R
participative than their younger counterparts. The Internet access is partly responsible for permitting
youngest individuals (1824 years) are the least greater participation by facilitating and promoting
P
involved in civic activities, less so than the most activities that ensure a citizens’ voice is heard,
senior adults (+64 years). The youngest survey and partially overcoming socioeconomic and
L
candidates only surpass the most senior ones if educational barriers. It has been demonstrated
they are compared in terms of online activity. that young adults are avid consumers of technol
A
As with the Ofcom report (2009), the Pew ogy, that they grow up and mature surrounded by
study (Smith et al., 2009) offers some clues which these technologies, and that to some extent, their
B
indicate that the use of blogs or SNS could perhaps way of conceiving citizenship and participation
change the belief that socioeconomic status is a in society is changing. At the same time, it can
decisive factor for participation. Thus, 33% of In be seen that they participate less than their elders
O
ternet users have their profile on an SNS and 31% in certain civic activities.
L
of them are committed to some form of civic or Along with Bennett (2008), we maintain that:
political activity (joining a political party, includ “if nothing is done […], the default scenario is
ing a politician as a “friend,” etc.). This data leads likely to be the persistent disconnection of the
G
us to believe that it is not inevitable that people youth from conventional politics, with little rec
I
with higher income levels are the ones who are onciliation of the gap between AC [actualizing
most committed to civic and/or political issues. citizen] and DC [dutiful citizen] citizenship styles,
G
We should not forget that it is young people who and continuing unproductive paradigm battles
I
are the most involved in online activities such as in the academic world. […]. A second scenario
blogs and SNS (37% aged 1829 years), rather than utilizes the possibilities for convergence of tech
adults (17% aged 3049; 12% aged 5064; 10% nologies and political practices to bring vibrant
over 65), and that the data shows that civically experiences of politics into classrooms, youth
committed blog and SNS users are more active programmes and, yes, even elections, showing
in offline situations when compared with other young people how their concerns can gain public
Internet users. voice within the conventional arenas of power and
The impact that these new tools may have on decision making”.
the future of online politics will largely depend To achieve greater participation among young
on how our new young people behave. Thus, people, Bennett (2008) presents a series of sug
Smith et al. (2009) ask themselves whether we gestions for different collectives. He recommends
are witnessing a generational change that will that politicians, organizations and webmasters
affect how young people behave, or whether new of youthtargeted webpages should offer neutral
198
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
information to young people, on the basis of Building awareness of what it is possible to do

their desire to find authentic sites, information quickly and easily online could encourage greater
and people. It would also be desirable to create participation” (Ofcom, 2009).
interactive channels where young people can offer Thirdly, the use of participatory media should
their opinion and participate. He recommends that be encouraged. Rheingold (2008, p. 100) includes
F
educators should promote participation related blogs, wikis, RSS, tagging and social bookmark
to the community in which they live, employing ing, musicphotovideo sharing, podcasts, digital
O
interactive media for communication purposes. storytelling, virtual communities, SNS, virtual
This idea is somewhat reminiscent of Boyd environments and videoblogs as participatory
(2007) and Rheingold (2008) proposal. In order media. All of these highly diverse media have three
O
to engage in political life, people have to have features in common: a) they enable anyone to use
access to public life first. Young people need an the Internet to become an editor and consumer of
R
audience, networked or physical, before they can information (text, images, audio, video, software,
engage in any form of political life. Politics start data, discussions, tags, links with other people);
P
first with school, with your friends, then they go b) they allow us to bring people together to form
on to being about citizenship. Pushing the other an audience or a market; and c) they facilitate the
L
way won’t work. You need to start with the dramas task of coordinating activities rapidly and cheaply.
that make sense to you. Rheingold does not regard the use of these media
A
In view of these suggestions and the data as a solution to disengagement from political
presented in this chapter, we are in a position to life but rather, as a useful tool to help people to
B
propose three lines of action from an educational commit themselves. The data presented above
point of view, which are not incompatible with partially support this idea (Ofcom, 2009; Smith
one another. et al., 2009), and there are even some studies
O
Firstly, the promotion of servicelearning ac and experiences that identify good practices in
L
tivities linked to the immediate environment of employing these participatory media to achieve
young people. In general terms, the implementa greater political and social commitment on the
tion of servicelearning programmes appears to part of young people (Bachen, Raphael, Lynn,
G
yield positive results for students, teachers, parents McKee & Philippi,, 2008; CivicWeb, 2009; Lara &
I
and the local community. The greatest challenge Naval, 2009, 2010; Montgomery, GottliebRobles
to their implementation is the limited involvement & Larson, 2004; RaynesGoldie & Walker, 2008;
G
of some students in their development. The vital Rheingold, 2008).
I
role played by teaching staff in the successful Finally, we wish to stress that the work de
development of these programmes must also be scribed here enables us to define the role of social
considered. networks in the development of civic participation,
Secondly, awareness should be raised amongst highlighting specific aspects that will permit a
citizens of the possibilities afforded by the Internet conceptual framework to be built in the future. Our
for participation in civic life: “There is a general intention has been to analyze this issue as a first
consensus among respondents that the internet has step in this process. In keeping with all the work
made it easier to engage in citizen participation reviewed here, the most appropriate methodologi
activities. However, even among the online user cal approach to reach this goal should combine
sample, a significant minority (31%) are unaware both quantitative and qualitative research, each
of online citizen participation opportunities. In complementing and enriching our understanding
areas of multiple deprivation this rises to 72%, of the subject and enabling a conceptual scheme
suggesting that increased awareness would lead to be developed.
to more people engaging in digital participation.
199
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
REFERENCES Boyd, D. M. (2007). Why youth (heart) social

network sites: The role of networked publics
Bachen, C., Raphael, Ch., Lynn, K. M., McKee, in teenage social life. In D. Buckingham (Ed.),
K., & Philippi, J. (2008). Civic engagement, peda Youth, identity, and digital Media (pp. 119142).
gogy, and Information Technology on websites for Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. The John D.
F
youth. Political Communication, 25(3), 290–310. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on
doi:10.1080/10584600802197525 Digital Media and Learning. boyd, D. M. (2008).
O
Benedicto, J. (2008). La juventud frente a la Taken out of context. American teen sociality in
política: ¿Desenganchada, escéptica, alternativa networked publics. Unpublished doctoral disserta
tion. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved
O
o las tres cosas a la vez? Revista de Estudios de
Juventud. Monográfico Jóvenes y participación August 14, 2010, from http://www.danah.org/
papers/ TakenOutOfContext.pdf
R
política: investigaciones Europeas, 81, 1328.
Retrieved August 14, 2009, from http://www. Bringué, X., & Sádaba, C. (2009). La generación
P
injuve.mtas.es/injuve/ contenidos.downloadatt. interactiva en España. Niños y adolescentes ante
action? id=1583601195 las pantallas. Madrid, Spain: Ariel. Colección
Fundación Telefónica. Retrieved August 14, 2010,
L
Benedicto, J., & López, A. (Eds.). (2008). Jóvenes
y participación política: Investigaciones Europeas. from http://www.generacionesinteractivas.org/
?page_id=1678
A
Revista de Estudios de Juventud. Monográfico,
81. Retrieved August 14, 2009, from http:// Bromley, C., Curtice, J., & Seyd, P. (2004). Is
B
www.injuve.mtas.es/injuve/ contenidos.item. Britain facing a crisis of democracy?London,
action?id=1809373756& menuId=1223021499 UK: UCL Constitution Unit.
O
Bennett, L. (1998). The uncivic culture: Commu CivicWeb. (2009). Young people, the internet and
nication, identity, and the rise of lifestyle politics. civic participation. Retrieved August 14, 2010,
L
Political Science and Politics, 31(4), 740–761. from http://www.civicweb.eu/images/stories/
doi:10.2307/420711 reports/final_policy brief final_.pdf
G
Bennett, W. L. (2008). Changing citizenship in Cohen, J. (1999). American civil society talk . In
I
the cigital age . In Bennett, W. L. (Ed.), Civic life Fullinwider, R. (Ed.), Civil society, democracy
online: Learning how digital media can engage and civic renewal (pp. 55–85). Lanham, MD:
youth (pp. 1–24). Cambridge, MA: The MIT
G
Rowman and Littlefield.
I
Press. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. Dahlgren, P. (2003). Reconfiguring civic culture
in the new media milieu . In Corner, J., & Pels,
Bonet, E., Martín, I., & Montero, J. R. (2007). Las D. (Eds.), Media and the restyling of politics (pp.
actitudes políticas de los españoles . In Montero, 151–170). London, UK: Sage.
J. R., Font, J., & Torcal, M. (Eds.), Ciudadanos,
asociaciones y participación en España (pp. Davies, T., & Cranston, P. (2008). Youth work and
105–132). Madrid, Spain: CIS. social networking. Final research report. How can
youth work best support young people to navigate
Boulianne, S. (2009). Does internet use af the risks and make the most of the opportunities of
fect engagement? A metaanalysis of research. online social networking? National Youth Agency
Political Communication, 26(2), 193–211. Information and Research. Retrieved August 14,
doi:10.1080/10584600902854363 2010, from http://blog.practicalparticipation.
co.uk/ wpcontent/uploads/2009/08/ fullYouth
WorkandSocialNetworking FinalReport.pdf
200
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
Department for Communities and Local Govern Jenning, M. K., & Zeitner, V. (2003). Internet
ment. (2008). Online social networks. Research use and civic engagement. A longitudinal analy
report. Communities and Local Government, UK. sis. Public Opinion Quarterly, 67, 311–334.
Retrieved August 14, 2010, from http://www. doi:10.1086/376947
communities.gov.uk/ publications/communities/
F
Jover, G., & Thoilliez, B. (2009, October). Discon
onlinesocialnetworks
tinuities in civic and participatory learning. Paper
Eliasoph, N. (1998). Avoiding politics: How presented at the International Conference Youth
O
Americans produce apathy in everyday life. Participation as Goal and Method of Citizenship
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Education in Russia and Europe. St. Petersburg
O
doi:10.1017/CBO9780511583391 State University.
Ellison, N., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). Keeter, S., & Taylor, P. (2009). The millenni
R
The benefits of Facebook “friends”: Exploring als. Pew Research Center. Retrieved August 15,
the relationship between college students’ use of 2010, from http://pewresearch.org/pubs/ 1437/
P
online social networks and social capital. Journal millennialsprofile
of ComputerMediated Communication, 12(3), 1.
Lampe, C., Ellison, N., & Steinfeld, C. (2007). A
L
Retrieved July 30, 2007, from http://jcmc.indiana.
familiar Face(book): Profile elements as signals in
edu/vol12/ issue4/ellison.html
an online social network. Proceedings of Confer
A
Eveland, W. P. (2004). The effect of political ence on Human Factors in Computing Systems
discussion in producing informed citizens: The (pp. 435444). New York, NY: ACM Press.
B
roles of information, motivation, and elabora
Lara, S., & Naval, C. (2010). Social network site
tion. Political Communication, 21(2), 177–193.
usage and social participation. In J. Herrington
O
doi:10.1080/10584600490443877
& B. Hunter (Eds.), World Conference on Edu
L
Fine, G. A., & Harrington, B. (2004). Tiny pub cational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecom
lics: Small groups and civil society. Sociological munications 2010 (pp. 24382442). Chesapeake,
G
Theory, 22(3), 341–356. doi:10.1111/j.0735 VA: AACE.
2751.2004.00223.x
Lara, S., & Naval, S. (2009). Educative proposal
I
Haste, H. (2004). Constructing the citizen. Po of Web 2.0 for encouragement of social and citi
litical Psychology, 25(3), 413–440. doi:10.1111/ zenship competence. In G. Siemens & C. Fulford
G
j.14679221.2004.00378.x (Eds.), World Conference on Educational Multi
I
media, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2009
Inglehart, R. (1977). The silent revolution: Chang
(pp. 4752). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
ing values and political styles among western
publics. Princeton, NJ: Pinceton University Press. Lenhart, A., & Madden, M. (2007). Teens, pri
vacy, & online social networks. Pew Internet
Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Clinton, K., & Ro
and American Life Project Report, Washington,
bison, A. J. (2009). Confronting the challenges
D.C. Retrieved July 30, 2007, from http://www.
of participatory culture: Media education for the
pewinternet.org/pdfs/ PIP_Teens_Privacy_SNS_
21st century. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Report_Final.pdf
Retrieved January 30, 2009, from http://mitpress.
mit.edu/books/full_pdfs/ Confronting_the_Chal
lenges.pdf
201
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
Lenhart, A., Purcell, K., Smith, A., & Zickuhr, Naval, C., Sádaba, C., Bringué, X., & Pérez
K. (2010). Social media and mobile internet use AlonsoJeta, P. (2003). Los lenguajes de las pan
among teens and young adult. Pew Research tallas. Impacto en las relaciones sociales de los
Center’s Internet & American Life Project, jóvenes y retos educativos. In M. T. Romañá &
Washington, D.C. Retrieved July 30, 2010, from M. Martínez (Eds.), Otros lenguajes en educación
F
pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/ 2010/ (pp. 175224). Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona:
PIP_Social_Media_and_Young_ Adults_Re Signo Impressió Gràfica, S.A.
O
port_Final.pdf
Naval, C., Ugarte, C., & MartínezOdria, A. (2009,
Livingstone, S., & Markham, T. (2008). The October). Learning to participate in school:
O
contribution of media consumption to civic par Experiences of servicelearning and community
ticipation. The British Journal of Sociology, 59(2), service programs in different countries. Paper
R
351–371. doi:10.1111/j.14684446.2008.00197.x presented at the International Conference Youth
Participation as Goal and Method of Citizenship
Loader, B. D. (Ed.). (2007). Young citizens in the
P
Education in Russia and Europe. St. Petersburg
digital age: Political engagement, young people
State University.
and new media. London, UK: Routledge.
L
Norris, P. (Ed.). (1999). Critical citizens. New
Martín, I. (2007). La participación política de los
York, NY: Oxford University Press.
jóvenes universitarios dentro y fuera de la univer
A
sidad. Panorama Social, 6, 119–132. Oblinger, D. G., & Oblinger, J. L. (Eds.). (2005).
Educating the Net generation. EDUCAUSE. Re
B
McLeod, J. M., & Becker, L. B. (1974). Testing
trieved July 30, 2010, from www.educause.edu/
the validity of gratification measures through po
educatingthenetgen/
litical effects analysis . In Blumler, J. G., & Katz,
O
E. (Eds.), The uses of mass communications (pp. Ofcom. (2008). Social networking. A quantitative
L
137–164). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. and qualitative research report into attitudes,
behaviours and use. London, UK: Ofcom. Office
Montgomery, K., GottliebRobles, B., & Larson,
G
of Communication. Retrieved July 30, 2010, from
G. O. (2004). Youth as ecitizens: Engaging the
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/ media_literacy/
digital generation. Washington, DC: Center for
I
medlitpub/medlitpubrss/ socialnetworking/report.
Social Media.
pdf
G
Naval, C., & Altarejos, F. (2000). Educar para
Ofcom. (2009). Citizens’ digital participation:
I
la participación . In García Garrido, J. L. (Ed.),
Research report. London, UK: Ofcom. Office of
La sociedad educadora (pp. 226–244). Madrid,
Communication. Retrieved July 30, 2010, from
Spain: Fundación Independiente Caja Madrid.
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/ marketdata
Naval, C., Repáraz, C., & Ugarte, C. (2009in research/medialiteracy/ medlitpub/medlitpubrss/
press). En torno a la participación política de los cdp/
jóvenes universitarios. El caso concreto de las
Ofcom. (2010). Digital participation. 2010 metrics
elecciones europeas del 7 de junio de . In Lázaro,
bulletin. London, UK: Ofcom. Office of Com
R. (Ed.), De ética y política. Pamplona, Spain:
munication. Retrieved July 30, 2010, from. http://
EUNSA.
stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/ research/
medialiteracy/digiparticipation/ 2010metrics/
metricsbulletin2010.pdf
202
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
Pattie, C. J., Seyd, P., & Whiteley, P. (2004). Smith, A., Schlozman, K. L., Verba, S., & Brady,
Citizenship in Britain: Values, participation and H. (2009). The Internet and civic engagement. Pew
democracy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Uni Internet and American Life Project, Washington,
versity Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511490811 D.C. Retrieved July 30, 2010 from http://www.
pewinternet.org/~/media// Files/Reports/2009/
F
Power Inquiry. (2006). Power to the people: An
The%20Internet% 20and%20Civic%20Engage
independent inquiry into Britain’s democracy.
ment.pdf
The centenary project of the Joseph Rowntree
O
charitable trust and the Joseph Rowntree reform Strauss, W., & Howe, R. J. (2000). Millennials
Trust. York, NY: Power Inquiry. rising: The next great generation. New York,
O
NY: Vintage.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital im
migrants. [from http://www.marcprensky.com/ Sylvester, D. E., & McGlynn, A. J. (2009). The
R
writing/]. Horizon, 9(5), 1–6. Retrieved July 30, digital divide, political participation, and place.
2010 doi:10.1108/10748120110424816 Social Science Computer Review, 28(1), 64–74.
P
doi:10.1177/0894439309335148
lapse and revival of American community. New Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up digital: The rise of
L
York, NY: Simon & Schuster. the net generation. New York, NY: McGrawHill.
A
RaynesGoldie, K., & Luke, W. (2008). Our space: Taylor, P., & Keeter, S. (Eds.). (2010). Millennials.
Online civic engagement tools for youth . In Lance A portrait of generation next. Confident. Con
B
Bennett, W. (Ed.), Civic life online: Learning how nected. Open to change. Pew Research Center,
digital media can engage youth (pp. 161–188). Washington, D.C. Retrieved July 30, 2010, from
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. The John D. http://pewsocialtrends.org/assets/ pdf/millennials
O
and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series confidentconnectedopentochange.pdf
L
on Digital Media and Learning.
WILDBIT. (2005). Social networks research
Redondo, E. (1999). Educación y comunicación. report. Wildbit. Retrieved July 30, 2010, from
G
Barcelona, Spain: Ariel. http://tidbit.wildbit.com
I
Rheingold, H. (2008). Using participatory media
and public voice to encourage civic engagement
G
. In Lance Bennett, W. (Ed.), Civic life online: ADDITIONAL READING
I
Learning how digital media can engage youth (pp.
97–118). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. The boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social net
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation work sites: Definition, history, and scholarship.
Series on Digital Media and Learning. Journal of ComputerMediated Communication,
13(1), article 11. Retrieved July 30, 2010, from
Scheufele, D. A., & Nisbet, M. C. (2002). Being a http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/ issue1/boyd.el
citizen online: New opportunities and dead ends. lison.html
Press/Politics, 7(3), 5575.
Coleman, S. (2005). The lonely citizen: In
direct representation in an age of networks.
Political Communication, 22(2), 197–214.
doi:10.1080/10584600590933197
203
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
Couldry, N., Livingstone, S., & Markham, T. Moy, P., Manoseintch, D., Stamm, K., & Dun
(2007). Media consumption and public en smore, K. (2005). Linking dimensions of Internet
gagement: Beyond the presumption of atten use and civic engagement. I&MC Quarterly,
tion. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. 82(3), 571586.
doi:10.1057/9780230800823
F
Naval, C. (2000). Educar ciudadanos. Pamplona,
Dalton, R. J., & Wattenberg, M. P. (2000). Parties Spain: EUNSA.
without partisans: Political change in advanced
O
Naval, C. (2003). Democracia y participación en
industrial democracies. New York, NY: Oxford
la escuela. Anuario Filosófico, 36(1), 183–204.
University Press.
O
Naval, C., & Altarejos, F. (2000). Educar para
Eliasoph, N. (2004). Can we theorize the
la participación . In García Garrido, J. L. (Ed.),
tress without theorizing the public? Po
R
La sociedad educadora (pp. 226–244). Madrid,
litical Communication, 21(3), 297–303.
Spain: Fundación Independiente Caja Madrid.
doi:10.1080/10584600490481325
P
Naval, C., & Sádaba, C. (2007). How the media can
Gil de Zuñiga, H., PuigiAbril, E., & Rojas, H.
collaborate in the development of youth participa
(2009). Weblogs, traditional sources online and
L
tion. Journal of Social Sciences Education, 6(1),
political participation: an assessment of how
8096. Retrieved July 30, 2008, from http://www.
the internet is changing the political environ
A
jsse.org/20071/ pdf/naval_sadaba_media.pdf
ment. New Media & Society, 11(4), 553–574.
doi:10.1177/1461444809102960 Norris, P. (2000). A virtuous circle. Cambridge,
B
UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/
Graber, D. (2004). Mediated politics and citizen
CBO9780511609343
ship in the twentyfirst century. Annual Review of
O
Psychology, 55, 545–571. doi:10.1146/annurev. Pasek, J., Kenski, K., Romer, D., & Jamieson,
L
psych.55.090902.141550 K. H. (2006). America’s youth and community
engagement: How use of mass media is related
Lupia, A., & Philpot, T. S. (2005). Views
G
to civic activity and political awareness in 14 to
from the inside the net: How websites affect
22yearolds. Communication Research, 33(3),
young adults´ political interest. The Journal of
I
115–135. doi:10.1177/0093650206287073
Politics, 67(4), 1122–1142. doi:10.1111/j.1468
2508.2005.00353.x Pharr, S., Putnam, R., & Dalton, R. (2000). Intro
G
duction: What’s troubling the trilateral democra
I
Mcleod, J. M., Scheufele, D. A., & Moy, P.
cies . In Pharr, S., & Putnam, R. (Eds.), Disaf
(1999). Community, communication, and par
fected democracies. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
ticipation: The Role of mass media and inter
University Press.
personal discussion in local political participa
tion. Political Communication, 16, 315–336. Putnam, R. D. (2002). Democracies in flux: The
doi:10.1080/105846099198659 evolution of social capital in contemporary society.
New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Morris, Z., John, O., & Halpern, D. (2003).
Compulsory citizenship for the disenfranchized. Quintelier, E., & Vissers, S. (2008). The effect of
Curriculum Journal, 14(2), 1–19. internet use on political participation: An analysis
of survey results for 16yearolds in Belgium.
Social Science Computer Review, 26(4), 411–427.
doi:10.1177/0894439307312631
204
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
Rojas, H., & PuigiAbril, E. (2009). Mobilizers Generation X: According to PewResearch

mobilized: Information, expression, mobiliza Center (Keeter and Taylor, 2009), is a label that
tion and participation in the digital Age. Journal appears to have been coined by a British sociologist
of ComputerMediated Communication, 14, and popularized by the author Douglas Coupland.
902–927. doi:10.1111/j.10836101.2009.01475.x It covers people born from 1965 to 1980. And it
F
long ago overtook the first name affixed to this
Scheufele, D. A., & Nisbet, M. C. (2002). Being a
generation: the Baby Bust. In many generational
citizen online: New opportunities and dead ends.
O
profiles, Xers are depicted as savvy, entrepre
Press/Politics, 7(3), 55–75.
neurial loners.
Valenzuela, S., Park, N., & Kee, K. F. (2009). Ofcom: The Office of Communications or, as
O
Is there social capital in a social network site? it is more often known, Ofcom, is the independent
Facebook use and college students’ life satisfac telecommunications regulator and competition
R
tion, trust, and participation. Journal of Com authority for the communication industries in the
puterMediated Communication, 14, 875–901. United Kingdom.
P
doi:10.1111/j.10836101.2009.01474.x Pew Research Center: It is an American think
tank organization based in Washington, D.C. that
Weiwu Zhang, W., Johnson, T. J., Seltzer, T., &
L
provides information on issues, attitudes and trends
Bichard, S. L. (2010). The revolution will be
shaping the United States and the world.
networked. The influence of social network
A
The Baby Boom: According to PewResearch
ing sites on political attitudes and behavior.
Center (Keeter and Taylor, 2009) this label refers
B
the great spike in fertility that began in 1946,
doi:10.1177/0894439309335162
right after the end of World War II, and ended
Wenner, L. A. (1985). The nature of news grati almost as abruptly in 1964, around the time that
O
fications . In Rosengren, K. E., Wenner, L. A., the birth control pill went on the market. It`s a
L
& Palmgreen, P. (Eds.), Media gratifications classic example of a demographydriven name.
research: Current perspectives. Beverly Hills, The Silent Generation: According to PewRe
searchCenter (Keeter and Taylor, 2009), this label
G
CA: Sage.
some times also knows as the GI Generation, cov
Xenos, M., & Moy, P. (2008). Direct and differ
I
ers anyone born before 1946. These are the children
ential effects of the internet on political and civic
of the Great Depression and World War II. “Silent”
engagement. The Journal of Communication, 57,
G
overtook “GI” as the label relatively late in this
704–718. doi:10.1111/j.14602466.2007.00364.x
I
generation’s life cycle, when their conformist and
civic instincts made for a dramatic contrast with
the noisy ways of the antiestablishment boomers.
KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS The Millennial Generation: According to
Pew Research Center (Keeter and Taylor, 2009)
Citizen Participation: Political or social this label covers everyone born from 1981 to 2000.
involvement in the community, government, or They are the first generation to come of age in
school in order to improve the status quo and to the new millennium.
have impact on policy formation and decision Social Network Sites: Boyd and Ellison (2007)
making. defines social network sites “[…] as webbased
Citizenship: The status of a citizen with rights services that allow individuals to (1) construct a
and duties (cfr. Marshall Dictionary). public or semipublic profile within a bounded
system, (2) articulate a list of other users with
205
N$#*/8+B"14$)3@S+D*=*#+,/)1*#*A/1*$%S+/%>+T$(%'+,"$A8"
whom they share a connection, and (3) view and la cooperación social: Los conocimientos,
traverse their list of connections and those made las actitudes y las habilidades cívicas”. R
by others within the system. The nature and no & D Projects, MEC, General Directorate
menclature of these connections may vary from of Research. Reference: SEJ200763070).
site to site”. MySpace, Facebook, Hi5, and Bebo ii
http://pewresearch.org
F
are some popular examples. iii
When the results of studies other than Lenhart
et al. (2010) are cited, this will be indicated.
O
iv
These figures vary only slightly in the data
ENDNOTES collected in January 2010 by Taylor & Keeter
(2010): 90% of Millennial users, 87% of
O
i
Financial support from the Spanish Ministry Gen X users, 79% of Baby Boomer users
of Education is gratefully acknowledged and 40% of Silent Generation users.
R
(“Una educación para la comunicación y
L P
B A
LO
I G
I G
206
207
Chapter 11
Innovative Processes and
Managerial Effectiveness of
O F
O
e-Procurement in Healthcare
Ubaldo Comite
University of Calabria, Italy
P R
ABSTRACT
A L
B
Procurement reform, launched in the last few years, offers prospects of consistent and permanent expense
,8+.1BI'(<2'#*B21G4'3&'*2)#G2'2D$21,2,'81)'8G<.2+2'8'*2G#$2*83.&1'&5'25CG.21G4'&5'3<2'$#67.G',2G3&*'
O
suggests the intervention of modernization and reorganization of the acquiring procedures of goods and
services of the public administration. This work describes how the new models function, which indicates
L
an important step forward in the reorganization process of the procurement procedure of the public
administration, not only in terms of a “new model of management,” but also relative to the “burden,”
G
in terms of contributions towards saving, which is foreseen. The results obtained in terms of savings,
3<2',.=$7.CG83.&1'&5'3<2'$*&G2)#*2,'&5'$*&G#*2=213/'81)'.1.3.8774'3<2'72+27,'&5',2*+.G2'&5'3<2'93832'92G3&*'
I
suggest the extension of the new procedure even to other compartments of public expenses, amongst
which the healthcare system, whose reform of the policies of acquisition is called upon to combine with
G
6&3<'3<2'&6"2G3.+2,'&5'$#67.G'C181G2'81)'3<2'&6"2G3.+2,'&5'*2EW#87.CG83.&1'&5'3<2'<2873<'8#3<&*.34I
I
INTRODUCTION
Currently, the healthcare system finds itself in

a problematic situation, subject to contrasting
vices that are more technologically advanced and
of a better quality are increasing. In this context,
eprocurement is seen as an instrument capable
of answering, at least partially, the first element
motivations. Healthcare expenses continue to of this dilemma.
rise, while the government must respect budget Even so, there are not many initiatives of e
constraints that are becoming more restrictive. procurement in the healthcare sector, and in the
Meanwhile, the demand for public healthcare ser majority of the cases they have not yet produced the
expected benefits. The main reasons for this are:
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch011 the complexity that characterizes the purchases in
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
healthcare due to the large diversity of the goods the logistics of storage, stock management, and
dealt with; the large number of suppliers; and the invoice management.
fact that in public administration the introduction The solution of eprocurement include a rede
of information technology traditionally encounters sign of the processes and use of suitable instru
difficulty. ments in order to trim down the entire process of
F
Healthcare offers, in respects to the rest of procurement, and consents a relationship between
the public administration, critical and special the supplier and buyer that is almost “made to
O
ized services, and more so than in other sectors, order,” in that each subject that operates internally
it is fundamental to safeguard standards of high in the public structure has the possibility to interact
quality for many goods and services acquired, directly with the supplier. This system is clearly
O
for their impact on the quality of the services, permitted by the information systems (email
together with: the efficiency and punctuality of and web pages), that interconnect the subjects
R
the purchases; the transparency of the activity; through a networked structure (internetworked
and respect of the principles of competition. communications).
P
Healthcare expenses for goods and services can The subjects involved in the process of e
be classified into three sections: communal to all procurement are essentially five (Witting, 1995):
L
the public administration (ex.; telephone, office
material); communaldifferentiated, which can 1. The final client/user, that is the “public
A
be found in all the administrations, but is very administration client” (central public ad
diverse based on the acquiring sector (in health, ministration or local department) that has
B
for example: maintenance and cleaning of hospi the need for the goods or services;
tals); specific healthcare, composed of drugs and 2. The procurement company to which the
medical devices. centralized acquisitions and the stipulation
O
This diversity must be taken into consideration of the conventions with the suppliers have
L
while conceiving innovative modalities for the been delegated;
procurement. 3. The supplier;
The major difference among the three catego 4. The public offices delegated with carrying
G
ries of expenses indicated and the availability of out the payments;
I
different electronic instruments calls upon a deep 5. The financial institutions (banks).
reflection on which is the better solution for each
G
type of good/service. Through the model of eprocurement, the
I
Secondly, the term “procurement” is often response times of the public administration are
used in a restrictive sense, associated only to much faster, as they are through direct contacts
the acquisition phase. Consequently, the term (dedicated Internet pages and email addresses)
“eprocurement” becomes a synonym of a class between the supplier and the public administration
of electronic instruments that directly connect itself or the subject delegated to the acquisitions
buyers and sellers on the same network in order to (Figure 1).
close a contract. For our purposes, “procurement” The suppliers find the information relative to
indicates a more ample processes, that starts from calls for proposals on the websites; they can
the need of a good/service and ends with its use download the documents and the modules,
and the payment for its supply, including plan eliminating the long wait times characterized by
ning the purchases, individualizing the suppliers, the normal procedure of the dispatch of paper
the act of acquisition, receiving the material, material. The instruments of Information Technol
ogy utilized by the model permit the technical
208
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
Figure 1. The differences between the traditional iter and the eprocurement purchasing in Public Ad
ministration (Source: personal processing).
O F
R O
L P
B A
LO
I G
and economic offers to be sent (via email), and
to develop moments of “telematic bargaining,”
of the public administration must come about in
a combined way through a more decisive use of
G
in which the choice of the contractor on the part the traditional criteria and a greater coordination
I
of the subject delegated occurs through online that makes use of the informatics networks.
auctions, which permit a more efficient and more To be noted amongst the traditional criteria
rapid process of the tender. are the capacity of programming and allocation of
The increase of efficiency is amenable even in resources that include the planning of the recur
factors such as greater transparency and ease of ring acquisition of communal goods, the training
access to the information, a nondiscrimination of the people responsible for the management of
amongst the suppliers (also derived from the im the acquisition, the attention paid to the concept
personality of the informatics structure), a greater of “best value for money,” the use of competitive
satisfaction of the needs of the peripheral subjects forms of selection of the contractors, the use of
and the decrease of transaction costs. incentive based contracts, a greater attention paid
Clearly, a policy of qualifications of the public to the equity and the satisfaction of the peripheral
management and the reform of the procurement
209
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
subjects, more expost checks on the efficiency by Information & Communication Technology,
of the supplier and on the performances. which can facilitate the emergence of new intra
The use of methods tied to informatics networks orinfra organizational relationships. Kim and
can, therefore, consist of an ulterior element of the Shunk (2004) proposed a detailed description of
improvement of efficiency, but must not remain the different forms that systems of eprocurement
F
the only element. can assume in the private sector. They also relate
The three base elements for their develop to a classification of the procurement processes,
O
ment are: often seen in a restrictive meaning, exclusively
referred to the acquisition phase.
1. The constitution of an integrated informatics The theme of eprocurement in the public
O
communication network between the sub sector has not been, until now, discussed much.
jects interested in the process of procurement The studies have been more or less dedicated to
R
2. The use of an electronic network for the the analysis of policies, the attitude of the central
adjudication of the supplier (telematic auc Public Administration and the central procurement
P
tions) and for successive transactions; Authorities (Hardy & Williams 2005, Somasun
3. The diffusion of ecommerce with network daram & Damsgaard 2005, Somasundaram 2004,
L
ing structures; Devadoss, Pan and Huang, 2002).
4. A greater recourse to outsourcing. Even less frequent are the works on the
A
healthcare sector, above all at a local level, where
The use of subjects that are even peripheral the solution of eprocurement must, in effect,
B
of such systems must be supported by the con be implemented with impacts on structures and
temporary introduction of innovative payment knowledge already known, thereby allowing for
instruments, such as governmental credit cards, different approaches.
O
which are of a notable interest in even augment Devadoss, Pan and Huang (2002) see epro
L
ing the efficiency of payments, whose delay often curement as a government sector, dealing with
causes added costs for the public administration. social and organizational factors which carry out a
role in the development and implementation phase,
G
following the prospective of structural analysis.
I
REFERENCE LITERATURE Even Zulfiqar, Pan, Lee and Huang (2001)
frame eprocurement within egovernment
G
A large quantity of studies on eprocurement and investigate the influences of three factors:
I
have been produced by researchers of various technological challenges, user preference, insti
disciplines, such as administrative law and public tutional assets. Other studies dedicated to public
management1. There are also various studies on eprocurement take on an indepth position of
the theme of eprocurement from the perspective the problems concerning procurement. Hardy
of the organization and/or information systems: and Williams (2005) compare three international
the majority of these reference the private sector, cases (in Australia, Italy and Scotland), in a con
from the moment that they are oriented towards structionist prospective of the web of protagonists.
the analysis of models and instruments adopted In all three cases, the petitions, coming from
by businesses in order to gain efficiency in the policies, practical and operative, and the parties
buying processes, with particular attention to involved, sustaining that the processes of public
solutions based on the marketplace. Rossignoli eprocurement are connected with policies of a
(2004) carried out a review on the role of coor very broad range (eprocurement depends upon
dination in the electronic marketplace developed the policies of government reform) and that the
210
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
application of eprocurement, even starting from businesses to optimize their purchase offers in
similar designs, do not have a linear model of respect to the market supplier. Others (Borgonovi
implementation, and evolve in a different manner 2002), face the argument by dwelling on the radi
based on the context. Somasundaram and Dams cal innovations that purchasing procedures have
gaard (2005) investigate the Danish experience introduced in the panorama of the Italian Public
F
in order to identify policies that, challenging the Administration. Technological solutions tied to the
municipality to react, can face the obstacles that Internet and new administrative deregulation and
O
often put a brake on the diffusion of public e decentralization measures impose interesting chal
procurement in local administrations. lenges and many opportunities. New technologies
Panayoutou Gayialis and Tatsiopoulos (2004), based on the Internet offer savings opportunities
O
propose a detailed study of the changes that have and expense rationalization much more so in the
occurred during the procurement processes of the private sector than in the public sector.
R
Greek government, when the implementation of In the field of healthcare (Turchetti 2005),
online procedures replaced paper ones. Even rarer businesses, in the capacity of suppliers, clients or
P
are works that deal with local government (where partners, according to the occasion, find a new and
eprocurement can have a double origin: it can be ideal place to meet and trade on the web.
L
introduced as an internal choice or as an innova The velocity of transactions, transparency and
tion imposed on by the central government) and disintermediation render the entrance into the
A
rarer still are other studies dedicated to the specific digital market, where supply and demand are more
theme of eprocurement in public healthcare. The easily satisfied, more appetizing (Comite 2006).
B
most interesting indications that come from these Clearly, a policy of qualification of public
studies (Federici 2005, Federici, Bianchini and health management and the reform of procurement
Morano 2004) are: eprocurement considered as an of the Public Administration must come about in
O
endtoend process, wider than just the acquisition a combined manner, through a more decisive use
L
phase; the most consistent savings are obtained in of traditional criteria and a greater coordination
administrative and managerial costs, more than in that makes use of informatics networks (Mech
the reduction of the purchasing price, above all in ling 2000).
G
the case of specific healthcare goods.
I
With regards to the literature on eprocurement,
in particular in Italy where it constitutes the CHARACTERISTICS AND
INSTRUMENTS OF THE
G
“frontier” of the research in the sector, it is to
I
be highlighted that it has not yet been formally MODEL OF EPROCUREMENT
systemized. In particular, some authors (Barbiero, ADOPTED IN ITALY
Osimo, Spagnolo 2001, Gatti 2002) consider
eprocurement an essential instrument for reduc In the field of the reform of the acquisition system
ing expenses in supplying goods and services, of goods and services on the part of the Public Ad
rendering the acquisition procedures streamlined, ministration for the rationalization of expenses in
rapid and, above all, transparent. It is an exhaus the state sector, the Italian Government has pushed
tive process that starts from the definition of the for the introduction of elements of eprocurement
strategy, that is, the search for the best adaptation through a project based on three elements: the
between the supply and the demand, and arrives promotion of a new economy; autonomy of the
at a description of the tactics that are based on the Public Administration; simplification and in
trinomial efficiencyeffectivenesseconomy. The novation of the acquisition procedures with an
market economy in which we live, in fact, obliges alignment to a more advanced European reality.
211
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
In the intervention, the Government has tried similar to the descending auction type (Klemperer,
to answer to some key requests such as the ratio 1999), is awarded to the best offer, whose offer
nalization of expense, the support of the admin will finally be announced. This type of auction,
istration, the autonomy of management even for clearly definable online, is characterized by the
the peripheral offices, the use of new technology, level of automation of the system, which allows
F
the coordination and the subsequent monitoring for an automatic choice after the parameters re
of the demand and consequently the expenses, quested by the user are set up, and by the rapidity
O
as well as the reduction of response times. The and transparency of the procedures of the variation
rationalization of expenses must occur by means of the offers by the suppliers.
of a greater attention on the volume of acquisi Multiple awards is a model of procurement
O
tions of goods, the use of the best practices of the that sees the stipulation of the agreement after the
market, the possibility of internal benchmarks, tender proceedings, with a restricted number of
R
the single approach to the market and the use of suppliers that make a series of articles relative to
innovative instruments and technology. Other than the product category in question available at the
P
this, the use of eprocurement is aimed at a gradual same time. The “Public Administration client”
elimination of formal checks, the introduction of can therefore select product and supplier based on
L
electronic signatures and procedural streamlining. criteria of prize, functionality and homogeneity
The instruments that are targeted for the ac through an electronic catalogue/system. Catalogue
A
tualization of the eprocurement development prices can be fixed during the agreement period
projects are essentially four, and generally their or variable, depending upon the product category,
B
use is foreseen in successive temporal phases: with continuous competition between suppliers.
1st phase) the electronic catalogue; 2nd phase) Finally, the electronic market foresees the use
online auctions, multiple conventions and the of an Internet site that functions as a marketplace,
O
electronic market. that carried out, namely, the activity of encounters
L
The first instrument is a outandout electronic and intermediation among the suppliers, previ
catalogue of online products, that is, goods that ously selected by the procurement company and
are presented through complete data sheets and the “Public Administration client,” especially in
G
prices, posted on the procurement company web the case of specific or technologically advanced
I
page or the competent ministry. The “Public Ad products.
ministration client,” that has previously registered Subdivided into decisive product categories,
G
and been given a unique identification code and contacts or links with preselected supply compa
I
a password, may access the electronic catalogue nies are made available, or the same companies
in order to view, and potentially proceed directly even offer their own products on online cata
to purchase, what is necessary. logues, through which the “Public Administration
The second instrument, that becomes opera client” can choose a contracting party, reducing
tive in the midterm, foresees the experiment of transaction costs. With this method, the offer can
tenders on the Internet for suppliers. be relative to a wide variety of product catego
The “Public Administration client” inserts the ries, the buyer can use the catalogues directly in
characteristics of the goods or services which order to purchase the products and the supplier
it intends to purchase into a virtual space, and can modify and update the catalogue at his or her
a certain number of suppliers, that can be pre discretion (maintaining the expected standards for
selected through an initial “beauty contest” type his or her permanence on the site).
of selection, compete starting from a base price, The goods and services that the Public Admin
going through successive discounted offers, within istration requests are of a diverse nature and are
a predefined time frame. The tender, commonly supplied by very different markets amongst them
212
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
selves, which is why the flexible and integrated use side with tradition methods of procurement (such
of the three instruments of electronic commerce as traditional tenders and single and multiple
can maximize the effectiveness. For example, in conventions).
sectors categorized by a standardization of the From the new model that is outlined, interactiv
products (such as personal computers), the use ity, administrative transparency and efficiency, like
F
of an online catalogue allows the buyers to save the three elements that are key to the relationship
and to negotiate particular “packages” (which between the “Public Administration client”, the
O
include, for example, certain services) with the procurement company and the supplier, emerge.
supplier. In sectors characterized by the request of The interactivity derives from the use of electronic
specific products (as in healthcare), the solution of catalogues for the sale of goods, the use of docu
O
the marketplace will allow the users to save time mentation databases and transaction monitoring
and to reduce the informative asymmetry in the (with data periodically sent by the suppliers), and
R
search for suppliers, who, to be present on the so the formation of dedicated call centres. Transpar
called “broker” sites, must guarantee determined ency is an element that is developed through the
P
technological characteristics and solidity. Internet pages that favours the opening to the mar
The system must still nonetheless be considered ket, rendering updated information available in
L
in an initial phase, in which the agreements are real time, holding electronic tenders and favouring
stipulated for the Public Administration in which it a marketplace type of approach. It is exactly these
A
is possible to carry out the orders on an electronic online auctions, through a depersonalization
catalogue and access, via the internet, the analyses of the relationship, that allows for a reduction in
B
of the expenses (www.acquisti.tesoro.it). discriminatory power by the user, and therefore
Through the progressive introduction of the the risk of “capture.”
Information Technology instruments mentioned, Recalling the concept of interactivity among
O
success in the development of marketplace en the five agent subjects in the procurement system
L
vironments and new selection methods for the developed earlier, and limiting it to the “Public
contracting parties, such as online auctions, are Administration client,” the supplier and the pro
predicted. The introduction and consolidation of curement company, the interaction in the Italian
G
more innovative methods will be placed side by model can be described (Figure 2).
I
Figure 2. Interaction in the Italian model of eprocurement (Source: personal processing)
G
I
213
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
The “Public Administration client” and the amount (20.6 million Euro in 2004), with a trend
supplier, through a series of input, furnish the to increase in both absolute terms (it more than
procurement company with indispensable infor doubles from 1997 to 2004) and in a percentage
mation for the agreement preparation, in order to of the total expenses.
individualize the characteristics that a determined Expenses for goods and services vary notably
F
good or service must have in order to meet the between the Italian Regions and the market is
needs of the client. It is evident that, in the defini further influenced by other factors of complexity:
O
tion of the conventions, the tendency is to meet
the needs of administrations who find themselves P+ There are around 350 different public
wanting to place particularity onerous orders, healthcare structures, among Aziende
O
halfway. Once met, the convention becomes avail Sanitarie Locali (Local Healthcare
able to the Public Administration subjects who Authorities), Aziende Ospedaliere AO
R
have joined in on the system, through the Internet (Hospitals) e Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a
by means of an online catalogue. The following a/)/11")"+[#*"%1*&#$+A+0!aa[A+(Institutions
P
phases are those of possible orders by the Public &5'A)=.,,.&1'81)'(*283=213'&5'8'9G.213.CG'
Administration to the supplier and the sending of Nature), with different degrees of au
L
the order of goods and services requested followed tonomy, organizational structures statutes
by the payment. If no exceptions are verified, in (Cicchetti 2004) and procurement needs,
A
which case the Public Administration recontacts which leads to a complex and highly per
the procurement company, the supplier sends a sonalized request;
B
periodic report indicating the goods and services P+ There are about 500,000 suppliers, who are
offered and the response times. very differentiated amongst themselves:
The increase of efficiency of the Public Ad multinational, national agencies, and small
O
ministration attainable through this model is not and midsized local businesses.
L
to be underestimated, even considering only the
streamlining and the increase of rapidity of the The main problem, however, is made up of the
processes, from the carrying out of tenders to the composite structure of expenses, which includes
G
payments. standard supplies for the entire Public Adminis
I
tration, together with highly specific purchases.
Healthcare expenses for goods and services
HEALTHCARE EXPENSES
G
can, in fact, be classified into three segments:
I
AND EPROCUREMENT
P+ Communal for the entire Public
Healthcare Expenses for the Administration (about 25% of the total ex
Acquisition of Goods and Services penses for goods and services), which is
independent from the type of purchasing
More than 23% of the public healthcare expense administration (for example; telephones,
in Italy is destined to the “acquisition of goods and $-&#"+<(==8*"<n?Rc
services,” often called “intermediate healthcare P+ Communaldifferentiated (25% of the
use” (Agenzia per i Servizi Sanitari Regionali total), which exists for all the administra
–ASSR, 2004) (Authority for Regional Health tions, but is very differentiated based on the
care Services) If it is referred internally to the purchasing sector (in the healthcare sector,
Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (National Healthcare for example, maintenance and cleaning of
Service) this component reaches a considerable hospital buildings);
214
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
P+ h"/815#/)"+<="#*&#+Q.$)"+15/%+mop+$-+15"+ Administration was able to be taken advantage of,

total), composed of pharmaceuticals, and defining large volumes of expenses obtained by
medical devices (instruments and material incorporating total demands. These characteristics
that, separately or together, are used in cas have lead to the outline of the optimal managerial
es of wounds, illnesses, handicaps, physio model into full actualization (and expansion),
F
logical applications or surgical operations). made up of the central catalogued conventions.
The evolution of expense segments of a high
O
In order to support both the performance of specificity necessitates, however, adequate reflec
the service and the economy of the supply, it is tions and precautions: in particular, it is indispens
necessary to complete a detailed analysis of the able to perfect the existing model in order to allow
O
characteristics, a clear definition of the need (for for the application relative to products that, from
example a specific device for the operating room) the point of view of the supply, face prevalently
R
and a coherent acquisition plan for each expense local markets of a medium and high concentration,
typology. and from the point of view of the demand, inter
P
The variety and factors of complexity indi est subjects with institutional characteristics of a
cated before must be taken into consideration in higher autonomous gestation (ASL and hospitals).
L
the healthcare sector in the individualization of In the period from 20052010, the expenses
eprocurement instruments, before choosing the of the SSN have been subjected to an average
A
most appropriate ICT solution for each acquisi annual increase in real terms of 4.1 percent. The
tion typology, in order to better the quality and contribution to services with a direct management
B
efficiency of the supply and to rationalized the (about 60% of the total expenses) has principally
expense. reflected the considerable increase (+10.4%) in
Another fundamental aspect is that specific expenses for goods and services.
O
healthcare goods require a high level of qual The expenses for the acquisition of intermedi
L
ity for each exemplary, together with rapid and ate uses by Healthcare between 2005 and 2010 has
controlled logistics, while these aspects, even if revealed a continuous increase, in both absolute
important are less critical for communal goods. terms as well as a percentage of the total, with
G
Furthermore, in healthcare, specific goods and values higher than those registered for the whole
I
communaldifferentiated expenses often have of the Public Administration. The average rate
very particular characteristics, with a low level of increase in the five year in examination under
G
of standardization of the offer. consistent prices was equal to 1.4%, and the quota
I
The generalization of the Consip project in of the expenses for the goods and services of the
the Healthcare division renders the reflection on total on the current expenses of the division for
the evolution of the model adopted by the central the entire period amount to about 20%.
Public Administrations for the management of ex Keeping this in mind, the carrying out of the
pense segments, with highly specific and complex expenses remains rather differentiated, with re
characteristics, necessary. In particular, the model gions that register variation in rates through the
used for the Public Administration has interested various years that are decisively above the national
segments of communal expenses characterized average, and others that instead remain below the
by the State sector. These prevalently deal with national average (Table 1).
products that, from the point of view of the offer, A further difference is the variability of the
present national markets of a medium and high burden of this expense component among regions
concentration, while, from the point of view of in respect to the total current expense. This tends
the demand, the big buyer position of the Public to be more significant in the northern regions
215
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
Table 1. Health expenses in the Italian regions (Source: personal processing).
REGIONS Var 05/06 Var 06/07 Var 07/08 Var 08/09 Var 09/10 Var 06/10
Piemonte 6,2 9,8 27,9 10,1 12,7 74,2
Valle d’Aosta 14,7 7,6 8,5 38,0 15,1 56,4
F
Lombardia 6,1 1,0 40,4 6,2 21,5 15,7
Provincia aut. di Bolzano 12,3 3,0 32,0 7,0 16,0 68,8
Provincia aut. di Trento 7,1 3,5 73,8 11,7 21,8 57,0
O
Veneto 8,6 1,5 26,9 14,3 2,0 50,1
FriuliVenezia Giulia 7,1 3,3 27,4 4,5 13,2 55,5
O
Liguria 0,6 4,2 12,6 7,0 17,5 47,4
Emilia Romagna 3,1 0,7 31,7 2,4 2,7 30,5
R
Toscana 1,8 4,7 25,0 8,7 12,0 45,1
Umbria 6,6 10,6 13,3 9,2 8,2 48,1
P
Marche 1,5 7,4 15,3 2,3 9,7 38,9
Lazio 4,9 1,3 5,0 11,3 18,6 40,4
L
Abruzzo 15,8 1,6 76,8 7,8 2,4 61,5
Molise 0,3 10,9 5,7 13,2 8,2 28,0
A
Campania 1,9 10,4 4,5 3,5 32,3 57,9
Puglia 15,0 6,7 62,3 4,9 5,9 74,5
B
Basilicata 0,7 0,5 52,8 31,3 24,4 51,0
Calabria 9,8 1,7 1,9 24,8 21,5 51,3
O
Sicilia 2,8 7,2 13,9 13,1 7,8 28,9
Sardegna 1,3 2,8 23,8 13,3 8,0 32,6
L
ITALIA 5,1 2,0 27,2 7,4 2,9 43,4
G
(25% in Val d’Aosta) in respects to both the cen P+ Communal expenses for all of the Public
I
tral regions (21%) in Tuscany and the southern Administration (about 2000 million Euro),
ones (about 12.3% in Calabria, 13.5% in Sicily). that is, the expenses for goods and services
G
The entry goods and services of the Healthcare in which technical characteristics remain
I
division constitutes heterogeneous aggregation for invariable independent from the type of
which it is necessary and opportune to distinguish Administration;
between the different types of goods and services P+ [="#*&#+ a$..(%/8+ "E="%<"<+ Q/7$(1+
in relation to the different role that each has in the 3 500 million Euro), that expenses for
division, the different burden that each one has on goods and services purchased by all of the
the whole of the expenses, and the contribution Administrations, with different degrees of
that each one could bring to the rationalization personalization according to the type of
and the content of the expense itself. service offered by the Administration itself
The expenses of the Servizio Sanitario Nazio 1$+15"+&%/8+(<")c
nale (National Healthcare Service) for goods and P+ [="#*&#+ h"/815#/)"+ "E="%<"<+ Q`+ moo+ .*8
services in 2005 amounts to about 13 500 million 8*$%+I()$RB+15/1+*<B+15"+"E="%<"<+-$)+<="#*&#+
Euro, divided among: goods and services(for example, pharma
ceuticals, medical devices, etc….).
216
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
The same expenses can be then differentiated P+ A wide difference of the purchased prod
according to the supply market and the ability ucts internally in groups functionally
to standardize on a national scale, distinguish similar.;
ing, therefore, between goods and services with
a local market and goods and services with a A nonoptimal management of the purchasing
F
national market. A further subdivision takes into process of the goods (excessive costs, late emis
consideration the value of the expense, which is sion of the orders);
O
to say, expenses above or under the communal
threshold: the presumed import of the value of the P+ Little control of the management process
supply determines the normative that disciplines (little planning, inadequate knowledge of
O
the purchasing procedure. the needs, little control over the level of
Typically, the expenditure of a public hos stock);
R
pital authority are referred to the costs for the P+ A modest attention towards logistic prob
acquisition of goods and services. The process 8".<+Q8*118"+>*<*7*8*19+$-+15"+D$4+$-+./1")*
P
of procurement of a healthcare authority follows /8<+7$15+*%+<1$)"+/%;+*%+1)/%<*1B+*%<(-&#*"%1+
the individualization of the resource need and the )/1*$%/8*C/1*$%+$-+15"+<1$)"<B+8$4+Y(/8*&#/
L
possible modes of acquisition individualize the tion of the personnel).
socalled “logistic cycle”.
A
The identification of the need allows for the In particular, it is estimated that in the Servizio
definition of the typology of management (in stock, Sanitario Nazionale, the purchase of goods and
B
in transit, services or products in services), while services generally occur at prices that present
their accumulated value allows for the identifica themselves as higher that in competitive condi
tion of products to place into competition or to tions (it is thought that, on average, the price
O
manage subthreshold. The interaction between applied surpass by 26% the price that would be
L
type of purchase and type of management com asked in competitive conditions). The aggregated
pares the distinction between materials managed inefficiency is revealed by the fact that in about
in store and materials managed in transit, distin 60% of the cases, the adjudicated prices moves
G
guishing between material purchased in tender away from the minimum by no more than 20%,
I
and material purchased subthreshold. while in 40% of the cases, the gap reaches peaks
For products managed in store in stock relative of 300%.
G
to the subthreshold, the use of eprocurement and It is therefore possible to individualize some
I
ecommerce systems are theoretically possible. critical areas susceptible to rationalization inter
For products in transit, not in tender, the direct ventions:
purchase of the good through a online catalogue
system on the part of the final user, is a possible P+ Control of the expenses and costs.
solution. Controlling expenses of a single factor of
The main forms of inefficiency detected in the production can be in itself not very sig
healthcare market for purchases of intermediate %*&#/%1+ *%+ )"<="#1<+ 1$+ 15"+ /#5*">"."%1+ $-+
use are individualized in: an effective managerial economy that is
obtained by monitoring the cost per prod
P+ An elevated dispersion of the price for sim uct unit, which consents the evaluation
ilar products (that reveal policies of price of economically technical alternatives of
discrimination practiced by suppliers); production;
217
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
P+ Rationalization of the acquisition proce search to optimize the obligatory proce

;()"+ /%;+ /;.*%*<1)/1*>"+ <*.=8*&#/1*$%?+ dures of acquisition, subordinate to the
More than 300 healthcare agencies and constraints imposed by the law on public
research institutions purchase 90% of the tenders.
same products and services with autono
F
mous procedures and with a considerable The sector is nonetheless characterized by a
cost (it is estimated that a public tender for strong dynamism in terms of initiatives geared
O
suppliers of a medium complexity has an towards the rationalization of the expenses for
administrative procedural cost, indepen intermediate use and towards the reform of the
dent to the value of the contract, of over 7 purchasing procedures.
O
500 Euro); In particular, it is possible to individualize:
P+ Price and nomenclature monitoring com
R
mittee of products and services. The price P+ Market initiatives (the presence of epro
monitoring committee, individualized in curement initiatives on the expenses spe
P
Italy since 1992 as an important instrument #*&#+ -$)+ <(7A15)"<5$8;+ h"/815#/)"+ Q15"+ "A
of knowledge for the managerial purpose Healthcare portal, based prevalently on the
L
of the reference market, has not surpassed, concept of marketplace);
as of today, the experimental phases. P+ Initiatives of the Public Administration
A
Firstly, there is a lack of structural condi (constitution of purchasing associations,
tions for the implementation of a nomen logistics, laws, and procedures).
B
clature which univocally individualizes the
=)$;(#1<+ .$%*1$)";?+ @5"+ ;*-&#(819+ *<+ )" The Instruments Linked to
connected to the number (over 20 000) and the use of eProcurement
O
the heterogeneity of the products to which
L
continuous variations are added to the list The term “procurement” is often used in a scientific
of suppliers due to evolving technology or (and even popular) context with a limited accepta
the restyling of the products, which calls tion, as it is associated with only the acquisition
G
-$)+#$%<*<1"%1+;"&%*1*$%<+$-+15"+)"'*<1)9?+@$+ phase (Panayioutou, Gayialis and Tatsiopoulos,
I
15*<+*<+15"%+/;;";+15"+;*-&#(819+#$%%"#1";+ 2004). Consequently, the term “eprocurement”
with the absence of a homogenous and in becomes a synonym of a class of electronic instru
G
tegrated management and communication ments that directly link the buyer and supplier on
I
system (AuthorityRegion) of the health the same network in order to stipulate a contract.
care authority that feeds the monitoring; By consent with other texts (MacManus 2002,
P+ Strategic aggregation of the demand. The Somasundaram 2004), and with the practicality
.$<1+<*'%*&#/%1+>/8("+$-+15"+<1)/1"'*#+/' of a healthcare authority, the term “procurement”
gregation of the demand is in the imposi indicates a wider process that originates with the
tion on the part of the buyers of a compari need of a good or service and ends with its use
son on the technical plan and to summarize and the payment for its supply.
the homogenous product needs, deperson The procurement process therefore includes
alizing the purchasing decisions, inducing the analysis of the needs (from both the central
a higher competitiveness and contractual stores or from the departments), the acquisition
power of the demand; planning, the selection of the suppliers (where and
P+ Constraints of the public tender. The pres how to buy), the acts connected to the purchase
ence of such constraints implicates the (through an auction or direct order), the taking
218
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
charge of the arriving materials and the logistics P+ Elogistics, which concerns the optimized
of the central store, the supply and management management of the stores (in healthcare
of the department stores, the management of the <1)(#1()"<:+=5/)./#*"<+/%;+<(==89+$-&#"<B+
invoices and of the payment. -$)+$-&#"+./1")*/8R+/%;+$-+15"+*%1")%/8+D$4+
The system of eprocurement includes, there of the goods, based on Intranet/Extranet
F
fore, the entire process of procurement and not technology that integrates solutions of
only the acquisition phase. Coherently, the term Supply Chain Management (SCM), capa
O
“eprocurement” indicates the organizational solu ble of directly connecting to both the in
tions supported by ICT instruments that consent ternal players as well as external, and even
electronic procurement forms, potentially more facilitating the check of accounting docu
O
effective and efficient than the traditional ones, ments and the analysis of the needs.
for which a redesign of the processes that is
R
more or less broad and deep is requested. This Healthcare Reform and the
takes into consideration the entire life cycle of a Procedure for the Acquisition
P
product or service. of Goods and Services
The solutions for eprocurement include in
L
struments that must be used in complementary The innovative elements of healthcare reform are
ways in order to optimize the entire process of numerous and pronounced. The process of priva
A
procurement: tizing state owned agencies of major devices and
of the Aziende Sanitarie Locale (Local Healthcare
B
P+ Epurchasing gathers different instruments Authorities), the attribution of financial responsi
which allow for the full management of the bility to the regions to the introduction of contracts
phases of acquisition, from the individual of a private typology, contribute to the design of
O
ization of a product to the processing of the a system of incentives that are completely new
L
invoices and payment; for the division.
P+ Platforms that permit the running of on As noted, the Legislative Decree of 30 Decem
8*%"+ 1"%;")<+ Q-)$.+ 15"+ *%*1*/8+ %$1*&#/1*$%+ ber 1992 n. 502 profoundly mutated the judicial
G
of the documents until the closing of the nature, the organization apparatus and the territo
I
contracts), reproducing administrative pro rial sphere of the Unità Sanitarie Locali (Local
cedures on the web (etendering), and the Healthcare Units). The USLs, subject to rules,
G
analysis of the expenses and the measure distinct from the reference body and provided
I
ment of the performances of the suppliers, with autonomy (organizational, patrimonial, ac
to optimize the mix among suppliers, prod counting, managerial and technical) is a complex
uct and service; system, open and aimed towards the attainment
P+ Marketplace and electronic catalogues that of determined objectives. This imposition was
support the activity of identifying the sup confirmed and enforced by the Legislative De
pliers (sourcing) and the complete man cree 299/99 which foresees that the healthcare
agement of direct orders, the dispatch, the companies are constituted with public legal
authorization of the expense, up to the mon subjects and entrepreneurial autonomy and that
itoring of the progress (erequisitioning); their organization and function are disciplined
P+ Instruments for electronic exchange, the with a corporate act of private law, according to
management of invoices (einvoice) and the general principles and criteria established by
payment activity, usually through a con the regional law.
nection with a banking system(epayment); The regulatory framework of 1999 offered
theoretical spaces for the operative business
219
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
management oriented towards the “criteria of 4. Control of the expenses for goods and ser
effectiveness, efficiency and economy”. It is to vices at various levels (national, regional,
be noted that the Legislative Decree 229/99 indi corporate);
cated a sort of preferential path to accelerate the
transformation the ASL culture individualizing Following are some considerations on these
F
the proof for change in the procurement area. points.
The framework, in fact, foresees that “the
O
contracts for the supply of goods and services, 1. The control of the price and the monitoring
whose value is inferior to that established by committees.
the EU framework, are outsourced or negotiated
O
directly according to the private law regulations” Created in the field of the development of the
(art.3 1ter). systems for the planning and control of manage
R
In conjunction with the reform, there has been ment as a strategic, managerial and operative
a consequential evolution of new organizational instrument, aimed primarily at restoring efficiency
P
and managerial strategies and acquisition forms and economy in the acquisition and the use of
of the goods and services not only limited to the goods and services, the monitoring committee is
L
classic contractual legal paradigm: the current leg configured as a twofold instrument:
islation consents, in fact, organizational formulas
A
that provide for the integration of companies and P+ At a company level, in order to provide
negotiation logics. This objective lends itself then information that can be used to support
B
to be implemented in various forms, for example, acquisition decisionmaking processes,
giving life to a purchasing associations, referring in order to reduce the asymmetry of in
to a general contractor, outsourcing entire services. formation that particularity characterized
O
From the point of view of the request of goods and this sector healthcare expenditure, as well
L
services, a restructuring of the same was launched, as for the planning and control of the ex
causing by both the institutional restructuring and penses for goods and services, combined
the size of the ASL, with the consequent reduction with the traditional systems of budgeting
G
in the number of the contracts and the rise of the for cost centres and responsibility;
I
unit value of the same, from both the containment P+ At a regional level, in order to support
policies and the rationalization of the healthcare the processes of expense rationalization
G
expenses undertaken at a central level. relative to the goods and services in the
I
The main current policies of the request can Healthcare division that absorb a consid
then be traced back to three main interventions: ")/78"+ &%/%#*/8+ >$8(."+ /%;+ *%+ 45*#5+ 15"+
effects of containment and consistent sav
1. Control of the prices, through the creation ings can be achieved through minimal
of monitoring committees at a national and price reductions.
regional level;
2. Aggregation of the request aimed at improv The base element on which the entire system
ing the contractual capacity (purchasing is founded is made up of a national databank
associations); of the biomedical technology in which all the
3. Electronic commerce for communal “sub products that are the subject of the monitoring
threshold” purchases; are catalogued and coded. Currently registered in
the databank are 19 000 purchasing events rela
tive to supplies and material for a technological
220
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
use. These are detected at the pilot centres that has implicated the definition and the coordina
participate in the project. It is possible to obtain, tion of many operational groups (pharmacists,
for each product, data relative to the lowest and economists, etc.)
highest purchase prices, information about the The effectiveness of the purchasing associa
quantity of the products, on the procedures used, tions necessarily involves the division of the selec
F
on the modes of payment, on the type of contract tion on the part of the users. This has, as a direct
(buying, leasing, service),with aggregations of consequence, the standardization of the products
O
both a national character and geographical area that, as stated, is a fundamental prerequisite of the
(northeast, northwest, centre, south and islands). constitution of the purchasing groups. The most
As stated, it can be gathered that the monitor significant value of the strategic aggregation of the
O
ing committee really has the task of surveying demand consists in the synthesis of the homoge
and elaborating data, carrying on a primarily in neous product needs, depersonalizing, even in the
R
formative function. In particular, its duty is not to valuation of the supply, the purchasing decisions.
establish the price of the supply nor which products
P
are preferred to others: instead, this decision is up 3. Electronic commerce for communal sub
to the healthcare authorities whose responsibilities threshold purchases.
L
also includeand so much more than the duties of
a monitoring committeethe effectiveness of the The subthreshold market in Healthcare has a
A
performances and the efficiency of the services. prospect of considerable dimensions in terms of
The monitoring committee therefore has decid business volume (about 2 million Euro in 2009).
B
edly informative functions. This nevertheless does Healthcare organisations can therefore make
not exclude the importance and the role that the purchases without calling tenders for amounts
information can furnish on the rationalization plan below the community threshold. Through private
O
of the purchasing procedures. mechanisms, the regulatory framework provides
L
the opportunity to purchase healthcare products
2. Purchasing Associations. thanks to the emanation of some regions (Liguria,
Piedmont, Tuscany, Valle d’Aosta, Sicily, Umbria,
G
Intercompany purchasing associations have Campania, Molise and Emilia Romagna) of ad
I
for some time been launched in the sector in order hoc regional disposition.
to allow for the strategic aggregation of the request. It is estimated that subthreshold amounts are
G
Along with the purchasing associations, con equal to about 20% of total purchases in Health
I
tract stipulation is maintained upon the single care. For the latter, the use of eprocurement infor
companies with the suppliers and it is not neces matics tools are also foreseen, on which emphasis
sary to attribute autonomous and third legal status was also placed in the National Health Plan.
to the companies involved. From this point of view, it is underlined that the
The necessary conditions for the activation of commerce procedures in the field of Healthcare
an association are a standard presale of the use are already active, in conjunction with a strong
and the involvement of professional structures of push towards the simplification of purchasing
the healthcare authorities in the typical activity of procedures and to a growing use of electronic
procurement: individualizing the needs, analysis commerce. On some websites dedicated to selling
of the reference market, product unification of health products one can, indeed, contact and carry
the request and arrangement of the contracts. out business transactions with the manufacturers
The involvement of professional figures involved of healthcare products.
221
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
The Existing Correlation to define criteria for the automatic attribution

between Expense Typology of points. The traditional procedures may be re
and Acquisition Instruments placed by a tender run partly online, shifting the
phases of advertising, tender, presentation of the
Healthcare facilities, unlike the majority of supply, intermediate and final communications
F
Public Administrations, are directed to produce onto the web (with obvious benefits in terms of
specialized and critical services. More than in reduced times and administrative costs), while
O
other sectors, it is fundamental to maintain a high the evaluation phase will be kept offline. Even
standard of quality for many goods and services in this case, einvoice and epayment may further
purchased (because of their impact on the quality increase efficiency.
O
of the final services), along with the economics To properly manage the specific healthcare
and promptness of supplies, the transparency spending, a broader approach than eprocurement
R
of the activities and the respect of principles of must be used; focusing on finding the lowest
competition between suppliers. purchase price may even be counterproductive
P
The main difference between the three catego (Borgonovi 2004), from the moment goods and
ries of expenditure listed above and the availability services are very specific and high quality sup
L
of various electronic devices requires careful plies are demanded. Benefits can be obtained
reflection on the solution which is best suited for through the rethinking of internal processes and
A
which type of goods/service within the integrated the adoption of more methods and tools throughout
vision of eprocurement. the entire procurement supply cycle ehealth
B
Goods and services with a communal costs can logistics, tendering online, advanced forms of
be standardized for all of the Public Administra marketplaces, einvoice and epayment and
tion large use, wide supply, repeat purchases and the supply of appropriate ICT facilities for each
O
they are perfectly compatible with the instruments healthcare center cost (eg.: hospital ward).
L
of erequisitioning, such as marketplaces and e
catalogues, based on “conventions” negotiated
by a single entity (at national, regional or local THE MODALITY OF OPERATION
G
level) that aggregates fractions of public demand, OF THE MODEL OF
I
stipulates ample standard supply contracts, and PURCHASING MANAGEMENT
manages unified tendering procedures in favour
G
of a large number of “client” entities (CONSIP The extension of the new model of purchasing
I
2003). The best opportunity for a local author management on segments of highly specific
ity in terms of reduction of purchase prices, expenses requires the adaptation of the existing
administrative costs and availability times is model in order to allow the application relative to
therefore to lean towards one of these instruments. the products that, from the point of view of supply,
The adoption alongside these, of elogistics, e face mainly local markets of medium and high
invoice and epayment tools may improve the dispersion and from the point of view of demand,
management of supplying and further reduce its interest subjects with institutional characteristics
administrative costs. of a higher autonomous management (ASL and
The communal differentiated expense con hospitals). The strategy of rationalizing purchases
sists of supplies which must ensure the satisfaction in the healthcare sector is based mainly on the
of the special needs of the healthcare purchaser, and support to the introduction and the full use of
the submission and evaluation of often complex the instruments of eprocurement, and on the ag
projects are requested, for which it is difficult gregation of the demand on a national or regional
222
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
level. Particularly, the hypothesis of intervention lated adding the demand of more ASLs/
in the division foresees, firstly, the enhancement AOs at a regional level;
of the use of the national contractual agreement P+ Purchases through the electronic market
stipulated by the procurement Entity (Consip), sec -$)+ <="#*&#+ 5"/815#/)"+ "E="%<"<B+ 4*15+ 15"+
ondly, the realization of regional purchasing boards creation of a marketplace committed to
F
and the promotion of the use of eprocurement Healthcare, and consisting of the current
instruments. This has lead the identification of suppliers of the ASL/AO.
O
three different directions of intervention for the
procurement of goods and services: A specific operating model for the initiative of
expenses in the Healthcare sector was therefore
O
P+ The compliance to the Consip conven elaborated on, coherent with the institutional roles
tion and utilization of a national electronic of the parties involved. The operating model is
R
catalogues for goods and services that are based on purchase structures on a regional level,
easily standardized and with national sup integrated with the central purchasing structure of
P
ply markets. This initiative concerns all the Consip and foresees a strong use of eprocurement
#$..(%/8B+/%;+=/)1+$-+15"+<="#*&#B+5"/815 instruments (Figure 3).
L
care expenses; As a matter of fact, the project foresees, on a
P+ The development of regional conventions regional level, the institution of a competent
A
-$)+ <="#*&#+ #$..(%/8+ "E="%<"<+ /%;+ <=" structure to manage regional purchases, coordinat
#*&#+5"/815#/)"+"E="%<"<+%$1+<1/%;/);*C";+ ing the agreement of the regional conventions and
B
on a national scale, with local supply mar monitoring the expenses. Such a structure repli
kets. Such conventions foreseen are stipu cates, on a local level, the usual activity done on
a national level by the Consip.
LO
Figure 3. The central purchasing structure of Consip on a regional level (Source: personal processing)
I G
I G
223
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
The regional centre, in fact, has the task of P+ To promote the implementation of regional
intervening on the purchases of goods and ser initiatives, through the transfer of procure
vices for the healthcare authorities by facilitating ment responsibilities, ebusiness and pro
the access to national Consip conventions, and gram management;
developing regional conventions for the specific P+ To ensure the coordination of various ini
F
component of the expenses. In particular, a struc tiatives at a national level, ensuring coher
ture that operates on a local level would allow the ence and functional integration.
O
problems connected to the strong dispersion of the
supply of healthcare products to be overcome, and For the management of experimental projects,
would facilitate the aggregation of individualized a protocol of agreement is signed by the Ministry
O
requests from healthcare authorities and the stan of Economics and Finance, Consip and the dif
dardization of the same. The task of the structure ferent regions. Their objective is to start work
R
is to support and promote the ASL and the hospital groups with organizational, product, informative
authorities in the selection and management of and legal competences for the development of the
P
the logistic operator and to develop solutions projects themselves.
for eprocurement. Such competences are to be For the implementation, as foreseen in the
L
subordinate to the gathering operation and the protocol of agreement, an organizational structure
evaluation of needs of the ASL/AO and the rela that includes a Guiding Committee and a joint
A
tive level of satisfaction during the procurement project team Consip Region shall from time to
process. In this framework, Consip ensures and time be developed.
B
makes the tools for eprocurement available and
supports the launch for regional structures, while
the regions promote new buying technologies on CONCLUSION
O
local markets and towards health services. The
L
modalities of the regional structure are therefore From the abovementioned, it is evident that the
similar to the national Consip; what changes is only reform of the procurement of Public Administra
the field of action: the regional Consip manages tion presents some distinct key elements:
G
and promotes the agreement drafts at a regional
I
level by intervening during the bargaining between 1. Choice of an outsourcing model with a
the supplier and the ASL. The structure would delegated procurement agency (Consip
G
intervene, then, during the bargaining phase, while JSC), a centralized level, the stipulation of
I
the relationship between the supplier and ASL/ agreements (on prices and conditions), with
AO would remain in the supply phase. The central suppliers of goods and services, valid for the
structure maintains the task of both coordination entire public administration;
and monitoring for service standards. 2. Adaptation and voluntary compliance of the
The organizational structure of the Healthcare central Public Administration (tying) and
Project foresees the involvement of the Regions, decentralized (untying) conventions;
the ASL/AO, the Ministry of Health, Ministry 3. Specifying representatives for the promotion
of Economics and Finance, and Consip. More of the use of innovation in the process;
specifically, the role of the Ministry of Economy 4. Stimulate the formation of aggregations of
and Finance, and Consip will be: institutions and companies;
5. Promote the standardization of the
P+ To render the national conventions and in application;
struments of eprocurement available;
224
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
6. Promote the use of computer systems, e acquisitions cannot limit itself to a real interven
commerce and web connection; tion on supply prices, but must pay attention to
7. Greater interrelation between the the value that the goods or service acquired has as
Government, Public administration and the goals and objectives of the healthcare author
decentralized entities, and between the pro ity. To this is added that the main problem in the
F
tagonists of the model; healthcare sector is the control of the quantity of
8. Promotion of transparency in terms of con the services supplied and the suitability of these to
O
ventions and of the streamlining/speed of the real needs of the users. For this reason, a real
the adjudging processes and supply through intervention on the price of acquisition could not
the Internet. quantitatively and qualitatively weigh upon the
O
expense aggregated by the division. This problem
The unification of the purchases allows for, can in part be resolved by the estimate and correct
R
at the level of the entire Public Administration, definition of the needs and the typologies of the
the achievement of a “unique approach to the product to acquire, whose competence remains
P
market” and responds to the need to overcome upon the single healthcare authorities.
the problems connected to the pulverization of The use of a system of conventions and the
L
centres responsible for the management of pub standardization of the demand can furthermore
lic resources and to the consequent inefficiency contribute to the dilution of the elevated disper
A
derived from it. A fundamental role for reaching sion of prices for a similar product and to contain
and monitoring the objectives of balance, for both the wide differentiation of the products acquired
B
the containment and the control of the expense, internally in groups that are functionally similar.
as well as for the streamlining of the purchasing The role of the price monitors would continue
procedures is attributed to the system of conven to be significant for a consistent databank defini
O
tions, stipulated with competitive procedures. tion of the products caused by their continuous
L
The operating model, thanks to IT instruments, restyling and variation of the lists of suppliers.
assures the obtainment of benefits connected to The regional healthcare structure would guar
the coordination of expenses, the rapidity of ac antee, furthermore, a homogenous and integrated
G
tion and the autonomy of the Administration (to management and communication system.
I
which the responsibility of the definition of its The choice for a regional structure respon
own needs, and therefore of the purchase order, sible for the procurement of health seems to be
G
is clearly permitted. This foresees the consent, preferable to a single national center. Firstly,
I
as already noted, of the achievement of longer such a single structure could contribute to irre
entreaties to the efficiency and effectiveness of sponsibility of agencies and a nonenhancement
the procurement and not of simple expense cuts. of professionalism within it, facilitating the
The savings obtained will become therefore more evaluation of nonstrategic aspects in addition to
consistent and permanent with the consolidation a diversion of resources. Further, the creation of
of the administrative structures of the procedures a national purchasing centre, if required, would
introduced. appear inconsistent with the current process of
The extension of the model to Healthcare ren regionalization and privatization of state owned
ders the reflection on the evolution of the systems agencies that started in the 90s.
adopted for the central Public Administration for
the management of segments of expenses with
characteristics of a higher specificity and pecu
liarity necessary. Firstly, a correct policy of the
225
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
REFERENCES Federici, T., Bianchini, A., & Morano, T. (2004).

Le specificità dell’eprocurement in sanità: Le es
Anton, J., & Yao, D. (1989). Split awards, pro perienze dell’ASL di Viterbo. Mecosan, 51, 41–57.
curement and innovation. The Rand Journal of
Economics, 30. Gatti, M. (2002). Eprocurement. Il D.P.R.
F
101/2002 e gli acquisti in rete della p.a. Milano,
Barbiero, A., Osimo, D., & Spagnolo, L. (2001). Italy: Simone.
L’eprocurement nella pubblica amministrazione.
O
Guida pratica all’acquisto on line di beni e servizi. Grossman, S., & Hart, O. (1986). The costs
Rimini, Italy: Maggioli. and benefits of ownership. A theory of vertical
and lateral integration. The Journal of Political
O
Borgonovi, E. (2002). Quando razionalizzazione, Economy, 94.
privatizzazione, aziendalizzazione fanno rima con
R
confusione. Mecosan, 42, 2–6. Hardy, C., & Williams, S. P. (2005). Public e
procurement in action. Policies, practice and
P
Borgonovi, E. (2004). Eprocurement in sanità: technologies. Paper presented at TCGOV E
dalla logica di modello alla logica di processo. Government: Towards Electronic Democracy,
Mecosan, 41, 2–5. Bolzano.
L
Cicchetti, A. (2004). La progettazione organiz Hart, O. (1989). An economist’s perspective on
A
zativa. Milano, Italy: F. Angeli. the theory of the firm. Columbia Law Review, 89.
Comite, U. (2006). Aspetti tecnologici ed efficacia Kim, J., & Shunk, D. L. (2004). Matching in
B
gestionale dell’eprocurement in sanità. Il caso direct procurement process with different B2B
Azienda Ospedaliera San Paolo di Milano. Trento, eprocurement system. Computers in Industry,
O
Italy: UNIService. 53, 153–164. doi:10.1016/j.compind.2003.07.002
L
CONSIP. (2003). Il Programma di razionalizzazi Klemperer, P. (1999). Auction theory: A guide to
one della spesa per beni e servizi della Pubblica the literature. London, UK: Centre for Economics
Amministrazione. Rome, Italy: CONSIP Annual
G
Policy Research.
Report.
MacManus, S. A. (2002). Understanding the
I
Cooter, R., Mattei, U., Monasteri, P., Pardolesi, incremental nature of eprocurement. Implementa
R., & Ulen, U. (1999). Il mercato delle regole: tion at the state and local levels. Journal Public
G
Analisi economica del diritto civile. Bologna, Procurement, 2, 5–28.
I
Italy: Il Mulino.
Marrelli, M. (1997). Acquisto di beni e servizi nella
Devadoss, P. R., Pan, S. L., & Huang, J. C. pubblica amministrazione: Esperienze straniere e
(2003). Structurational analysis of egovernment proposte per l’Italia. Rome, Italy: Commissione
initiatives: A case study of SCO. Decision Sup tecnica per la spesa pubblica. Ricerca n. 9, Min
port Systems, 34, 253–269. doi:10.1016/S0167 istero dell’Economia e delle Finanze.
9236(02)001203
Mechling, J. (2000). Ecommerce: Egovernment
Federici, T. (2005). An integrated approach in and procurement reform. In Atti del seminario E
heathcare eprocurement: The case – study of government ad innovazione dei servizi della pub
the ASL of Viterbo. Paper presented at TCGOV blica amministrazione. Rome, Italy: Ministero del
EGovernment: Towards Electronic Democracy, Tesoro, Bilancio e Programmazione economica.
Bolzano.
226
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
Panayoutou, N. A., Gayalis, S. P., & Tatsiopoulos, ADDITIONAL READING

I. P. (2004). An eprocurement system for gov
ernmental purchasing. International Journal of Arduini, R. (2010). Economia e gestione delle
Production Economics, 90, 79–102. doi:10.1016/ aziende sanitarie. Milano, Italy: F. Angeli.
S09255273(03)001038 Barretta, A. (2005). Valutazione preventiva delle
F
Petretto, A. (1992). Contratti di fornitura pubblica iniziative di project financing in sanità e salva
e concorrenza: Una sintesi della letteratura teorica. guardia degli interessi collettivi. Mecosan, 56,
O
Economia Pubblica, 3. 125–139.
Rossignoli, C. (2004). Nuove forme organizza Bergamaschi, D. (2000). L’organizzazione nelle
O
tive e il ruolo delle tecnologie di coordinamento aziende sanitarie. Milano, Italy: McGrawHill.
a livello intraorganizzativo e interorganizzativo
R
Comite, U. (2000). Il cambiamento dell’assetto
. In D’Atri, A. (Ed.), Innovazione organizzativa e organizzativo nelle Aziende Sanitarie in Italia.
tecnologie innovative. Milano, Italy: Etas.
P
Cosenza, Italy: Memoria Editoriale Bios s.a.s.
Shapiro, C., & Willig, R. (1990). Economic ratio Comite, U. (2000). Il controllo della qualità e
nales for the scope of privatisation . In Suleiman,
L
la gestione del reclamo nelle Aziende Sanitarie
E., & Waterbury, J. (Eds.), The political economy Aspetti generali. Centro Editoriale e Librario
of public sector reform and privatisation. Boulder,
A
Università della Calabria, Rende (Cs)
CO: Westview Press.
Comite, U. (2001). La qualità del Servizio Sani
B
Somasundaram, R. (2004). Diffusion of eprocure tario Nazionale Commento all’art. 10 del Dlgs
ment in the public sector: Revisiting centralization 229/99, Leader for Chemist n°5/2001. Milano,
versus decentralization debates as a twist in the
O
Italy: Cesil.
tale. Paper presented at European Conference on
L
Information System, Turku. Comite, U. (2001). Principi e natura dell’Atto
Aziendale di diritto privato nelle aziende sani
Somasundaram, R., & Damsgaard, J. (2005). tarie. Leadership medica n°12/2001. Milano,
G
Policy recommendations for electronic public Italy: Cesil.
procurement. The Electronic . Journal of E
I
Government, 3, 147–156. Comite, U. (2002). Il sistema informativo nelle
aziende sanitarie: Punti di forza ed aspetti critici.
G
Tirole, J. (1994). The internal organization of Leadership Medica n°578/2002. Milano, Italy:
I
government. Oxford Economic Papers, 46. Cesil.
Turchetti, G. (2005). La politica degli acquisti di Comite, U. (2002). L’analisi del sistema di re
beni e servizi in ambito pubblico: le tendenze in porting in sanità: Alcune linee guida. Leadership
atto nel settore sanitario. Milano, Italy: F. Angeli. Medica n°10/2002. Milano, Italy: Cesil.
Witting, W. (1999). A strategy for improving public Comite, U. (2002). Gli standard di qualità e
procurement. Paper presented at IACC 9th Inter l’accreditamento nelle Aziende Sanitarie: Una
national Anti Corruption Conference, Durban. introduzione. Centro editoriale e Librario Uni
Zulfiqar, K. A., Pan, S. L., Lee, J., & Huang, J. versità della Calabria Rende (Cs)
C. (2001). Egovernment: An exploratory study Comite, U. (2003). L’applicazione della realtà
of online electronic procurement systems. Paper virtuale in medicina: La Telemedicina. Leadership
presented at 9th European Conference on Informa Medica n°34/2003. Milano, Italy: Cesil.
tion Systems, Bled.
227
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
Comite, U. (2004). Efficacia, efficienza ed eco Kainich, F., Saita, M., & Saracino, P. (2010). La
nomicità: la governance nella pubblica amminis pianificazione strategica e il controllo di gestione
trazione. In F. Luciani & R. Rolli (Eds.), Azione in sanità. Il Sole 24 Ore. Milano, Italy: Pirola.
amministrativa e disciplina di diritto pubblico.
Macinati, M. S. (2007). Le aziende sanitarie pub
Napoli, Italy: ESI.
F
bliche. La ricerca dell’economicità tra vincoli e
Comite, U. (2004). La comunicazione sanitaria: margini di azione. Milano, Italy: F. Angeli.
i rapporti tra personale, paziente e struttura
O
Pintus, E. (2003). Il project management per le
organizzativa. Working paper n°1/Febbraio, Di
aziende sanitarie. Scelte, strumenti, fattibilità per
partimento di Organizzazione Aziendale e Am
il governo dei sistemi complessi. Milano, Italy:
O
ministrazione Pubblica Università della Calabria,
McGrawHill.
Rende (Cs)
R
Rapporto, O. A. S. I. (2010). L’aziendalizzazione
Comite, U. (2004). Innovazione organizzativa
della sanità in Italia. Milano, Italy: Egea.
e Information Tecnology nella Pubblica Am
P
ministrazione: Il Progetto Cat@hospital. Centro Shaoul, J., Edwards, P., & Stapleton, P. (2008).
editoriale e Librario Università della Calabria, The cost of using private finance to build, finance
L
Rende (Cs) and operate hospitals. London, UK: Public Money
and Management.
Comite, U. (2007). Le nuove frontiere dell’ehealth
A
management nel campo della realtà virtuale: la Shaoul. J., Edwards. P., Stafford. A., (2004).
telemedicina. Working paper presented in the Evaluating the operation of PFI in roads and
B
Community OCCAM of Economic and Social hospital, ACCA
Council 2007, United Nations Office (Geneve
Spagnolo, A. G., Sacchini, D., Pessina, A., &
O
27 luglio 2007) Leadership Medica n°259/2007,
Lenoci, M. (2004). Etica e giustizia in sanità.
Milano: Cesil.
L
Questioni generali, aspetti metodologici e orga
Comite, U. (2008). Nuovi strumenti informativi nizzativi. Milano, Italy: McGrawHill.
G
sulla spesa nella Pubblica Amministrazione. Il
Tarricone, R. (2004). Valutazioni economiche e
sistema informativo delle operazioni degli enti
management in sanità. Applicazioni ai programmi
I
pubblici. Milano, Italy: F. Angeli.
e tecnologie sanitarie. Milano, Italy: McGraw
Cuccurullo, C. (2003). Il management strategico Hill.
G
nelle aziende sanitarie pubbliche. Milano, Italy:
I
Vendramini, E. (2004). Il sistema di budget per
McGrawHill.
le aziende sanitarie pubbliche. Milano, Italy:
De Vincenti, C., Finocchi Gheri, R., & Tardiola, McGrawHill.
A. (2011). La sanità in Italia. Organizzazione,
Wright, J., & Hill, P. (2005). La governance cli
governo, regolazione, mercato. Bologna, Italy:
nica. Milano, Italy: McGrawHill.
Il Mulino.
Giarelli, G., & Venneri, E. (2009). Sociologia
della salute e della medicina. Manuale per le
professioni mediche, sanitarie e sociali. Milano,
Italy: F. Angeli.
Client: The person who responded to an action
of mailing proving to have intention or an interest
in buying a good or a service.
228
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
Company: In business administration, it is person or entity carries out activities to care for
an organization of people and means aimed at their private interests or those of local community.
satisfying human needs though the production, Technical Efficiency: Measure how factors
the distribution or the use of economic goods. are used in the production process. Indicates the
Economy: The ability of a company to maxi ability of the enterprise (internal efficiency) to
F
mize the usefulness of the resources used. The produce more physical units of output given a
rule of economy can be defined as the criterion certain amount of input and a certain technology
O
of cost recovery. The companies derive revenues or vice versa.
from the sale of products and services to cover
the costs of purchasing costs of inputs and make
O
a business profit. ENDNOTES
Healthcare Authority: Economic context of
R
an institution in which the resources are combined
1
The economic literature on procurement uses
according to work behaviour, achieving the pro mainly the categories of the microeconomics
P
duction of goods or services for the satisfaction analysis. This refers to the assessment of
of health needs. transaction costs resulting from externali
L
Innovation: The introduction of a product, ties in general, by information asymmetries
process, service or solution that is new or signifi and monopoly conditions associated with a
A
cantly improved compared to the current features contract procurement (Cooter, R., Mattei, U.,
or use by the company, including significant Monasteries, P. Pardolesi, R. and Ulen, U.,
B
improvements in the technical features, in the 1999). For purchases of goods and services
components and materials (including software), it is considered that the information asym
in the convenience for the user or other func metries (Petretto, A., 1992), may constitute a
O
tional characteristics. This innovation can use new significant burden for the single cost center
L
knowledge or technologies or may be based on of the public administration, especially as
new uses or combinations of existing knowledge regards to the content of specific property or
and technology. behaviour of the suppliers. Such asymmetric
G
Management Effectiveness: Measures the information, relating to both price and quality
I
ability to combine input and output at the lowest variables, can be addressed through monitor
cost of market prices. Indicates the ability of the ing activity and preliminary investigations
(screening).
G
enterprise (external efficiency) to get more units
I
of output as the savings obtained on the market The problems associated with asymmetric
(both in the purchasing input and output sales) have information, both the form of adverse selec
yielded the same resources as monetary resources. tion and moral hazard, are necessary forms of
Public Administration: In the objective sense incentives that can be implemented through
it is a public function (administrative functions), organizational structures and contract types.
consisting in the activities done in order to look The organization structure of the procure
after the interests of the community (public inter ment, considering the presence of incomplete
est), within a predetermined political direction; contracts, can be traced to two main models
in the subjective sense it is all persons exercis (Hart, O., 1989, Tirole, J., 1996): “models of
ing this function. The adjective “public,” which inhouse purchasing units,” based on internal
qualifies the term administration suggests that management of the purchases or directly
this in itself has a broader meaning: indeed, any carried out by individual cost centers or by
a central office director; and outsourcing
229
0%%$=/1*="+,)$#"@@"@+/%>+E/%/'")*/8+:--"#1*="%"@@+$-+";,)$#()"."%1+*%+U"/815#/)"
models. These models differ essentially for client” could be obliged for the procurement
three elements of a formal legal feature:a) of its needs to the Authority (scheme known
the ownership system of the purchasers, b) as tying in English literature), or be free to
the type of contractual relationship between approach the market (untying). In this regard,
these entities and the public administration an interesting contribution to the ratio of
F
to procure c) the type of bond (financial and the two types of contract is provided by the
otherwise) required to cater to those of PA wellknown model by Anton and Yao (1989).
O
(Marrelli, M., 1997). Regarding the benefits The analysis of incentives and penalties in
and costs of the ownership system, refer to contracts between “Public Administration
the study of Grossman and Hart (1986) and client” and procurement company to reduce
O
the theorem on the “neutrality of institu cost structure and organization are discussed
tional form” of Shapiro and Willig (1990). among all by Laffont, J. and Tirole, J. (1993).
R
Regarding the type of contract that ties the With regard to the constraints imposed on
agencies and procurement cost centers of socalled “Public Administration client” the
P
the Public Administration, an obligation or effectiveness of regulation in the presence
not to make purchases through the authority of a soft budget constraint is also addressed
L
is considered. The “Public Administration by Tirole (1994).
B A
LO
I G
I G
230
231
Chapter 12
European Public E-Procurement:
The Italian Experience
O F
Pietro Previtali
University of Pavia, Italy
R O
ABSTRACT
L P
The public procurement of goods and services is a strategic activity for governments for at least three
A
reasons: a) it has a relevant economic impact (15–20% of the GDP of European countries); b) it is
B
relevant for potential improvements in governments’ public services; and c) it affects both the competi
tiveness of nations and the welfare of citizens. After a description of the European central procurement
=&)27,'5&*'3<2'$#67.G',2G3&*,/'3<.,'G<8$32*'.)213.C2,'3<2',$2G.CG.3.2,'&5'3<2'N387.81',.3#83.&1/').,G#,,.1B'
O
the role of eprocurement platforms across the whole system from an organisational and an economic
L
point of view. Focusing on the Italian Central Procurement Department, the authors conducted a sur
vey on etransactions over the past four years. The results show the kinds of goods and services that
are more compliant with the use of eprocurement tools, trends in transaction volumes and economic
G
amounts and the relevance of different geographical areas and different public organisation typologies.
I
A major change in eprocurement transactions has occurred because of the compulsoriness enforced
by legislative framework.
I G
INTRODUCTION AND BRIEF
LITERATURE REVIEW
Procurement is now seen not only as a strategic

player in the value chain, but also as a major
connected with ICT implementation (Aberdeen
Group, 2005; Heywood, Barton and Heywood,
2001; Schoenherr and Tummala, 2007; Tanner et
al., 2007). These benefits include the acceleration
of the execution times of procedures and reduc
driver in the extended supply chain (Kalakota tion in announcement expenses, simplification of
and Robinson, 2001; Pearcy et al., 2008). Some processes and the direct and constant monitoring
literature espouses the benefits of innovative of public spending; the opportunity to spend time
solutions through procurement systems, mostly out of routine administrative tasks (automated by
new tools) through activities with higher added
value in terms of functionspecific purchases
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch012
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
(e.g. marketing intelligence); the improvement evolved in the past 10 years, d) there exist dif
in transparency because of the uniformity of ferent institutional and management models and
access to information without discrimination e) it affects both the competitiveness of nations
because the tender documents are online; and the and the welfare of citizens.
standardisation of procedures, which ensures that Following new rules and orientations of the
F
the timing and quality of processes can be more EU and Member States, new ICT tools have been
easily controlled by external actors (e.g. informa introduced to facilitate the match between demand
O
tion asymmetries). and offer (e.g. Simap website, electronic tendering,
However, some studies (Andersen, 2004; directives to stimulate the use of ICT, etc.). The
Henriksen, Mahnke and Hansen, 2004; Vaidya, more the public service impacts on individuals and
O
Sajeev and Callender, 2006) reveal that these communities (for example, health care services,
benefits tend to decrease in the public sector, environmental issues, creation of job opportuni
R
mainly because of the impact of different eco ties), the more public procurement rules and ICT
nomic, institutional and social factors (Calista tools should be effectively managed. Moreover,
P
and Melitski, 2007; Gichoya, 2005; Heeks, 2008; the EU harmonisation process can face difficulties
Mahadeo, 2009; Maniatopoulos, 2004; Tonkin, depending on the different national contexts and
L
2003). These differences have resulted in a number the political, juridical, cultural and institutional
of specific regulations and standards that have profiles of each country (UNDESA, 2008). The
A
been developed for public (e)procurement that public procurement models of EU countries can
require bureaucratic procedures. This bureaucracy, be identified by their grades of centralisation/
B
which is also related to the nature of the institu decentralisation and by the extensions of their
tions involved (Castelnovo and Simonetta, 2007; public mandates (i.e. their scopes and whether
Kanishka and Hepu, 2010; Somasundaram and they are mandatory or not), as well as on the dif
O
Damsgaard, 2005), covers audit, accountability ferent typologies of goods/services.
L
and compliance standards with national and in
ternational rules to ensure supply competition
and transparency in the awarding of contracts. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
G
In particular, certain problems remain crucial,
I
such as inadequate Internet coverage and the To understand how the role of central public e
digital divide and the inertia of users in change procurement should be developed from its current
G
management from an organisational and cultural standpoint, we analysed different situations in
I
point of view. Moreover, resistance at the local old European countries. In these countries, we
level in wanting to play and compete within a observed the presence and relevance of public
system tends to increase by bringing into question eprocurement projects either at a regional level
its own consolidated market components (Liu, or at a national level in order to centralise the
Derzsi, Raus and Kipp, 2008; Schwester, 2009; purchasing of products or services with all the
Shackleton and Dawson, 2007; Thomson, 2009). relative advantages. To study the use of public e
Despite these weaknesses, the public procure procurement in the EU, various approaches were
ment of goods and services in the European context adopted. Data were collected using a content study
is a strategic activity for European governments. of major central and local government websites in
Thus, it is worth studying this topic for at least the most developed European countries.
five reasons: a) it is economically relevant, b) it To understand the Italian experience, we
has a substantial impact on governments’ public conducted a survey on the Italian Public Admin
activities, c) the juridical panorama has strongly istration eMarketplace over the past four years
232
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
through the elaboration of transactional data. A EPROCUREMENT: A

case study approach was used. A research case EUROPEAN OUTLOOK
study has been defined as a method for learning
the “right” questions to ask. That is, the purpose of The 2004 European Directive regarding public
case studies is to generate hypotheses rather than calls for tender was only acknowledged in 2006
F
to test or confirm them. The present methodology in many European countries (only Denmark in
involves an indepth, longitudinal examination of corporated European Directives previously – in
O
a single instance. In this study, we used a research 2004). However, many countries are considerably
case study as a method for learning about a com active and interested in the subject, and these
plex instance (public eprocurement) based on a countries have been investing resources in the
O
comprehensive understanding of that instance adoption of eprocurement databases/platforms
obtained by extensive description and analysis. for public administration purposes.
R
We adopted an illustrative approach, which The Member States of the EU need organisa
primarily describes what is happening and why, tional structures to carry out public procurement
P
in order to show what a situation is like. This can functions. These tasks range from the drafting of
help in the interpretation of public eprocurement, relevant legislation and the development of public
L
particularly because we believe most practitioners procurement policies to the training of procure
and academics know too little about the Italian ment officers and publication of contract notices.
A
experience. The data compiled relate to the fol Even though the majority of EU Member States
lowing dimensions: have central public procurement bodies within
B
their governmental structures, not all European
1. Value and number of transactions by six governments satisfy their needs through a central
monthly intervals and by geographic area; procurement agency. In fact, a survey conducted
O
2. Value and number of transactions divided by in 2004 revealed that just 10 institutions out of 19
L
modes of acquisition, specifically between were considered central purchasing bodies (Piga
request for quotation transactions (RFQ) and and Zanza, 2004). Although differing in terms of
direct transactions (DT) or direct order of responsibilities, functions and tasks, these bodies
G
acquisition (RFO) by sixmonthly intervals have several features in common. However, the
I
and by geographic area; evolution of the various public eprocurement
3. Average value of RFQ and RFO as well as projects in Europe is interesting and diversified.
G
the flow over sixmonthly intervals; European countries tend to choose external
I
4. Number of active suppliers by geographic technologies for the creation of an eprocurement
area and the flow over sixmonthly intervals; platform. For instance, the platform for a large
5. Number of active suppliers by catalogue number of projects is supplied by a provider that
type (ICT, office, services, health materi supplies the necessary technology, whereas the
als, others) and the flow over sixmonthly purchase of a license is less frequent. Only in rare
intervals; and cases do European countries choose to produce the
6. Number of active suppliers by type of platform using their own resources. The platform
catalogue. organisation is usually managed by agencies ap
pointed by central entities: such agencies manage
the relationships with public entities and promote
the use of the platform. Thus, the technological
evolution of standard procedures for public pro
curement tenders can be arranged in five levels:
233
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
1. Stage 0: the service provider or administrator However, in Europe there are a large number
does not have a publicly accessible website of public platforms that allow online negotiations
or its publicly accessible website does not and that are starting to show more interest for calls
qualify for stages 1 to 4. managed by an open procedure. Electronics cata
2. Stage 1 (under 20% of online public services logues are becoming more and more widespread,
F
implemented): the information about the although not as much as calls and auctions. These
tender is available on a publicly accessible catalogues allow public entities to purchase di
O
website managed by the service provider or rectly from suppliers that publish their proposals
administrator. online following an authorisation by the catalogue
3. Stage 2 (from 20% to 50% of online public manager. Electronics markets are less relevant and
O
services implemented): the publicly ac enable public entities to ask suppliers for direct
cessible website managed by the service orders or quotations. Procurement functionalities
R
provider or administrator offers tender in can be grouped into three different categories:
paper form.
P
4. Stage 3 (from 50% to 70% of online public P+ Individual contract systems: covering the
services implemented): the publicly ac procurement of oneoff contracts to open,
L
cessible website managed by the service restricted or negotiated procedures;
provider or administrator offers electronic P+ Repetitive purchasing systems: covering
A
tenders. systems employing electronic catalogues,
5. Stage 4 (more than 70% of online public ser through framework agreements; and
B
vices implemented): the publicly accessible P+ Eauction systems.
website managed by the service provider or
administrator offers online tender applica According to the European Commission’s
O
tions including case handling and delivery. report “Eprocurement functionalities, State of
L
the art report, volume I”, the state of the art
As shown in “The User Challenge Bench of procurement procedures in some European
marking The Supply Of Online Public Services” countries is a heterogeneous starting point in the
G
(European Commission, 2007), most European aim towards a fully standardised eprocurement
I
countries show a good level of evolution, in environment (European Commission, 2004b).
particular ‘old European’ countries, which have Even if all existing eprocurement systems in
G
achieved an average overall sophistication matu the reviewed countries have been conceived,
I
rity level that is between stages 3 and 4. designed and implemented prior to the adoption
The analysis of the various instruments avail of the new public procurement directives, they
able on the public eprocurement portals reveals are based on existing national legislative frame
a strong preference for auctions and calls for works. As a result, owing to the varying public
tender to catalogues and electronics markets. In procurement needs and national laws, priorities
all assessed countries, there is a project for the and practices followed in the different countries,
realisation of an esourcing platform, although various eprocurement procedures have developed
such projects are at different stages. Although the throughout the EU. Some Member States, such as
initial phases of the process are all covered in most Denmark, France, Italy, Norway and the UK, have
cases (especially the phase of the call for tender developed eauctions, while others, such as Spain,
publication), the number of operating projects Scotland and Belgium, have launched their own
decreases as further phases of the purchasing eprocurement projects from individual contracts.
process are approached (e.g. in Finland, Greece, It is also interesting to assess how different
Sweden and Ireland). European portals offer their services to users.
234
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
In some cases, such as in Italy, the use of the process, namely enotification, etendering and
national eprocurement system is free for both ecatalogue. The benefits of the system mainly
entities and suppliers. In other cases in Europe, focus on administrative simplification and faster
however, there are several examples of platforms and more transparent ordering processes.
that charge users and suppliers for their services. Denmark’s Public Procurement Portal (DOIP)
F
There are also different revenue policies within is an electronic marketplace to which both private
each country, where different payment methods and public purchasers and their suppliers have ac
O
are applied to different eprocurement instruments cess and whose functionality, interface, security
(in some cases, suppliers pay for a catalogue and transaction costs are regulated by the public
update, whereas in others entities pay a flat fee sector. Launched in 2002, it was among the first
O
for use or a percentage fee based on the goods public procurement portals in Europe. The DOIP,
sold). The functionalities supplied by procure which resulted from a close collaboration between
R
ment platforms also differ: the most widespread the public and private sectors, is a webbased
is enotification, followed by etendering, while system based on Oracle exchange software. The
P
eawarding, eordering and einvoicing need a current version supports eauctions, ecatalogues
greater implementation effort. and integration with backoffice systems. The
L
Enotification and etendering are more de portal is operated by “gatetrade.net”, which is
veloped in Belgium, France, Italy, Norway, Spain established and owned by Maersk Data, Danske
A
and the UK; eawarding and eordering are more Bank, Post Denmark and telecoms company TDC.
developed in Denmark, France, Italy, Norway The Agency for Governmental Management co
B
and Scotland; while einvoicing and payment ordinates state interests in the portal. The use of
is developed in Denmark, Norway and the UK. the DOIP is recommended for all public bodies,
but it is not mandatory. Some regional and local
O
authorities make use of private marketplaces, and
L
EUROPEAN CENTRAL the stateowned company National Procurement
PURCHASING BODIES has also set up simpler etendering solutions sys
tems (NetIndkøb and Netkatalog). UBL has been
G
The body responsible for the development of e compulsory for sending invoices to the public
I
procurement in Austria is the Bundesbeschaffung administration since January 2004.
(Austrian Federal Procurement Company), which Hansel is the Finnish government’s central
G
is wholly a part of the federal Ministry of Finance. procurement unit. It is a stateowned company
I
Most contracts are framework agreements, and that functions under the Ministry of Finance and
the shop contains more than 300,000 items from consists of over 50 experts within different sectors.
about 200 suppliers in 30 product categories. The The company objective is to create savings for the
services are used by 10,000 users from 2,000 dif government by making the procurement processes
ferent purchasing departments all over Austria. In of the public administration more efficient. The
2006, the agency conducted about 330 contracts company also promotes the procurement of high
with a total purchasing volume of €720 million. quality products and the equal treatment of sup
About 20% of the volume was handled over the pliers when offering tenders. Hansel is responsible
eordering and ecatalogue system. for procurement decisions, contract administration
Launched at the beginning of 2008, the Bel and contract management. Approximately 5,000
gian public procurement portal provides links contracting authorities issue calls for tenders
to portals and platforms that currently cover through the eprocurement system, settling more
three of the various phases of the procurement
235
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
than 200 tenders per year and creating an annual portals exist instead, some of which concentrate on
total purchasing value of €168 million. public procurement (e.g. Opic and Allego). A pub
In France, all central government minis lic procurement information portal is maintained
tries – with the exception of the Ministry of by the Swedish National Financial Management
Defence, which has its own platform – can meet Authority, which serves as an information database
F
the requirement by using the governmentwide for the different framework agreements procured
eprocurement platform. This platform allows centrally by Verva (the Swedish Administrative
O
public sector bodies to publish calls for tenders Development Agency) and is available to national
online and receive electronic bids. It is managed authorities, government agencies, regions and
by UGAP, an interministerial service dedicated municipalities.
O
to enhancing the efficiency of public procurement. In the UK, the Office of Government Com
The webbased platform helps public entities ac merce operates Catalyst, a cataloguebased elec
R
cept bids submitted electronically for all contracts tronic procurement scheme. Catalyst provides
worth over €230,000. The use of the platform by public sector organisations with a simplified means
P
local authorities is optional, as they are free to of procuring and contracting for a wide range
develop their own eprocurement solutions or to of products and services (IT, telecoms services,
L
adopt commercial solutions. At a regional and lo professional services, facilities support), based on
cal level, several eprocurement platforms already a series of framework agreements with suppliers.
A
exist and others are being developed.
The German federal eprocurement platform
B
is called EVergabe. The Federal Procurement THE ITALIAN EXPERIENCE
Agency, based in Bonn, manages purchasing for
26 different federal authorities, foundations and In Italy, public institutions are experiencing a
O
research institutions that fall under the responsibil turbulent and rapidly evolving period in which
L
ity of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. the transformation of government management
In December 2001, the Irish public sector (and procurement) is passing through many
procurement portal ETenders was launched. political, institutional and regulatory changes
G
ETenders is the Irish central government’s pro that began in the early 1990s. In 2006, the new
I
curement portal. It provides information and tools legal setting concerning public procurement was
for electronic public procurement and advertises approved by the Italian parliament with the goal
G
notices for EU and subEU threshold contracts for to conform and align the national rules with the
I
the Irish public sector including central govern European ones. More generally, these public
ment, local authorities, health boards and hospitals, system changes led to a model in which a main
universities and schools. Information is updated central actor operates for all public entities across
on a daily basis and is provided free of charge the country (HCOs that operate specific business
to all registered users. There are two main target units, central governments, regions, provinces
groups, namely public sector purchasing officers and other local administrations) and regional
and their prospective suppliers. The ETenders entities that operate at just a local/regional level.
portal has 4,000 public purchasers and 40,000 They provide eprocurement solutions through
suppliers registered. electronic tools such as electronic catalogues, the
The Swedish government has not implemented electronic marketplace and online auctions.
a central electronic public procurement portal Since 2007, the use of the public administra
to deliberately leave the decision up to private tion eMarketplace has become mandatory for all
operators. Several privately owned and operated central public administrations for the purchase of
236
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
Figure 1. Number of the transactions by semester
O F
R O
goods and services valued below the EU thresh
old. Through this tool, public administrations
can make their purchases with a direct order or a
L P
This shows a gradual learning process on the
part of the supply and demand elements, leading
to a saturation of the market in late 2006. In De
A
RFQ to suppliers and compare the features of the cember 2006, Law No. 296 introduced compulsory
goods and services published in electronic cata membership to the system for public institutions
B
logues. The first illustration depicts the number and certain categories of private assets identified
of transactions (Figure 1) between January 2004 annually by the Ministry of Economy. Hence, the
O
and September 2008. large increase in transactions since the second half
From the first semester of 2004 to the second of 2007 was clear. Table 1 presents the amount
L
semester of 2005, the trend in the number of and number of transactions, divided into RFQ
transactions rose steadily, going from 381 to 5,854 and DT over time.
G
transactions. This steady growth had slightly Table 1 demonstrates that public institutions
decreased by the first semester of 2006, but in have since 2004 mostly used the DT tool but that
I
creased again during the second semester of the the total amount of transactions through RFQ is
same year and carried on until June 2008. How decidedly greater than through DT (although in
G
ever, taking into consideration that the time scope 2004 it was only slightly higher). DT allows
I
runs from the second semester of 2005 to June public institutions to purchase directly from the
2008, two different situations emerge. Until June eCatalogue at preset prices. There is also the
2007, this growth in the number of transactions possibility to choose a product from this catalogue
was slightly closer to a situation of stability, while by investigating the general conditions of the
in the second semester of 2007 a clear acceleration contract, filling out the order form (number, place
tripled the number of transactions. The first half of delivery) and signing the form with a digital
of 2008 marked another increase in the number signature. The contract is then automatically and
of transactions, but it seems that there was a immediately a binding agreement between the
movement towards a situation close to stability parties in question.
as in 2006, but at a higher level; in fact, in 2006 The RFQ is a competitive selection process
there were around 6,000 transactions, while in through which public authorities request supply by
2008 there were around 23,000 transactions. certain groups of qualified suppliers. The suppliers
237
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
Table 1. Amount and number of transactions for DT and RFQ
Year Number Amount (€)

DT RFQ DT RFQ
2004 2,520 426 4,391,716,361 4,947,443,360
F
2005 7,721 1,253 12,699,547,334 17,144,210,030
2006 9,862 1,597 12,920,627,682 24,971,498,833
2007 23,393 4,760 30,593,134,495 53,021,577,794
O
2008 19,199 4,507 20,861,319,495 42,528,345,454
(1st semester)
O
Total 62,695 12,543 81,466,345,368 142,613,075,471
R
in question should satisfy the money criterion and which affects the element of immediacy. Public
P
provide technical details related to the supply. The bodies seek to obtain from suppliers offers tailored
contract is awarded to those who fulfil the price/ to their needs and, therefore, they are willing to
quality combination. The assignment of RFQ is spend more money. RFQ transactions are of higher
L
carried out at the discretion of public authorities. value than their DT counterparts. The greater
They can, for example, pick suppliers that charge focus is on the purchasing process and spending
A
the lowest prices and promptly deliver on post more money.
sale services. RFQ is, therefore, a more complex Figure 2 describes the evolution of the average
B
purchasing procedure than is DT. values of RFQ and DT over yearly intervals. The
According to the characteristics of the two average value of transactions made through DT
O
types of eprocurement, DT is more prompt and is much lower compared with RFQ but the total
straightforward than is RFQ, which explains why amount of transactions through RFQ is greater.
L
the number of transactions through DT is higher. Figure 3 refers to the number of suppliers in
Even if RFQ allows the making of requests to each geographic area from January 2004 to June
G
suppliers, it will require a greater commitment 2008. Data were grouped by five geographic areas:
from both the requesting and the supplying party, central, islands, northeast, northwest and south.
G I
Figure 2. Average values of RFQ and DT
238
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
Figure 3. Number of suppliers by geographical area
O F
R O
P
The number of providers increased in every geo in the central and southern areas. The growth in
graphic area over time. Considering the entire the central area was linked to the compulsoriness
L
time horizon, the area with the largest number of of the public contracts below the EU threshold
providers was central with a share of 37%, fol for central governments. The growth in other
A
lowed by northwest (24%), south and northeast areas, however, developed at a rate substantially
(both 15%) and islands (9%). From the second lower. Northwest kept pace with central until
B
half of 2007, there was a proliferation of suppli 2005.
ers because of transactions occurring within that Figure 4 shows the number of active suppli
O
period due to regulatory requirements. ers for each category. Every catalogue is defined
The number of active suppliers grew slowly according to the product it refers to. The product
L
until 2007 in all areas, with central and northwest areas covered include ICT, services, health, office
higher because of the quick “sprint” in 2005. supplies and others. The total number of suppliers
G
During 2007, there was a crucial period showing from January 2004 to June 2008 was 6,248.
strong growth in the number of suppliers for each Figure 4 shows that the number of active sup
I
active area. The most significant growth occurred pliers increased over time for each catalogue apart
G
Figure 4. Number of active suppliers by category
239
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
Figure 5. Evolution in the number of suppliers
O F
R O
P
from health. Health and ICT grew at the slowest 2. Bicatalogue: suppliers that cover two areas
rates (see also Figure 5). By contrast, office sup are identified by number 2; and
L
plies was marked by the highest rate of growth. 3. Multicatalogue: suppliers that cover three or
Once again, the highest growth rate was in 2007 four areas are identified by numbers 3 and
A
(see also Figure 5). Altogether, 83% of the active 4.
suppliers fell into the categories of office supplies
B
and ICT (45% and 38% respectively), with the The graph shows that of the 1,519 considered
remaining 17% divided among others (8%), ser suppliers, the majority (1,187) operated in a
vices (7%) and health (2%). Finally, it should be single product area and thereby provided a single
O
added that the services were considered from 2005 catalogue. A total of 78% of the these suppliers
L
onwards, as there were no previous data available focused on office, ICT and services. Bicatalogue
(for the same reason health is considered from suppliers (19%) had 288 suppliers of which 227
the second half of 2004 onwards). In Figure 5, were involved in ICT and office products. Only
G
the catalogues have been separated to highlight 3% were multicatalogue suppliers (44 suppliers),
I
the flow in the number of suppliers. and these were mainly engaged in ICT, office
The national public bodies can be divided into and others.
central governments, 20 regions, 109 provinces,
G
Figure 7 shows suppliers divided by geo
I
8,100 cities, almost 276 health care organisations graphical area and size, according to the number
and more than 50 universities and public agencies. of employees as defined below:
In particular, the minimal numbers and amounts
of etransactions in the health area (and the re P+ Micro: fewer than seven employees;
lated market number of suppliers) show that the P+ Small: from seven to 13 employees;
public health sector and its health care organisa P+ Medium: from 14 to 62 employees; and
tions are resistant to using electronic catalogues. P+ Large: greater than 62 employees.
Figure 6 shows the number of active suppliers by
catalogue type as defined below: The number of suppliers on a national scale is
small (7%) compared with those that operate at
1. Monocatalogue: suppliers that cover a single a regional (28%) or crossregional (xx%) scale.
product area are identified by number 1; Providers operating at a national level represent
7% of the sample. Altogether, 65% of the providers
240
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
Figure 6. Number of active suppliers by catalogue type
O F
R O
L P
B A
O
Figure 7. Number of suppliers by size and geographical area
G L
G I
I
embraced at least two regions. These providers accounted for 60% of the supplying companies,
especially micro and small firms are sufficiently small businesses 28%, mediumsized 8% and
large to supply public entities located in at least large companies 4%.
two regions, usually neighbouring, but not large
enough to cover the whole country. Micro suppliers
241
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
ANALYSIS AND REFLECTION avoiding barriers to and the distortion of

competition.
The European Community is based on the four P+ AG<.2+2' B*2832*' 25CG.21G4' .1' $*&G#*2=213'
freedoms of the Single Market: the free move and improve governance. Accelerating
ment of goods, services, capital and persons; in digitisation through national plans for e
F
line with this idea are the principles of transpar procurement and developing interoperable
ency, competition and the prohibition of national tools for etransactions.
O
discrimination. Two new directives came into P+ Work towards an international framework
force in 2006 to provide a uniform legislative for electronic public procurement. The
framework across Europe and ensure that these coordination of international and intra
O
principles apply to electronic public procurement. European public procurement activities is
Modernising and opening up procurement an important function of a Member State to
R
markets across borders is crucial for Europe’s reach an international framework for elec
competitiveness and for creating new opportuni tronic public procurement. Every country
P
ties for businesses. IT can contribute to reduce can contribute to international regulatory
costs, improve efficiency and remove trade activities or can participate, either as a
L
barriers. If online procurement is generalised, it representative of an institution or as an in
could save governments up to 5% on expenditure dividual expert, in international networks,
A
and up to 50–80% on transaction costs for both such as the European Public Procurement
buyers and suppliers. However, the inappropriate Network. We have also noted cooperation
B
introduction of eprocurement carries high risks with corresponding institutions in other
of market fragmentation. The legal, technical and countries such as the Northern European
organisational barriers that may result from pro Subset, an initiative between Denmark,
O
curement online are one of the greatest challenges Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Finland,
L
for policymakers. In the long run, computerising with collaboration from the UK whose aim
public procurement practices impact how national is to facilitate the interoperability and es
public purchasing practices are organised. The tablishment of a common platform for e
G
successful implementation of eprocurement procurement among its members.
I
may require changing administrative practices,
not only those directly linked to the procurement By analysing the different situations in old
G
process, but also those indirectly involved, such European countries, we can assert that public
I
as budgetary reviews. The sooner such reforms procurement is moving towards a centralisation
are implemented, the better for European citizens rather than a decentralisation. In every country,
and businesses. we observed a public eprocurement project ei
To modernise European public procurement ther at a regional level or at a national level that
markets and to make these more open and com aimed to centralise the purchasing of products and
petitive, Member States are following an action services. All EU Member States have organised
plan proposed by the European Commission along core functions in a centralised manner, while
three axes: supplementary functions may be carried out by
a broad spectrum of bodies, including the private
P+ Ensure a well functioning internal market sector, at both central and decentralised levels of
where public procurement is conducted the public administration.
electronically. Implementing the legal Public purchasing bodies can have a centralised
framework correctly and on time and or semicentralised procurement structure, with
242
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
a high concentration of procurement functions departments within ministerial structures. Some

allocated to a few central institutions or a decen functions of an operational nature are carried out
tralised procurement structure with a dispersed by public firms. Moreover, observing the common
concentration of procurement functions allocated practice, the administrative capacity is not only
to a range of bodies within the public adminis linked to the amount of staff and financial resources
F
tration. In federal Member States (Austria and available within central procurement institutions,
Germany) and in Member States with devolved but also needs to be more broadly defined. The
O
governments, such as the UK, with the Scottish total accumulated capacity of Member States to
Parliament and the Assemblies in Wales and North support public procurement operations may be
ern Ireland, states or units often have procurement strong if all actors in the society are included, such
O
institutions that carry out limited, or even quite as associations of local and regional authorities,
extensive, procurement functions. Moreover, in large contracting entities and utilities, training
R
many Member States regions, provinces, districts institutions and law firms, and it is thus not limited
and municipalities may have similar bodies, which to the capacity of central institutions.
P
are either centralised or decentralised. Public procurement in most Member States
In Italy, all regions, provinces and municipali seems to be financed from the general governmen
L
ties have procurement units that carry out relevant tal or ministerial budgets, and in all Member States
functions. Similarly, the devolved parts of the UK the greater part of procurement costs is covered
A
have their own public procurement institutions. as such. The Italian experience is one of the most
The functions of dependent branch offices are, active and representative. In Italy, MEPA was
B
therefore, rather limited. By contrast, the procure launched in 2003 and it has eCatalogues with over
ment institutions of states, regions or munici 250,000 products. Additionally, the system also
palities may carry out a wider range of activities, enables the management and archiving of digital
O
including the development of local procurement streams (the contracts and bid requests that occur
L
policy, administration and monitoring functions, between P.A. and suppliers), no prenegotiated bids
publication and information functions, advisory and allows local small and mediumsized enter
functions and training and research functions. In prises to qualify and get in touch with customers.
G
Member States with decentralised procurement These customers maintain complete autonomy to
I
structures that are characterised by a dispersed choose among different suppliers and products
concentration of procurement functions, the rel because the same product can be sold by several
G
evant tasks are divided between many different vendors, as in any traditional market.
I
institutions. However, in the near future, Finland Based on our analysis period, the marketplace is
might remain the only country with such an or growing (381 transactions in the first half of 2004
ganisation, since all the other countries observed to 23,616 transactions in the first half of 2008). A
have already moved towards a stronger centralisa major impetus to this substantial growth was the
tion of functions and a limited number of players. Finance Act 2007, which forces the mandatory
Whatever organisational model is chosen, use of the public emarket for purchases below
it seems that public procurement is usually the the threshold of central institutions. In addition,
responsibility of the Ministry of Finance, the the number of active suppliers by geographic area
Ministry of Economy or the Ministry of Works. and by type of catalogue (excluding health) has
Some Member States have established public steadily increased with a decisive leap forward
procurement offices or agencies, which are given during the second semester of 2007. The most
a more independent status under parliament or used catalogues are ICT and office supplies.
directly under the government, while others act as
243
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
This strong leap in the number of transactions and mediumsized enterprises, outlines a situation
following the 2007 Finance Act reinforces the where the public electronic market has not yet
need to make it compulsory for public entities to taken advantage of the full potential of the public
develop eprocurement in public bodies. This lack emarketplace. This points out the necessity for the
of cultural and managerial attitudes is also testi government and other responsible bodies to reflect
F
fied by the analysis of direct orders of purchase on the factors that influence system acceptance
versus requests for tender. It is noteworthy that the in order to provide a better and more effective
O
eMarketplace offers member administrations the adoption of electronic government information
possibility of concluding contracts through two systems, in light of several potentially important
different procedures for the purchase, namely DT implications. One unexplored issue thus far relates
O
and RFQ. The data analysis shows that the total to organisational learning in the context of public
amount of purchases through RFQ was 1.75 times eprocurement. This is because of the interplay
R
greater than the value of purchases through DT. between various factors underlying the organisa
This is also confirmed by the fact that the average tion and environment, procurement processes and
P
value of transactions through RFQ is significantly practices and systems and technology.
higher than those through DT are.
L
The larger use of DT can be read as a shortcut
in using etools: when efficiency is the major is CONCLUSION
A
sue, DT and eprocurement become competitive,
whereas when efficacy is predominant and the Despite differences between Member States, the
B
bidding process is more complicated, traditional wider use of electronic methods in the various
offline tenders and buying procedures are preferred stages of the public procurement process has
to RFQ and electronic markets. It should be noted gradually been introduced. The benefits of this
O
that 78% of the considered suppliers were single development will include the following:
L
catalogue suppliers and focused on office, IT and
services. Bicatalogue suppliers comprised 19%, P+ Accelerating the execution times of
and only 3% of suppliers (were multicatalogue procedures;
G
suppliers (mainly engaged in ICT, office and P+ Reducing the time involved in the purchas
I
others). Hence, the most served catalogues are ing process;
those relating to office supplies and ICT, leading P+ Reducing the expenses in terms of an
G
to limited competition among suppliers in more nouncement management
I
than one catalogue offering. Finally, the research P+ Reengineering and simplifying processes;
outlines a strong resistance to use of electronic P+ Directly and constantly monitoring pub
catalogues in the public health sector. This might lic spending by conducting comparative
be because of the high relevance of quality factors analysis between the purchasing of similar
for health products and the consequent reduction products in different administrations;
in price (and administrative costs); by contrast, P+ Professional growth of employees;
public health purchasers consider eprocurement P+ The opportunity to spend time out of rou
solutions inadequate for selecting quality. How tine administrative tasks;
ever, more investigation in this area is necessary P+ Improved transparency through better ac
to make further generalizations. cess to information online; and
In our opinion, this sole interest in mono P+ Standardised procedures.
catalogue suppliers, strongly focused on generic
goods such as ICT and office provided by small
244
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
There are also several challenges related to REFERENCES

the rapid development of the IT sector, which is
generating a need for all Member States to care Aberdeen Group. (2005). Best practices in e
fully consider what kinds of preparations should procurement: Reducing costs and increasing value
be made to most effectively adapt procurement through online buying. Boston.
F
systems to these new market conditions. Andersen, K. V. (2004). Egovernment and public
Technological developments produce a funda sector process rebuilding (PPR): Dilettantes,
O
mental shift in how public procurement practices wheelbarrows, and diamonds. Boston, MA:
are executed. There is a need to develop central Kluwer Academic Publishers.
support functions with Internetbased guidance
O
systems, create standardised systems for tender Calista, D., & Melitski, J. (2007). Egovernment
and contract documentation, design improved and egovernance: Converging constructs of public
R
and easily accessible Internetbased publication sector information and communications technolo
and information systems and develop systems for gies. Public Administration Quarterly, 31(1).
P
coordination and cooperation between contracting
Castelnovo, W., & Simonetta, M. (2007). The
entities. Public eprocurement implies opportuni
public value evaluation of egovernment policies.
L
ties and challenges for European administrations.
The Electronic Journal of Information System
To support this legal framework guidelines
Evaluation, 11(2), 61–72.
A
(most represented by the Community Action
Plan), tools and services will help administrators, European Commission. (2004a). European Par
B
businesses and consultants develop compliant liament Directive 2004/18/EC and 2004/17/EC.
systems. However, there is a need to reduce public
European Commission. (2004b). Eprocurement
expenditure, administrative costs and timing and to
O
functionalities: State of the art report, volume I,
increase transparency in order to form new public
case studies on European electronic public pro
L
procurement institutional models; together with
curement projects.
the ICT evolution, a relevant institutional change
may be connected to eprocurement solutions and European Commission. (2007). The user challenge
G
the realisation of ICT platforms. benchmarking the supply of online public services.
I
The Italian situation demonstrates the high
Gichoya, D. (2005). Factors affecting the success
growth potential connected to these models and
ful implementation of ICT projects in government.
G
solutions, even if it is strictly related to juridical
The Electronic . Journal of EGovernment, 3(4),
I
changes (e.g. the compulsoriness of public con
175–184.
tracts). Further useful research would be a com
parative study of EU countries that have achieved Heeks, R. (2008). Benchmarking egovernment:
the best targets in public eprocurement to identify Improving the national and international measure
which factors are associated with progress. The ment evaluation and comparison of eGovernment
findings of such research could enable the most . In Irani, Z., & Love, P. (Eds.), Evaluation of
effective targeting of resources in less developed information systems. ButterworthHeinemann.
countries. doi:10.1016/B9780750685870.500172
245
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
Henriksen, H. Z., Mahnke, V., & Hansen, J. M. Schoenherr, T., & Tummala, V. (2007). Electronic
(2004). Public eProcurement adoption: Economic procurement: A structured literature review and
and political rationality. Proceedings of the 37th directions for future research. International
Hawaii International Conference on System Sci Journal of Procurement Management, 1(1/2).
ences (HICSS37), IEEE Computer Society. doi:10.1504/IJPM.2007.015353
F
Heywood, J. B., Barton, M., & Heywood, C. Schwester, R. W. (2009). Examining the barriers
(2001). Eprocurement: A guide to successful to egovernment adoption. Electronic . Journal
O
eprocurement implementation. Financial Times of EGovernment, 7(1), 113–122.
Prentice Hall.
Shackleton, P., & Dawson, L. (2007). Doing it
O
Hoaglin, D. (1982). Data for decisions: Informa tough: Factors impacting on local egovernment
tion strategies for policy makers. Cambridge, maturity. 20th Bled eConference, June 4–6, Bled,
R
MA: Abt Books. Slovenia.
P
Kalakota, R., & Robinson, M. (2001). Ebusiness Somasundaram, R., & Damsgaard, J. (2005).
2.0: Roadmap for success. Boston, MA: Addison Policy recommendations for electronic public
Wesley. procurement. The Electronic . Journal of E
L
Government, 3(3), 147–156.
Kanishka, K., & Hepu, D. (2010). Exploring the
A
public value of egovernment. 23rd Bled eConfer Tanner, C., et al. (2007). Current trends and chal
ence, June 20–23, 2010, Bled, Slovenia. lenges in electronic procurement: An empirical
B
study. 20th Bled eConference, June 4–6, Bled,
Liu, J., Derzsi, Z., Raus, M., & Kipp, A. (2008).
Slovenia.
eGovernment project evaluation: An integrated
O
framework. In M. A. Wimmer, H. J. Scholl, & Thomson, J. T. (2009). Remodelled and restyled
E. Ferro (Eds.), Electronic government (vol. eprocurement – New power relationships down
L
5184/2008, pp. 85–97). Berlin, Germany: under. Electronic . Journal of EGovernment,
SpringerVerlag. 7(2), 183–194.
G
Mahadeo, J. D. (2009). Towards an understand Tonkin, C. (2003). Eprocurement in the public
I
ing of the factors influencing the acceptance and sector: Story, myth and legend. Dublin, Ireland:
diffusion of egovernment services. Electronic . The Policy Institute, Trinity College.
G
Journal of EGovernment, 7(4), 391–402.
UNDESA. (2008). UN egovernment survey 2008:
I
Maniatopoulos, G. (2004). Enacting eprocure From egovernment to connected governance.
ment technologies within UK local authorities. New York, NY: Department of Economic and
Proceedings of the IADIS International Confer Social Affairs, United Nations.
ence eSociety, (vol. 2, pp. 850–854).
Vaidya, K., Sajeev, A. S. M., & Callender, G.
Pearcy, D. (2008). Using electronic pro (2006). Critical factors that influence eprocure
curement to facilitate supply chain integra ment implementation success in the public sector.
tion. American Journal of Business, 23(1). Journal of Public Procurement, 6(2), 70–99.
doi:10.1108/19355181200800002
Piga, G., & Zanza, M. (2004). An exploratory
analysis of public procurement practices in Europe.
Quaderni Consip, 1.
246
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
ADDITIONAL READING Croom, S., & Johnston, R. (2003). Eservice:

enhancing internal customer service through
Arbin, K. (2003). Eprocurement maturity in indus eprocurement. International Journal of Ser
try. International Journal of Electronic Business, vice Industry Management, 14(5), 539–555.
1(4), 396–407. doi:10.1504/IJEB.2003.004112 doi:10.1108/09564230310500219
F
Bendoly, E., & Schoenherr, T. (2005). ERP system Croom, S. R., & BrandonJones, A. (2005). Key
and implementation benefits: Implications for B2B issues in eprocurement: Procurement implemen
O
eprocurement. International Journal of Opera tation and operation in the public sector. Journal
tions & Production Management, 25(4), 304–319. of Public Procurement, 5(3), 367–387.
O
doi:10.1108/01443570510585516
Davila, A., Gupta, M., & Palmer, R. (2003).
Benslimane, Y., Plaisent, M., & Bernard, P. (2005). Moving procurement systems to the Internet: The
R
Investigating search costs and coordination costs in adoption and use of eprocurement technology
electronic markets: A transaction costs economics models. European Management Journal, 21(1),
P
perspective. Electronic Markets, 15(3), 213–224. 11–23. doi:10.1016/S02632373(02)00155X
doi:10.1080/10196780500208756
De Boer, L., Harink, J., & Heijboer, G. (2002).
L
BeynonDavies, P., et al. (2007). Preparing A conceptual model for assessing the impact of
SME suppliers for sustainable local authority e electronic procurement. European Journal of
A
procurement. 20th Bled eConference, June 4–6; Purchasing and Supply Management, 8(1), 25–33.
Bled, Slovenia. doi:10.1016/S09697012(01)000156
B
Bonina, C. M., & Cordella, A. (2008). The new Deutscher, T. H., & Gruber, D. (2002). Global
public management, egovernment and the notion healthcare exchange Canada: Trade exchange
O
of public value: Lessons from Mexico. Proceed adoption. Richard Ivey School of Business Case
L
ings of SIG GlobDev’s First Annual Workshop, Collection.
Paris, France, December 13 2008.
Devadoss, P. R., Pan, S. L., & Huang, J. C.
G
Bruno, G., Esposito, E., Mastroianni, M., & Vellu (2003). Structural analysis of egovernment ini
tino, D. (2005). Analysis of public eprocurement tiatives: A case study of SCO. Decision Support
I
web site accessibility. Journal of Public Procure Systems, 34(3), 253–269. doi:10.1016/S0167
ment, 5(3), 344–366. 9236(02)001203
I G
Calista, D., & Melitski, J. (2007). Egovernment Dooley, K., & Purchase, S. (2006). Factors influ
and egovernance: Converging constructs of public encing eprocurement usage. Journal of Public
sector information and communications technolo Procurement, 6(1–2), 28–45.
gies. Public Administration Quarterly, 31(1).
EngelbrechtWiggans, R., & Katok, E. (2006).
Carrizales, T. (2008). Critical factors in electronic Esourcing in procurement: Theory and behavior
democracy: A study of municipal managers. Elec in reverse auctions with noncompetitive con
tronic . Journal of EGovernment, 6(1), 2–30. tracts. Management Science, 52(4), 581–596.
Cater, N. (2001). Eprocurement in the aid busi doi:10.1287/mnsc.1050.0474
ness. International Trade Forum, 4, 27–28.
247
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
Enyon, R., & Dutton, W. H. (2007). Bar Oliveira, L. M. S., & Amorim, P. P. (2001). Pub
riers to networked governments: Evidence lic eprocurement. International Financial Law
from Europe. Prometheus, 25(3), 225–242. Review, 20(3), 43–47.
doi:10.1080/08109020701531361
Orr, N. (2000). COINS – eGovernment becomes
F
Essig, M., & Arnold, U. (2001). Electronic pro reality. BT Technology Journal, 18(2), 100–106.
curement in supply chain management: An infor doi:10.1023/A:1026701123127
mation economicsbased analysis of electronic
O
Panayiotou, N. A., Gayialis, S. P., & Tatsiopoulos,
markets. Journal of Supply Chain Management,
I. P. (2004). An eprocurement system for govern
37(4), 43–49. doi:10.1111/j.1745493X.2001.
mental purchasing. International Journal of Pro
O
tb00112.x
duction Economics, 90(1), 79–102. doi:10.1016/
Hartley, J. L., Lane, M. D., & Duplaga, E. D. S09255273(03)001038
R
(2006). Exploring the barriers to the adoption of
Previtali, P., & Bof, F. (2007). Is egovernment
eauctions for sourcing. International Journal of
P
on the agenda of small municipalities? Empirical
Operations & Production Management, 26(1–2),
evidence from an Italian case study. Proceedings of
202–221. doi:10.1108/01443570610641675
the 3rd International Conference on eGovernment
L
Kumar, N., & Peng, Q. (2006). Strategic alliances – ICEG, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada
in egovernment procurement. International Jour 27–28 September.
A
nal of Electronic Business, 4(2), 136–145.
Previtali, P., & Bof, F. (2007). Organisational
B
Leipold, K., Klemow, J., Holloway, F., & Vaidya, preconditions for eprocurement in governments:
K. (2004). The World Bank eprocurement for the The Italian experience in the public health care
selection of consultants: Challenges and lessons sector. The Electronic . Journal of EGovernment,
O
learned. Journal of Public Procurement, 4(3), 5(1), 1–10.
L
319–339.
Previtali, P., & Bof, F. (2009). Egovernment adop
MacManus, S. A. (2002). Understanding the incre tion in small Italian municipalities. International
G
mental nature of eprocurement implementation Journal of Public Sector Management, 22(4).
at the state and local levels. Journal of Public doi:10.1108/09513550910961619
I
Procurement, 2(1), 5–28.
Puschmann, T., & Alt, R. (2005). Success
G
Massa, S., & Testa, S. (2007). ICTs adoption ful use of eprocurement in supply chains.
I
and knowledge management: The case of an Supply Chain Management, 10(2), 122–133.
eprocurement system. Knowledge and Process doi:10.1108/13598540510589197
Management, 14(1), 26–36. doi:10.1002/kpm.267
Raffa, L., & Esposito, G. (2006). The imple
Moon, M. J. (2005). Eprocurement management mentation of an ereverse auction system in an
in state governments: Diffusion of eprocurement Italian health care organization. Journal of Public
practices and its determinants. Journal of Public Procurement, 6(1–2), 46–69.
Rai, A., Tang, X., Brown, P., & Keil, M. (2006).
Olig, E., & Spears, G. (2001). Benefits of internet Assimilation patterns in the use of electronic
enabled procurement. Hospital Materiel Manage procurement innovations: A cluster analysis.
ment Quarterly, 22(3), 42–46. Information & Management, 43(3), 336–349.
doi:10.1016/j.im.2005.08.005
248
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
Rajkumar, T. M. (2001). Eprocurement: Busi Talluri, S., Narasimhan, R., & Viswanathan, S.
ness and technical issues. Information Systems (2007). Information technologies for procurement
Management, 18(4), 52–61. doi:10.1201/1078/4 decisions: A decision support system for multi
3198.18.4.20010901/31465.6 attribute ereverse auctions. International Journal
of Production Research, 45(11), 2615–2628.
F
Reddick, C. G. (2004). The growth of eprocure
doi:10.1080/00207540601020585
ment in American state governments: A model and
empirical evidence. Journal of Public Procure Teich, J. E., Wallenius, H., Wallenius, J., & Zaitsev,
O
ment, 4(2), 151–176. A. (2006). A multiattribute eauction mechanism
for procurement: Theoretical foundations. Euro
Roche, J. (2001). Are you ready for eprocure
O
pean Journal of Operational Research, 175(1),
ment? Strategic Finance, 83(1), 56–59.
90–100. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2005.04.023
R
Salleh, N. A. M., Rohde, F., & Green, P. (2006).
Vaidya, K., et al. (2004). Implementing eprocure
The effect of enacted capabilities on adoption
ment initiatives: Impact of organisational learning
P
of a government electronic procurement system
across the public sector. Fifth international CINet
by Malaysian SMEs. Electronic Markets, 16(4),
Conference, Sydney, Australia, 22–25 Sept.
292–311. doi:10.1080/10196780600999676
L
Vaidya, K., Sajeev, A. S. M., & Callender, G.
Schmitt, J. M., & Beeres, M. (2000). Information
(2006). Critical factors that influence eprocure
A
and business on the Internet: An overview of the
ment implementation success in the public sector.
German healthcare sector. International Journal of
Journal of Public Procurement, 6(1–2), 70–99.
B
Medical Marketing, 1(2), 123–130. doi:10.1057/
palgrave.jmm.5040021 White, A., & Daniel, E. (2004). Electronic
marketplaces: An empirical study in the UK
O
Schoenherr, T., & Mabert, V. A. (2006). Bundling
healthcare sector. International Journal of Elec
for B2B procurement: Current state and best
L
tronic Business, 2(6), 603–624. doi:10.1504/
practices. International Journal of Integrated
IJEB.2004.006128
Supply Management, 2(3), 189–213. doi:10.1504/
G
IJISM.2006.008593 Yu, C. C. (2008). Building a value centric egov
ernment service framework based on a business
I
Settoon, R. P., & Wyld, D. C. (2003). The ski slope
model perspective. Lecture Notes in Computer
to prosperity: An analysis of the potential impact
Science, 5184, 160–171. doi:10.1007/9783540
G
of reverse auctions in government procurement
852049_14
I
in five Southeast Asian nations. Asia Pacific
Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 15(3), 3–19.
doi:10.1108/13555850310764971
Smith, A. D., & Correa, J. (2005). Value
added benefits of technology: Eprocurement Central Procurement Departments: It
and ecommerce related to the health care provides services for innovative, responsive and
industry. International Journal of Health accountable public procurement by working in
Care Quality Assurance, 18(6–7), 458–473. partnership with state agencies, local govern
doi:10.1108/09526860510619444 ments and suppliers to provide quality goods and
services.
EAuction: It is an interorganisational
information system with which participating
249
:()$A"/%+,(78*#+:;,)$#()"."%1
buyers and sellers utilise electronic markets for resembles private sector management in some
a dynamic pricemaking mechanism, as well as important ways.
for the exchange of information related to price, Public Procurement: It is the purchase of
product specification and the terms of the trade. goods, services and public works by governments
EGovernment: It is the use of technology to and public utilities.
F
enhance the access to and delivery of government Public–Private Relationship: It is funded
services to benefit citizens, business partners and and operated through a partnership of government
O
employees. and one or more private sector companies, that
EProcurement: It is the purchase and sale of involves a contract between a public sector author
supplies and services through the Internet as well ity and a private party, in which the private party
O
as other information and networking systems based provides a public service or project and assumes
on information and communication technologies. substantial financial, technical and operational
R
Public Management: It is a term that consid risk in the project.
ers that government and nonprofit administration
L P
B A
LO
I G
I G
250
251
Chapter 13
Civic Engagement and
E-Governance in Gauteng:
O F
O
Grounds for universal Household
Broadband Internet Service
Lucienne Abrahams
P
LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa R
L
Mark Burke
A
LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Lauri Elliott
B
Conceptualee, Inc., United States
O
Warren Hero
Gauteng Provincial Government, South Africa
ABSTRACT
G L
I
Gauteng, South Africa’s economic center, has a history of social exclusion by virtue of differentiated
G
access to employment, income, assets, and education. Levels of civic engagement prior to 1994 were
I
limited by the absence of universal political suffrage and a society in which the majority of the popula
tion was denied the right to participate in decisionmaking based on racial discrimination. The achieve
ment of universal suffrage in 1994 created the foundations for greater civic engagement. However, as
social interaction and societal governance becomes increasingly electronically mediated (through the
Internet, Web 2.0 technologies, and mobile content platforms), a large proportion of the population is
excluded from these new forms of onNet interaction. This chapter argues that policies that push uni
versal household broadband service can contribute to reducing social exclusion through creating the
foundation for households to operate as units of production and overcome economic deprivation, thus
laying a stronger basis for civic engagement.
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch013
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
INTRODUCTION of entry – information infrastructure and content

is available but small firms, households, and
One hundred and twenty years ago, Gauteng nongovernmental organizations are largely dis
province emerged as a mining economy located connected from the network. This suggests that
at the southernmost tip of the African continent. there is much to be done from the perspective
F
A century later, this subnational constellation of of public policy and development management.
highly urbanized centers has become a services Social exclusion has deep roots in the society
O
based economy, founded on information infra and its longterm effects are being further exac
structure and the utilization of new media. Banking erbated by the emergence of a global culture of
and financial, personal, and public services are using electronic media for communicating and
O
the leading components of this broad services transacting. The system of ‘apartheid’1 (1948 –
sector. According to a 2010 survey, services con 1990) formalized centuries of socioeconomic
R
tributed 70.5% to the gross geographic product exclusion on the grounds of race, relegating the
in 2008 (GPG, 2010). This aligns with the global majority black population to particular segments
P
phenomenon of the dominance of services in the of the national economy and geography. There was
second half of the 20th century (CuadradoRoura, effective exclusion from positions of economic and
L
RubalcabaBermejo & Bryson, 2002). political leadership, as well as from quality educa
The distinctive nature of Gauteng, in com tion. Public services were racially segregated and
A
parison to South Africa’s other eight provinces, is offered limited value to the majority of citizens.
that the services sector has developed on the back Political democracy was introduced in 1994
B
of strong mining, manufacturing, and construc through universal suffrage and public services
tion sectors, as well as on a small, but growing were desegregated in the ensuing period. How
knowledgeintensive sector. The knowledge ever, certain tropes of this entrenched system
O
intensive sector comprises innovation output from remained in institutions and society, because of
L
firms, researchbased universities, and scientific the particular forms of systematic and institution
agencies. This creates the foundation for a strong, alized exclusion. In particular, key development
diverse servicesbased economy. indicators show that household poverty (80% of
G
From an information society perspective, the population earns 30% of the total income and
I
Gauteng occupies a position defined by compara 49% of the population lives below the poverty line
tively high levels of fixed, mobile, and broadband of R524 per month2) and unemployment levels
G
infrastructure, as well as being the space where (32.5% of the economically active population)
I
a large proportion of online content producers – remain high (RSA, 2009, pp. 21, 23, 26) and
broadcasting, Internet, and mobile content – are these will be further negatively affected by the
located. However, there is only limited content current global recession, compounded by a slow
available related to civic responsibilities, such cycle of recovery.
as community leadership, human rights, trade In the past decade and a half (19952009),
union organization, egovernance, and cultural South Africa has been confronted with dual chal
expression. Observations suggest that blogging lenges – making the shift to democratic inclusion
and social networking are becoming popular and joining the global information society. Thus
in middle and highincome households. And, far, it has had relatively greater success with re
usergenerated content is increasing in volume spect to the former and more limited success with
as professionals and administrators gain access respect to the latter. South Africa has a system of
at the workplace. democracy at work, which includes the regular
On a theoretical curve for information society conduct of free and fair elections, varying degrees
development, Gauteng is positioned at the point of political participation and consultation, and
252
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
the removal of formal barriers to labor market The manifestation of this challenge is visible
participation and economic resources. There are in Gauteng at both the provincial and municipal
relatively high levels of mobile telephony access. government levels. Of the many possible platforms
However, Internet access is very low (Goldstuck, for civic engagement, egovernance has been a
2010) and is increasing at a very slow pace. marginally more active arena for development than
F
The extent to which social exclusion, combined many others. The City of Johannesburg adminis
with the low levels of access to and use of infor tration and the Gauteng Provincial Government
O
mation and communication technologies (ICTs), (GPG), in particular, have played an active role
inhibits electronically mediated civic engagement in shaping egovernance as an important element
is explored in this chapter. While it can be argued of information society development.
O
that reducing economic deprivation can increase This chapter presents insights into the state of
social inclusion and consequently enhance civic edevelopment in Gauteng, issues, and possible
R
engagement, in reality the connections between future directions based on the results of two studies
these elements of an upward development spiral conducted with respect to the Gauteng province –
P
are more complex. The chapter takes a view the telecommunications and ICT sector study for
of information society development, which ac the OECD territorial review conducted in 2010
L
knowledges both the evolutionary and disruptive and the monitoring and evaluation report for the
aspects of socioeconomic change. It presents this information society and egovernment conducted
A
view as the context for information society and between January 2009 and June 2010. The pre
egovernance emergence in Gauteng. sentation of data and analysis that follows, points
B
The agrarian and industrial revolutions each to several leverage points where digital inclusion
occurred over the course of at least two centuries. can be catalyzed and can generate increased elec
The information revolution will likely take at least tronically mediated civic engagement with a future
O
a century of societal and economic change in the focus to further economic inclusion in particular.
L
process of becoming embedded in society. It is
therefore useful to take a decadal view on change
in the 21st century. The revolutionary aspects of BACKGROUND
G
information society formation relate to the rup
I
ture with previous economic forms, rather than The information society is a complex aggregate
to the speed with which this is occurring. In that of many possible concepts tied together in many
G
sense, the revolution started in the 1960’s with the possible combinations. In this piece, civic en
I
arrival of the era of mass communication (Bell, gagement is considered to be a practice located
1973) and was given impetus by the technological in social inclusion, while its realization in the 21st
innovations of digitization, computing, mobile century is understood to include some form of
communications, and the Internet. electronic mediation. The level of digital inclusion
Despite its historical impediments, South of the population will influence participation in
Africa has joined suit in the global era of mass electronically mediated civic engagement, which
communication and digital information exchange. is a contributing element to edevelopment. These
However, the majority of households and small underlying concepts are discussed below to create
and medium enterprises (SMEs) are constrained the analytical lens for interpreting the data and
in their participation and thus unable to influence drawing conclusions.
the nature and direction of these developments Social exclusion is theorized as “a multidi
as citizens. mensional process of progressive social rupture,
detaching groups and individuals from social
253
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
relations and institutions and preventing them closely associated with the ability to access, as
from full participation in the normal, normatively well as the capability to use, ICT for exploiting
prescribed activities of the society in which they economic opportunities while deriving beneficial
live” (Silver, 2007, p. 15). The concept is distinct outcomes from social development processes and
from other concepts used to define contemporary engaging in politics.
F
social problems in three major ways. Enter the ‘digital divide.’ This term has cap
First, social exclusion is a multidimensional tured the imagination of policy makers, academ
O
concept of deprivation through which people are ics, development practitioners, and community
understood to be deprived of a range of social and activists the world over as the embodiment of
institutional interactions. Economic deprivation the risk of unequal development associated with
O
may include exclusion from earning a livelihood, the information society. Defined in various ways
securing permanent employment, and accessing and from different theoretical and conceptual
R
land, property, housing, or credit. And, social perspectives, it denotes the disparities between
deprivation may include exclusion from educa those who have access to and use the Internet for
P
tion, health care, or participation in the democratic economic gain and social benefit and those who
process (Silver, 1994). do not enjoy such access and use.
L
Second, it implies a focus on the relations and This dichotomy between those who are con
processes that cause and underlie deprivation (De nected and those who are not is determined by a
A
Haan, 2001). For instance, there are cases where range of factors, which include socioeconomic
a specific kind of deprivation in and of itself can status, income, gender, age, household composi
B
constitute exclusion, while in other instances tion (Selwyn, 2004), and geospatial location
deprivations do not constitute exclusion, but may (Crang, Crosbie & Graham, 2006). Citizens who
lead to social exclusion (Sen, 2000). do not enjoy access to the Internet and other ICTs
O
Third, social exclusion has a biographical are regarded as the digitally excluded, and research
L
meaning as it refers to the individual lived experi suggests that such exclusion is linked to material
ence of political, social, and economic isolation deprivation as “high levels of material depriva
(Beland, 2007). Assuming a broadly democratic tion are generally associated with low levels of
G
rather than authoritarian society, civic engagement engagement with ICTs and vice versa” (Longley
I
is a necessity for those communities that experi & Singleton, 2009, p. 1296).
ence economic or social deprivations, though in Yet, ICT usage holds the promise of greater
G
reality they may lack the power and channels to levels of social inclusion since “decentralized
I
be heard. individual action … carried out through radically
The diffusion and use of ICT in society and its distributed, nonmarket mechanisms” (Benkler,
increasing embeddedness in social and economic 2006, p.3) can link groups and individuals that
organizations is a key feature of the information have similar developmental and political objec
society. Castells (1999, p. 92) asserts that “Infor tives and make their voices heard in the places of
mation technology, and the ability to use it and decisionmaking. Cyberspace becomes a public
adapt it, is the critical factor in generating and space.
accessing wealth, power, and knowledge in our eGovernance can be described as electroni
time.” Those that do not have the technological cally mediated engagement between government
means to switch on to the networks of capital, labor, and citizens in pursuit of development and is seen
information and markets, face “social exclusion to include forms of civic engagement. In the 21st
and economic irrelevance” (Castells, 1999, p. 357). century, such electronic mediation requires high
Social exclusion in the information society is thus speed broadband infrastructure and services.
254
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
The frame for thinking about the informa sis, however, is on advanced ICT because it is
tion society, egovernance, and social inclusion, Internetbased applications, combined with access
therefore, is an edevelopment frame. The level to highspeed international and local bandwidth,
of edevelopment in a society can be conceived which are proving to be the most important tools
of as a function of the diffusion and sophistication and the greatest differentiators for socioeconomic
F
of ICT, viewed in conjunction with the value cre development (Qiang, Rossotto & Kimura, 2009).
ated by the application of ICT goods and services Bringing together the analysis of Silver, De
O
(Abrahams & Goldstuck, 2010), whether this be Haan, Sen, and Beland with respect to social
economic value or social value including civic exclusion, the theories of Castells and Benkler
action. with respect to the information society, and the
O
It is argued here that social inclusion and digital perspective of Abrahams and Goldstuck with
inclusion are interdependent, and that they, in turn, respect to edevelopment, this review suggests
R
are dependent on the state of edevelopment. The that a frame for thinking about social inclusion,
factors that inform the state of edevelopment achieved through a reduction in economic depriva
P
include availability of ICT infrastructure (net tion, in the next decades of the 21st century may
works), human resources, policy and regulatory reasonably be based in thinking about ICTenabled
L
capacity (capacities), and the particular forms of households as being the new modular production
value created through egovernment, ebusiness, units within which individuals are likely to oper
A
and esociety applications (production). Civic ate. The analysis of the data from the study on the
engagement is one such form of value and as Gauteng information society poses this as a real
B
sumes (a) that citizens will exercise power based prospect for South Africa.
on their social inclusiveness and (b) that relevant The agrarian age saw the household as the unit
processes are established for the exercise of that of economic production. Industrialization moved
O
power through, inter alia, egovernance. individuals out of the household into the mine
L
According to Benkler, the declining price of and factory (the firm) as the unit of economic
computation, communication, and storage have production. Late industrialization added services
“placed the material means of information and institutions as units of economic production –
G
cultural production in the hands of a significant private sector service industries, public service,
I
fraction of the world’s population.” Three factors academic institutions, and nongovernmental
facilitate increased potential for inclusion in the organizations. The tools and mechanisms for
G
network information economy: 1) the availability productive labor in the industrialized economy
I
of the physical machinery, such as electronic and required largescale capital investment and were
computing devices, 2) the accessibility of informa therefore to be found outside the household.
tion, knowledge, and culture as the primary raw The evolution of service industries in the 21st
materials for engagement, and 3) the modular century, a prelude to the Internet revolution, has
structure of production and exchange via the In created the foundation for households to again
ternet enables diversely motivated people to act become units of economic production, rather than
in concert to produce new outcomes (Benkler, merely units of consumption. This is because the
2006, pp.105106). But the application of Ben servicesbased nature of much production enables
kler’s theory in South Africa is dependent on the the relative ease of insertion in the economy and
country’s state of edevelopment. the capital and technology investments required
Advanced ICT offers one of several possible for such householdbased production are now
means for promoting greater inclusion in social, comparatively small.
economic, and political activity. The empha
255
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
In addition to traditional smallscale artisanal the regional economy and society was based on
services which have historically operated from drawing migrant workers from South and South
households (plumbers, electricians, caregivers) ern Africa to the mines and domestic labor. Its
over the past three decades, there has been a emerging role and economic interlinkages relate
slow but certain movement towards homebased to fostering the regional services economy and
F
production: teleworking to reduce the costs of attracting professionals into the services industry
doing business, small consulting services, women and knowledgeintensive sectors, such as research
O
working from home, small household enterprises and academia. Hence, Gauteng is considered a
operating tourism, and other ventures. In the good initial location to begin to understand South
servicesbased economy, the household can utilize and Southern Africa from the perspective of social
O
ICT to recreate itself as a site of production, utiliz exclusion in the information society.
ing access to the communications infrastructure Gauteng is a strong servicesbased economy
R
network as the means to insert itself into local and consisting of three of the country’s six metropolitan
global markets. The household can connect itself municipalities, each making a substantial contribu
P
to markets in order to source inputs, sell goods tion to GDP. Johannesburg, the first metropolitan
and services, and conduct banking and financial municipality in Gauteng, has a concentration
L
transactions (Felstead, Jewson, Phizacklea & of banking, financial, and corporate consulting
Waters, 2001; Malecki & Moriset, 2008;). houses; largescale commercial enterprises; the
A
The households in Gauteng can thus become head offices of multinational firms; mobile com
a node of economic activity. But do they? Do munications and Internet service providers; and
B
Gauteng households have the relevant network is the seat of provincial government. The second
access, knowledge, and capacities to engage in metropolitan municipality, Ekurhuleni, is the
the new modular form of value creation? How historical location of the manufacturing sector
O
does social inclusion correlate to economic now in decline.
L
participation, mobility, and civic engagement in And Tshwane, the third metropolitan mu
Gauteng’s context? nicipality, is the seat of national government and
therefore the home of consulates and embassies,
G
and the supporting services infrastructure. In ad
I
BOUNDED SYSTEM OF dition, Tshwane has a small manufacturing legacy,
GAUTENG STUDY including automotive and beverage manufactur
G
ing. It is estimated that approximately 48% of
I
Gauteng province has a population of 10.53 million Gauteng’s working population had an imputed
people, a schoolgoing population of 1.8 million average monthly income of R5471, approximately
learners, but relatively low levels of ICT literacy onethird of the population are unemployed and
and usage. Population statistics report there are about 6% of the population are living under the
39.1 million African, 4.4 million Coloured, 4.4 poverty line of R283 per month (RSA, 2009).
million White, and 2.2 million Indian people in Social exclusion in Gauteng affects the popula
the whole of South Africa (StatsSA, 2009, p. 9). tion with regard to unemployment, the relatively
In the last two decades (19902010), Gauteng low household income gained from work and
has taken on a particular character, that of being other economic opportunities, and the consequent
the services hub for the immediate cityregion limited capacity to invest in household assets. It
conurbation (GautengWitbankMiddelburgSe also affects the population along social factors,
cundaVereenigingRustenburg) and for Southern such as relatively poor quality of secondary edu
Africa. Gauteng’s 20th century role in shaping cation for a large proportion of the schoolgoing
256
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
population and high levels of HIV/AIDS and study for the OECD territorial review conducted
tuberculosis, which reduce capacities for work in 2010 and the monitoring and evaluation report
and selfemployment. for the information society and egovernment
South Africa’s government has implemented conducted between January 2009 and June 2010.
social grants and subsidized housing to address The analysis of the state of ICT infrastructure dif
F
extreme poverty. While these present a buffer fusion relies on secondary data, including annual
against the worst effects of poverty, these gov reports of the major fixed and mobile firms.
O
ernmental interventions did not resolve poverty The mixed methods approach used in the
globally in the 20th century industrial economy design and application of the monitoring and
and are even less likely to do so in the 21st century evaluation framework included surveys, key
O
ICTenabled knowledge economy. informant interviews, and an egovernment
And, while social grants and subsidized website maturity assessment instrument. First,
R
housing may still be necessary publiclyfunded the information society survey incorporated three
interventions, they do not offer the productive quantitative surveys, which were administered
P
capacities for households to create a quality of to 390 households (eSociety), 841 (440 formal
life located in the midst of the vast information and 301 informal) SMEs (eBusiness), and 37
L
flows that have already defined the new century provincial and municipal government entities
in its first decade. (eGovernment), all aimed at gaining insight into
A
The Gauteng experience of social exclusion is ICT access and usage as an indicator of participa
well documented in the 2009 Quality of Life sur tion in the information society.
B
vey, which suggests that unemployment is greater Second, semistructured key informant inter
than presented by national statistics at 45.5% of views with senior managers responsible for the
the working age population (GCRO, 2009). It ICT and egovernment portfolios in provincial
O
finds that unemployment is approaching 50% in and municipal government were conducted. This
L
seven local municipalities and one metropolitan enabled the identification of themes, trends, and is
municipality3. Seven percent of households listed sues related to strategic planning and prioritization,
hunger, housing, and HIV/AIDS as the main project governance, management, and monitoring
G
problems facing the community whereas 14% and evaluation of egovernment.
I
listed unemployment and 46% listed crime as the Third, the eGovernment Website Maturity
main problem (ibid.). Index assessment was conducted. The index was
G
And, research on digital exclusion says it af a composite indicator of four dimensions: website
I
fects more than 80% of households, if household content and services; website quality and design;
combined mobile and Internet access is used as content organization and ease of use; and privacy
the main criterion (Abrahams & Burke, 2010). and security. The composite score provides an
indication of the level of website maturity along
the lines of the Gartner eGovernment Maturity
GAUTENG INFORMATION Model (2001), which employs the categories of
SOCIETY STUDY: information, interaction, transaction, and trans
METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH formation stages. The index was developed as
part of efforts to define, assess, and benchmark
As mentioned before, the data and analysis pre the progress of online information and service
sented in this chapter draws on the results of two provision in the Gauteng provincial and local
studies conducted with respect to the Gauteng governments.
province – the telecommunications and ICT sector
257
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
The results of the eGovernment Website Ma THE STATE OF EDEVELOPMENT AS

turity Index assessment are expressed as a ratio THE BASIS FOR ELECTRONICALLY
that measures the progress against thirtyone items, MEDIATED CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
which are categorized into the four dimensions.
Each item is scored using scales that vary from The state of edevelopment can be understood by
F
03 to 08. An overall index score out of 100% is exploring ICT usage in mobilizing production and
calculated for each website. The dimensions are inclusion, ICT capacities for the 21st century, and
O
weighted differently with content and services access to ICT networks. The ensuing discussion
accounting for 40% of the overall index, quality organizes the findings from the Gauteng surveys
and design for 25%, organization and easeofuse under these themes.
O
for 25%, and privacy and security for 10%. The
scoring has a bias towards the content and services Household Exclusion from
R
dimension, since this is considered the primary Information Society Production
indicator of progress towards moving services
P
online, while the dimensions assessing quality Turning now to the information society survey
of the site are considered as enabling factors that of households, the data points to a high level
L
influence the user experience. of current and potential future social exclusion,
The exploration of the data presents a view given that access to a wide range of social and
A
on egovernance and edevelopment, using the economic opportunities is supported by access
analytical frame for electronically mediated civic to mobile phones, computers, and the Internet.
B
engagement (Figure 1). The data in this section will provide a profile of
the characteristics of exclusion experienced by
Gauteng households.
LO
Figure 1. Analytical frame for factors enhancing emediated civic engagement
I G
I G
258
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
The following tables, adapted from the work which minimizes the opportunities for electroni
of Abrahams & Burke (2010), provide a profile of cally mediated civic engagement.
mobile and Internet access in Gauteng households. After the issue of access, it is important to
There is high mobile phone penetration, ap understand how citizens use the Internet. The
proaching universal mobile phone service for following table, adapted from the work of Abra
F
households, amongst the highly urbanized popu hams & Burke (2010), highlights how Gauteng
lation and in marginalized municipalities, such households use the Internet.
O
as Westonaria. The lowest mobile phone access Of the relatively small percentage of Internet
rate of 77.8% denotes mobile exclusion in those users (Table 1), the highest rated Internet usage is
households with income below R500 per month4. for electronic mail, followed by information search
O
This income bracket correlates to the roughly 6% (goods and services; education, training and course
of Gauteng households with individual income offers) and news and jobrelated online services.
R
below the deepest poverty line of R283 per month Banking, online trading, and training activities,
(RSA, 2009, p. 26). While a large proportion of as well as travel and health services represent a
P
even these very poor households have mobile very small proportion of Internet usage activities.
phone access, this profile can be deceptive as a The data suggests that most individuals are
L
predictor of social inclusion as, for some of these using the Internet as a means of social and eco
households surveyed, the mobile phone was the nomic networking based on simple email usage,
A
only electronic goods asset and did not imply but very few individuals are using the Internet as
employment of members of the household, nor a tool for making personal development and
B
effective mobile usage. lifestyle choices. The data further suggests that
Internet access is disproportionately spread the online community receives the greatest value
across the population, with only 9% of African from online information and services, followed
O
households having access and low aggregate by education and training, but limited value with
L
levels of access at 13.6% of Gauteng’s 3.4 mil respect to financial transactions.
lion households. The rate of increase of Internet Another dimension considered is the capacity
access for Gauteng is very slow with an increase level of individuals to use ICT. The following
G
of only 1.9% between 2007 and 2010, based on table, adapted from work by Abraham & Burke
I
the data reported in the Community Survey 2007 (2010), reflects the level of confidence individu
(StatsSA, 2007, p. 17). Internet penetration in als possess concerning specific tasks related to
G
the income range R5,001 – R10,000 represents online activity.
I
only 4.5% of all households while Internet pen The brief overview of human resource capacity
etration in the income range R10,000 – R30,000 for ICT usage presented in Table 4 shows very
is similarly low at 2.6%. Only at income levels limited levels of confidence in regards to the basic
between R30,000 – R50,000 does Internet pen elements of daily computer and Internet usage.
etration appear to approach 50% of households. This data partially explains the low Internet usage
However, this only represents an estimated 1.5% (Table 3) reflected in data.
of all households in Gauteng.
This data reflects that digital exclusion rests
on the relatively large proportion of households in
the lower income segments. From this perspective,
social exclusion will continue to increase regard
ing electronic access to information and services,
including participation in electronic governance
259
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
Table 1. Household Internet and mobile phone access by population group
Population Group Household Internet Access (%) Household Mobile Phone Access (%)
African 9.3 94.1
Coloured 21.4 92.9
F
Indian 100 100
White 40.0 100
Mixed 14.3 100
Table 2. Household Internet and mobile phone access by income bracket
Income Bracket Household
O O
Household Mobile Access %
R
Internet Access %
(weighted percentage of all households)
P
Less than R500 0.0 77.8
R501 – R2,000 2.7 (0.7) 95.9
R2,001 R5,000 8.8 (2.6) 98.8
L
R5,001 R10,000 25.6 (4.5) 100
R10,001 – R30,000 26.7 (2.6) 100
A
R30,001 R50,000 44.4 (1.5) 100
B
More than R50,000 8.3 (0.3) 100
O
Table 3. Internet usage by activity type
L
Internet usage by activity Percentage (%)
Communication, information search, and online services
G
Sending and receiving emails 88.5
Finding information about goods and services 71.3
I
Using services related to travel and accommodation 42.5
Downloading software (other than games software) 48.3
G
Reading or downloading news/newspapers/magazines 62.1
I
Looking for a job or sending a job application 60.9
Seeking healthrelated information 37.9
Banking, selling goods, and services
Internet banking 29.9
Selling goods and services 17.2
Buying goods and services 12.6
Paying online using credit card 13.8
Education and training
Looking for information about education, training, or course offers 59.8
Doing an online course (in any subject) 26.4
Consulting the Internet with the purpose of learning 39.1
260
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
Table 4. Human resource capacity for ICT usage
Individual Capacity (within the 13.6% of households with Internet access) No Confidence (%)
Obtain and install computer software 60.3
Identify the cause of computer problems 64.1
F
Use email to communicate 60.5
Participate in online discussion on a topic of own interest 61.8
Make a call over the Internet 68.2
O
Use the Internet as a search engine 62.1
O
Table 5. Informal and formal enterprises with mobile and Internet access
R
Type of Enterprise Mobile Access (%) Internet Access (%)
Formal 51.1 32.7
P
Informal 49.4 3.0
L
Table 6. Level of mobile and Internet access by enterprise turnover
A
Enterprise Turnover (in Rands) Mobile Phone (%) Internet Access (%)
B
< R10,000 54.6 9.9
R10,001 – R50,000 60.3 8.6
R50,001 R100,000 48.9 12.8
O
R100,001 – R500,000 68.2 45.5
L
R500,000 – R1,000,000 44.0 40.0
>R1,000,000 63.6 54.5
I
SME EXCLUSION FROM
INFORMATION SOCIETY
PRODUCTION G SMEs with mobile and Internet access based on
turnover.
G
According to the survey, formal enterprises,
I
as defined by the registration for tax purposes,
SME access and usage of ICTs is an indicator of show marginally higher levels of mobile access,
digital inclusion and of integration into the network but vastly higher levels of Internet access over
economy. Typically, each SME provides Internet informal enterprises. Having a dedicated mobile
connectivity for multiple users (Goldstuck, 2010). phone does not appear to be influenced by enter
It is estimated that approximately one third of prise turnover, and individuals will use their own
SMEs in South Africa, reported as 34.9%, operate mobile phones for work purposes. SMEs are
from home (Kew & Herrington, 2008, p. 38). The unlikely to be able to rely on individual home
data in this section will provide a profile of the based Internet access amongst their employees,
characteristics of exclusion experienced by SMEs. given the low aggregate household Internet access.
The following tables, adapted from work by Another consideration in describing exclusion
Abrahams & Burke (2010), outlines the percentage of SMEs is how they use the Internet. The fol
of formal and informal enterprises that have mobile lowing table, adapted from work by Abrahams
and Internet access, as well as the percentage of
261
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
Table 7. SME Internet usage by activity (those SMEs which have Internet access)
Activity Percentage (%)

Use the Internet to do Internet banking 73.7
To do marketing of your company 73.1
F
Use the Internet to do market and product research 71.8
Make online payments 71.2
Use the Internet to provide customer service 71.2
O
Place orders (make purchases) for goods and services via the Internet 68.6
Receive online payments 62.2
O
Receive orders (make sales) over the Internet 59.0
To share or distribute of information with other organizations 57.1
R
To deliver products and services online 44.2
Use the Internet for staff recruitment 27.6
& Burke (2010), highlights how SMEs use the

Internet.
For those, mainly formal, SMEs who have
L P
the untapped potential for the majority of SMEs
currently experiencing digital exclusion.
A final consideration for describing SME
A
Internet access, usage covers a number of typical exclusion is their level of capacity in using ICT.
B
business activities, indicating a migration to the The following table, adapted from work by Abra
online environment and to conducting transac hams & Burke (2010), highlights the confidence
tions online (Table 7). The high value attributed to level of SMEs with specific tasks associated with
O
Internet banking, marketing, market and product online activity.
L
research, online customer service, placing and Confidence levels appear to be stronger in
receiving orders, and online payments suggests the SME business environment (Table 8) than in
G
Table 8. SME capacity to use ICT by task
I
Enterprise capacity No Confidence (%)
G
Obtain and install computer software onto a computer 43.3
I
Identify the cause of computer problems 44.8
Use email to communicate with customer 45.6
Participate in online discussion on a topic of your interests 46.6
Make a call over the Internet 50.3
Use the Internet as a search engine 47.2
Capture and store business information 45.3
Complete invoices, orders, price lists, and quotes 45.7
Undertake business administration tasks, such as electronic record keeping 44.0
Keep and manage employee records 44.7
Keep financial information and reports 44.4
Keep inventories 46.3
Maintain debtor information 46.9
262
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
the household environment, possibly reflecting mobile phone and Internet access and usage,
experience derived through more extensive and however, this study did not investigate the busi
regular usage. ness value created from such access and usage.
And finally, high levels of mobile penetration SMEs, too, have a low level of businessto
are accompanied by low levels of mobile usage, government (B2G) interaction with government.
F
while levels of Internet access and usage for
formal enterprises are highly dependent on turn Additional Insights
O
over and almost nonexistent for informal enter
prises. A third of formal enterprises surveyed are With only 13.6% of households and 17.9% of
estimated to have access to the Internet and the SMEs (32.7% of formal and 3% of informal
O
data on Internet usage and human resource capac SMEs) having access to the Internet, the potential
ity suggests that SMEs with a relatively greater for egovernance to expand service provision to
R
degree of formality will make increasingly exten sections of the community and businesses that
sive use of the Internet. have hitherto been excluded remains a daunting
P
challenge.
CitizenToGovernment Interaction Moreover, even when citizens and businesses
L
have access to the Internet, it is not a guarantee
The interaction of both individuals and SMEs with that they will make use of electronically mediated
A
government is another dimension to understand public services. The information society survey
the level of exclusion experienced in Gauteng. The revealed that only 28.2% of citizens have ever
B
following tables, adapted from work by Abrahams accessed the Internet, of which 71% are aware
& Burke (2010), illustrate the levels of citizento that government services are available on the
government and businesstogovernment interac Internet. Only 19.1% have visited the provincial
O
tion in Gauteng. government web portal. In the case of SMEs, only
L
As an indication of citizentogovernment 29.4% of Internet users do so with the purpose of
(C2G) interaction, a very small proportion of interacting with government, as shown in Table 10.
individuals currently visit the provincial govern If mobile phones, computers, and the Internet
G
ment web portal. Formal enterprises appear to are important tools for modular production and
I
have embarked on the trajectory of combined social inclusion in the early information society,
G
Table 9. Individual online interaction with government
I
Citizentogovernment interaction (C2G) using the Internet
Have you ever used the Internet?
Did you know that there are government services available on the Internet?
Have you visited the provincial government web portal?
Percentage (%)
28.2
71.8
19.1
Table 10. SME online interaction with government
Businesstogovernment interaction (B2G) using the Internet Percentage (%)

Does your business use the Internet? 17.9
Does your business use the Internet for dealing with government organizations? 5.26
(29.4% of business users)
263
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
then existing levels of digital exclusion with re Gauteng Provincial

spect to household and SME access and usage Government Websites
undermine economic development potential and
opportunities for civic engagement. The Gauteng Provincial Government hosts an
Enterprise Portal, which has a main focus of
F
providing citizencentered, transactionbased
EGOVERNANCE AS A VEHICLE online services through a single gateway as an
O
FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT alternative channel for accessing government ser
vices. The portal provides governmenttocitizen
eGovernance extends beyond the delivery of (G2C) services, including matric results and Bana
O
electronically mediated services to the systems Pele social services for children. It also provides
and interrelationships that govern society. The governmenttoemployee (G2E) services, such as
R
view that “(the) application of ICT to the system online recruitment and leave balances.
of governance to ensure a wide participation and Other electronically mediated initiatives at
P
deeper involvement of citizens, institutions, non the provincial level include the South African
governmental organizations, as well as private Police Services Operations Centre (Gauteng) and
L
firms in the decisionmaking process” (UNESCO, Gauteng Emergency Medical Services (GEMS).
2005) is a pertinent reference point for this dis While these services could have been designed
A
cussion on egovernance and civic engagement to heighten civic engagement in public account
in Gauteng. ability, education, social services, emergency
B
Values, such as accountability, participation, medical services, and crime intelligence, in reality
and transparency, are integral to influencing the they did not go beyond the level of information
nature and substance of egovernance. Account exchange (Abrahams & Reid, 2009).
O
ability focuses on the mechanisms by which the
L
performance of government can be evaluated and City of Johannesburg
by which government representatives can be held Government Websites
to account for their actions.
G
The eGovernment Website Maturity Index as The City of Johannesburg metropolitan munici
I
sessment found that 57% of the websites reviewed pality website offers comprehensive information
did not have a facility for citizens to electronically to orient the user to the purpose, function, and
G
lodge a complaint about the services they access, services of the site. The website is structured
I
and that only 10% of websites describe how the around the needs of different categories of us
complaint will be dealt with, list the person who ers – for businesses, residents, and tourists. The
will deal with it, and indicate how long it will details of the city’s call center are provided as a
take to respond to the complaint. central point of contact for citizens.
Eightyone percent of websites do not make Users can report faults, query accounts, re
provision for any form of online consultation as a quest information, or order a new service online.
means to encourage greater levels of participation Complaints can be lodged through the call center,
by citizens. The majority of websites do provide, as well as through the website. There is a stepby
however, some measure of transparency by pro step guide on how to petition the city on an issue.
viding information on the functions, services, The site provides a comprehensive news service
policies, and procedures of the relevant segment and access to a broad range of documentation.
of government, as well as documents such as an The website has a dedicated page for online ser
nual reports and strategic plans. vices called “eservices”, which includes receiving
264
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
invoices online, accessing sectional title property agreed that “The judiciary is free from government
owners’ information, entering meter readings, and influence” (ibid.). These views on democracy
completing online property valuation forms. It were polled to give a provincial perspective for
also provides payment and transaction facilities. the first time in 2009, fifteen years after the first
Users can participate in calls for comment democratic elections.
F
on draft documents, as well as a range of other The survey findings suggest that there is signifi
measures through which user participation is en cant room for greater participation by the general
O
couraged. And, extensive information on events population in civic affairs. It can be further argued
is given and the website enables users to enter that mobile electronic media platforms and the In
details on upcoming events themselves. ternet would provide additional channels for civic
O
engagement, potentially enabling more people to
Quality of Life Survey and voice their views more often and to create rich
R
Civic Engagement platforms for civic debate and political influence.
P
Regarding a broader perspective on civic engage Gauteng Province
ment in Gauteng, the Quality of Life Survey EGovernance Progress
L
(GCRO, 2009) indicates that there is a significant
contrast between the participation of the popula The Gauteng government’s response to promot
A
tion in activities within their immediate locality ing egovernance for digital inclusion has been at
(ward), as compared to participation in municipal the policy, strategy, and program levels. Amongst
B
level activities. 41% of the survey sample reported many actions has been the establishment of the
participation in ward meetings, while only 13% Gauteng Shared Service Centre (GSSC), formed
reported participation in mayoral imbizos5 and in 2001 as a transformational initiative to revitalize
O
only 9% reported participation in discussing inte service delivery in the public sector and provide
L
grated development plans (IDPs) of municipalities. the initial cornerstone of this tenyear period of
Participation in ward meetings, community the province’s strategy towards egovernance.
policing fora, imbizos, as well as contributions The GSSC’s initial focus was to provide
G
to the content and strategic direction of IDPs are backoffice transactional support services to
I
important forms of civic engagement and broad government departments within Gauteng. This
ening democracy in South Africa. Ward meetings was done through bundling support processes
G
and imbizos promote facetoface engagement and nonstrategic activities that were duplicated
I
between communities and politicians. Debates on across the government departments into a single
integrated development plans give communities organization, which would treat these activities as
the opportunity to contribute to the direction of its core business. Many departments recognized
local development with respect to economic issues that investments in ICT capabilities could be a
and local infrastructure requirements, amongst catalyst for change.
other issues. However, there was no coherent plan to
Polled about important views on society, 59% advance government and household access to
of the sample population agreed that “The country information infrastructure, or to build sophisti
is going in the right direction”, while 22% dis cated egovernance systems and content for public
agreed with the statement. Similarly, 29% of the consumption (Abrahams & Burke, 2010). There
sample population agreed that “People like me were many complex and disparate IT systems
cannot influence developments in my city”; 18% that were outdated, functionally inadequate, and
felt that “Politics is a waste of time”; and 42% not properly integrated. Thus, initially, despite
265
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
government investment, there was little impact services to citizens and business by introducing
on improving service to citizens or improving eenabled services and increasing the range of
access to government services and least of all, channels through which services can be delivered.
providing the platforms for electronically medi Since then, additional work has been done to
ated engagement with citizens. supplement the vision contained in the Blueprint
F
In 2007, a major review of the provincial Proposal. This work includes the eGovernment
egovernment program was undertaken. Several Review (2007) and the prospective Gauteng ICT,
O
limitations were identified, including: (1) strate Employment, Growth, and Development Strategy
gic, tactical, and operational cooperation between (2010).
local, provincial, and national government was Data gathered from the information society
O
limited; (2) project prioritization was ineffective survey indicates that there were 27 projects clas
and led to duplication of projects and deliverables; sified as egovernment projects in various stages
R
and (3) the focus on citizens as the central concern of implementation. This represents a part of the
of the program was inadequate. total portfolio of ICT projects in government,
P
As a result of the review, the Gartner eGov namely the projects prioritized in line with the
ernment Maturity Model (2001) was adopted in eGovernment Prioritization Framework.
L
2008, both as an evaluative mechanism and as eGovernment projects are adopted based on
an organizing framework to conceptualize e budget viability, agility and adaptability, political
A
government development in Gauteng. However, support, constituent service capacities, organiza
the effect of its application has thus far been tion and governance, and operational efficiency.
B
rudimentary (ibidem). The omission of user needs as a selection criterion
A coherent egovernance policy and strategy is a significant one since it neglects to consider
framework only emerged in 2007, when the e the needs of users, with specific reference to
O
Government Blueprint Proposal (GPG, 2007) was questions of social and digital inclusion, in the
L
formally adopted. It represented the first attempt prioritization of projects.
to pull together the strands of egovernment ideas The following table, based on work by GSSC
and projects into a coherent framework. (2010), provides a breakdown of the type of proj
G
Before the introduction of the Blueprint Pro ects implemented by Gauteng.
I
posal, the strategic priorities for egovernment had Twentyseven percent of projects are aimed at
been implicit in the range of projects implemented automating business processes in government,
G
at the time. The central goal of the Blueprint Pro 22% at establishing the required ICT governance
I
posal was providing the necessary infrastructure and management frameworks and architecture,
to promote access to electronically mediated and 17% of projects focus on network develop
Table 11. Egovernment project typology
Typology of eGovernment Projects Percentage (%)

Automation 27
Governance and management 22
Network development 17
Hardware acquisition 17
Application development 14
Content management and development 3
266
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
Table 12. Primary beneficiaries of egovernment projects
Primary Beneficiaries Percentage (%)

Government 62%
Citizens 20%
F
Employees 12%
Business 6%
O
ment and hardware acquisition. This, again, is an initiation stage, represents a major infrastructure
O
indication that egovernment project implementa investment of more than R8 billion over the next
tion is at an early stage of development, as the five years that aims to provide basic broadband
R
type of projects prioritized are aimed at replacing access to 95% of Gauteng’s geography, deploy
manual processes with electronic processes; es highcontent broadband to 20% of Gauteng, and
P
tablishing the required technical architecture, provide a connectivity solution to households. This
management, and operational capacity; and put investment is expected to significantly increase
ting in place the necessary internal and external productive opportunities, which in turn is expected
L
network capacity and supporting hardware. to stimulate economic growth and social inclusion.
In the following table, based on work by Similarly, the GautengOnLine (GoL) Schools
A
GSSC (2010), the breakdown of who benefits project is a multibillion rand investment in pro
from projects is highlighted. viding every learner with an email address, with
B
There is a strong bias towards projects benefit free Internet access, and the implementation of
ing government administration (twothirds of all a technologyenabled learning environment in
O
projects) as compared to projects intended to more than 2,000 schools across the province.
benefit citizens or businesses. If the projects aimed More than 85% of schools have connectivity,
L
at benefiting government employees are added, however, the usage of ICT is not integrated into
it represents almost 75% of all projects while the learning environment and students spend only
G
projects aimed at benefiting citizens and busi a small proportion of classroom hours utilizing a
nesses together represent only a quarter of projects. computer, with limited access to online content
I
This suggests that government is operating at the and no participation in civicoriented activities
level of the basic introduction of eservices, and (Abrahams & Reid, 2009).
G
is not yet operating at the level of mobilizing
I
civic engagement. NGOs and Online Civic Engagement
The bias towards the implementation of e
government projects that are primarily aimed at Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have
benefiting government is in line with the strategic historically made a vital contribution to civic
objective of providing the required infrastructure engagement, both with the purpose of creating a
as the basis for delivering electronically mediated new political democracy and with the purpose of
services. These projects aim to improve the gov facilitating community formation and advance
ernance and management of ICTs in government. ment. Throughout the period from the 1980s to
The projects specifically aimed at benefit the first democratic elections in 1994 and in the
ting citizens may be small in number, but are period thereafter, civic organizations, including
significant in terms of the investment in digital trade unions, community advice offices, gender
inclusion. The GLink project, which is in the and human rights organizations, and nonprofit
267
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
developmentoriented organizations, have worked YouTube and Facebook, offer new creative op
to foster high levels of civil society action. portunities for civic engagement, but egovernance
In the first decade of the 21st century, a few in Gauteng has not yet adopted these technologies
organizations have moved their activities online. to create the channels for engagement with the
Women’sNet, a social justice organization, uses populace.
F
ICT as its main platform for communication with
its audience. It offers a range of ICT channels
O
including social networking resources, links to INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE
gender and feminist email lists, and support materi AND PUBLIC POLICY
als to promote citizen journalism. ICT is integrated
O
into the operations of the NGO, which focuses An overview of current levels of ICT infrastructure
women’s attention to themes such as economy, development in the province reveals that fixed and
R
gender budgeting, violence against women, repro mobile network infrastructure is extensive across
ductive health, and rights. The organization does Gauteng, estimated at multibillion rand histori
P
host events in physical spaces, but most mobili cal capital expenditure infrastructure investments
zation is conducted online (Women’s Net, n.d.). from the major players Telkom, Neotel, Vodacom,
L
SANGONeT, dedicated to offering ICT and MTN (Abrahams, 2010). This estimate is
products, services, and information to NGOs, based on a review of telecoms company annual
A
has existed for more than 23 years. It runs an reports for 2009 and a 2006 – 2008 review of the
online newsletter, NGO Pulse, and uses a range post and telecommunications industry, which do
B
of web 2.0 resources including blogs, Twitter, not provide disaggregated data for Gauteng.
and a Facebook page to connect with its many With a view on future network deployment,
audiences (SANGONeT, n.d.). each of these companies has a multibillion rand
O
The monitoringACTION project, established to spending plan for broadband infrastructure invest
L
support communities in monitoring business and ment. However, the main geographical areas for
government, uses the Internet as “an organizing deployment will be the three metropolitan mu
tool”. The project uses blog sites, a Google site, nicipalities where businesses, public institutions,
G
and monthly eLetters to communicate amongst and households are concentrated.
I
project participants on subjects, such as illegal The cost of fixed and mobile communications
dumping of waste, the quality of the environment, and Internet access has historically been high due
G
poverty caused by mine and factory closures, and to excessive pricing on the backbone network,
I
the quality of the built environment (Bench Marks high interconnection rates, and the high cost of
Foundation, 2009). international bandwidth (Smit, Neilsen & Roetter,
However, NGO engagement with people 2008, pp.111126). However, the tide has begun to
and communities across the spectrum of society turn somewhat. The landing of the SEACOM and
assumes levels of network and device access EASSy submarine cables in mid2009 heralded
that do not yet exist. Similarly, creating online a noticeable decrease in the price of broadband
civic engagement between communities, the non packages.
governmental sector, and government is limited The mobile operators reduced call charges
for the large proportion of the population who are late in 2009 and the sector regulator, the Indepen
excluded by virtue of economic or social depriva dent Communications Authority of South Africa
tion, as well as digital exclusion. (ICASA), published reduced fixed and mobile
Web 2.0 technologies, such as Twitter, blog call termination rate regulations in October 2010.
ging, wikis, and social networking sites like While these pricing changes may yet feed through
268
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
to further consumer price reductions, the costs of raising the intensity of investment in broadband
communication remain high relative to household deployment.
and SME income and there is consequently limited The reference to civil society organizations
access to the Internet. makes the understanding that broadband can and
The provincial and metropolitan governments should promote civic engagement, though this is
F
have made strategic and budgetary provisions for not made explicit in the strategy. Similarly, the
building and activating provincial and municipal references to egovernment content development
O
broadband infrastructure. However, these plans are do not specifically point to creating platforms for
at an early stage of development and are unlikely civic engagement.
to have significant impact on the availability of Provincial broadband strategy is not yet explicit
O
broadband infrastructure in the next three to five for Gauteng and only one of the metropolitan mu
years (Abrahams, 2010). nicipalities, the City of Johannesburg, has adopted
R
Existing legislation on universal access and a broadband policy statement. This latter policy
service, the Electronic Communications Act, document sets out 10 objectives for “harnessing
P
2005, does not explicitly refer to Internet access the value of its existing, and any future assets, for
or to broadband networks and communications social and economic advancement, as an important
L
services, but creates the basis for the Universal component of its ‘digital city’ initiative” (City of
Service and Access Agency of South Africa Johannesburg, 2009, p.3). It also specifies objec
A
(USAASA) to “make recommendations to en tives of social inclusion and local economic devel
able the Minister to determine what constitutes opment, in particular “encouraging the utilization
B
…universal access… and the universal provision of information and communication networks as a
for all persons in the Republic of electronic com contributing resource to local economic develop
munications services and access to electronic com ment” (City of Johannesburg, 2009, p. 4).
O
munications networks, including any elements or The current state of edevelopment with respect
L
attributes thereof” (RSA, 2005, section 82 (3)(a)). to broadband is characteristic of early stage de
National broadband policy, introduced in ployment and diffusion. Broadband infrastructure
July 2010, explicitly states the policy intention deployment is low across the country, but greatest
G
as facilitating universal access to broadband in in the more densely populated, higher income
I
frastructure and stimulating usage of broadband metropolitan municipalities, raising significant
services for citizens (in particular needy persons), benefit for Gauteng as it has three large metros.
G
businesses, communities, government, and civil Broadband usage is estimated at 1.56 million users
I
society organizations (RSA, 2010). It motivates in December 2009 (Goldstuck, 2010, pp. 101102),
for content development in the public health, a very low proportion of the total population.
education, and electronic government spheres. It Government’s perspective on broadband policy
specifically argues for government to undertake provides for a range of complementary approaches
content development in all South African lan to broadband deployment, however, government
guages and civil society organizations. policy interventions and investments have not yet
It encourages provincial and local government taken effect. Hence, lack of access to broadband
to develop broadband strategies and advises that infrastructure and services potentially inhibits
the private sector will be expected to contribute to the evolution of online civic engagement and e
reducing the broadband divide through specifica democracy, whether using the mobile phone or a
tions in their license obligations. These and other computing device.
formulations contained in the policy bode well for
269
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
RECOMMENDATION: FOCUS is rather on access, fulfilling personal needs, and

ON UNIVERSAL HOUSEHOLD conducting business activities. The culture of
BROADBAND SERVICE experimentalism and continuous innovation in
services and structures still has to become em
Using the analytical categories for digital inclu bedded in provincial and municipal government.
F
sion and edevelopment presented in Figure 1, it The Gauteng study findings and analysis
can be argued that ICT infrastructure is available offer many lessons for public and development
O
but not sufficiently abundant to address the needs management. One such lesson is that complex
of the vast majority of households and SMEs. ity must be comprehensively theorized by 21st
Also, availability does not translate to effective century governments in order to effectively plan
O
access and usage for mobile phone services and and allocate resources and achieve development
broadband Internet services, the main channels outcomes.
R
for civic engagement and participation in the Furthermore, public policy design for the next
information society. These particular forms of ten years should draw on the empirical studies
P
digital exclusion limit opportunities for social referred to here (Abrahams & Burke, 2010; Gold
inclusion in a wide range of activities, from seeking stuck, 2010; Kew & Herrington, 2009) to adopt
L
healthrelated information to marketing businesses a stance which positions universal household
online to organizing community action for better broadband Internet service as the major new infra
A
infrastructure and secure neighborhoods. structure investment initiative. This would serve
It can be argued that informal businesses do the dual purpose of: (1) providing infrastructure
B
not need access to these new technologies, but for a greater proportion of households to partici
this is only true for the relatively small proportion pate in the informationbased services economy,
of SMEs who conduct their business in informal where households effectively become productive
O
trading spaces, as compared to the relatively large units, rather than only units of consumption, and
L
numbers of SMEs, formal and informal, who (2) providing infrastructure for the next genera
conduct business from an office space or from tion of producers and social beings to adopt and
home (Kew & Herrington, 2009). innovate with those interactive technologies that
G
The state of policy and regulation at the create a powerful virtually connected society.
I
provincial level does not yet offer the requisite However, providing the network infrastructure is
foundations for directed expenditure towards those a necessary but not sufficient condition for social
G
forms of ICT infrastructure and egovernance inclusion and civic engagement.
I
channels that can best promote social inclusion. Public policy, as it pertains to social inclu
The level of human resource capacity necessary sion, can draw on the data on mobile and Internet
for participation in the digital age is extremely access and usage presented here. This data may
low within households, which are the sites of offer valuable indicators to inform the designers
formation of the next generation of workers, of electronic government programs at provincial
academics, professionals, leaders and parents; and municipal government levels. The data sug
and potential future sites for householdbased gests that: (1) SMS6 and email should become
(not merely homebased) economic production. important channels for regular communication
Where is Gauteng on the edevelopment with households and SMEs, given the potential
curve? The state of esociety, ebusiness, and for reaching more than 90% of this population
egovernance is formative, revealing limited ca through at least one of these channels, and (2) the
pacity to promote social inclusion with respect to quality of government websites and information
civic engagement and edemocracy. The emphasis portals, particularly healthrelated information,
270
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
education, training information, and information In a typical household of three or more oc
for small businesses, is worthy of investment in cupants, it is possible that the working age oc
creative content production and management to cupants can either telecommute or operate from
attract Internet users. home, while the school and college or university
Making available the relevant content and age occupants are engaged in online learning. All
F
channels for interaction through, for example, occupants utilize mobile phones, computers, and
egovernance, can shape greater participation in the Internet for activities, such as social organiza
O
the information society and network economy. tion (personal banking, social networking, and
New disruptive technologies, such as the second other transactions) and informationseeking (for
generation web technologies of virtual reality health, entertainment, travel, and jobs).
O
and social networking, present channels for users In the telecommuting scenario, the home is
to have an influential social and political voice simply an extension of the main workplace, which
R
that rapidly spreads views and influences public is located elsewhere. In the ‘operate from home’
opinion. There availability and accessibility scenario, the household becomes the main site
P
would give real meaning to Benkler’s guidance of production and all occupants make some form
of putting the material means of production and of contribution to householdbased economic
L
cultural expression in the hands of the majority. activity.
Gauteng residents who experience social ex
A
clusion, nevertheless, have mobile phone devices,
FUTURE TRENDS AND though these generally have low computing power
B
CONSIDERATIONS and are not ideally suited for online communica
tion. Current limited access to computing devices,
The argument is made above that the South Af as well as Internet and broadband services, miti
O
rican household is becoming a site of economic gates against creating the foundations for social
L
production and in the 21st century it is likely to inclusion through economic participation, civic
transform itself into an economic production unit engagement, and edemocracy, operating at the
with increasing technologyintensity, coexisting household level.
G
with firms located in factories and corporate Hence, public policy to increase affordable
I
offices, and with government and other large access to broadband services – at the household
institutions. This partlyfuturistic scene is set level – offers a potentially powerful lever for
G
up in order to establish what kind of social and development in the new century. Such strategic
I
economic future information society individuals thinking and approaches would lead to more
are progressively being excluded from. valuable usage of societal ICT assets while also
The emergence of economic production in the providing governments with a greater capability
home will be based on the capacity for a wide for enhancing their interactions with individuals,
range of work located in the services sector to be households, and communities.
performed from the home, because a significant These lessons learned over the last ten years
proportion of such work is knowledgebased are being incorporated in several key initiatives
and can be transmitted utilizing ICT devices and already underway that will provide a further ba
networks. Already, knowledge workers in the sis for addressing the identified challenges. At a
consulting and academic worlds operate partially governance level, a provincial political committee
from the homebase. Corporate and public service has been established to provide leadership and
managers work remotely from sites other than oversight in regard to matters on ICT and informa
their offices, including home. tion society development. An immediate priority
271
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
of this governance structure is the formulation of in the fabric of society, like Alice falling through
an ICT, employment, growth, and development a wormhole in the universe.
strategy for Gauteng to guide investments and Discussions on social exclusion tend to focus
initiatives oriented toward the development of the on historical exclusion. Countries and govern
sector. Efforts to bring about universal household ments can, however, lay the basis for future exclu
F
access and service will be spearheaded by the G sion, even as they attempt to deal with historical
Link Project at the program level. exclusion. Hence, future policy and regulation
O
In the future, in line with the theme of this must address this potential for future failure, by
book, annual information society surveys should addressing itself to the themes, issues, and chal
be undertaken to follow the trajectory of early lenges of electronically mediated development
O
21st century emergence with respect to household and civic engagement.
production and consumption, edevelopment, and
R
civic engagement. This can further elucidate the
factors and determinants of edemocracy. Such REFERENCES
P
studies are needed to inform policymaking and
development management. Abrahams, L. (2010). Gauteng telecommunica
L
tions and ICT sector 2010. Input paper to the
OECD territorial review of Gauteng province.
A
CONCLUSION Johannesburg: Gauteng CityRegion Observatory.
Abrahams, L., & Burke, M. (2010). Observing
B
From an edevelopment perspective, South Afri evolution of the information society and eGov
can public policy on universal access has always ernment in Gauteng province (vol. 1). (June 2010
been about telephony, not about Internet access.
O
Report). LINK Center, Graduate School of Public
Yet mobile access basically took care of itself, and Development Management, University of the
L
resulting in fixed to mobile voice substitution in Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
the period 2000 – 2010. While this mobile substi
tution effect offers good prospects for electronic Abrahams, L., & Reid, L. (2008). eGovernance
G
communications, in reality, the mobile phone is a for social and local economic development.
I
device used for voice rather than for multimedia Gauteng City Region Perspective, Public Policy
communications. This, in an era, where multi Research Paper No 9, LINK Center, University
of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
G
media offers opportunities for engagement that
I
voice cannot.
Béland, D. (2007). The social exclusion discourse:
The Gauteng information society and e
Ideas and policy change. Policy and Politics, 35(1),
government study highlights strengths and
123–139. doi:10.1332/030557307779657757
weaknesses apparent from the first decade of the
21st century regarding the potential role of ICT Bell, D. (1973). The coming of postindustrial
in building social inclusion, whether through society: A venture in social forecasting. New
economic participation, civic engagement, or e York, NY: Basic Books.
democracy. eGovernance and civic engagement
Bench Marks Foundation. (2009). Action voices.
can be mutually supporting endeavors, however,
monitoringACTION project. Johannesburg: The
this requires effective decisionmaking and ex
Bench Marks Foundation.
plicit policy direction. Presently, the burden of
digital exclusion in Gauteng province is carried
by the socially excluded, exacerbating the cracks
272
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
Benkler, Y. (2006). The wealth of networks: Goldstuck, A. (2010). Internet access in South
How social production transforms markets and Africa 2010: A comprehensive study of the Inter
freedom. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. net access market in South Africa. Johannesburg:
World Wide Worx.
Castells, M. (1998). End of millennium. Infor
F
mation age: Economy, society and culture (Vol. GPG. (2007). eGovernment blueprint proposal.
3). Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG), Johan
Oxford. nesburg.
O
Castells, M. (1999). Information Technology, GPG. (2007). GPG ICT strategy. Gauteng Pro
globalisation and social development. UNRISD vincial Government. Johannesburg: GPG.
O
Discussion Paper No. 114, United Nations Re
GPG. (2007). Gauteng information society and
search Institute for Social Development, Geneva.
R
development plan. Gauteng Provincial Govern
City of Johannesburg. (2009). City of Johannes ment. Johannesburg: GPG.
P
burg broadband policy framework. May 2009,
GPG. (2010). Gauteng employment growth and
City of Johannesburg Department of Economic
development strategy. Gauteng Provincial Gov
Development. Retrieved November 19, 2010,
L
ernment. Johannesburg: GPG.
from http://www.joburgarchive.co.za/2010/
econ_deve/econdev_broadband_policy.pdf GPG. (2010). Socioeconomic review and outlook
A
2010, 2 March 2010, Gauteng Provincial Govern
Crang, M., Crosbie, T., & Graham, S. (2006).
ment. Johannesburg: GPG.
B
Variable geometries of connection: Urban digital
divides and the uses of information technology. Kew, J., & Herrington, M. (2009). ICT and en
Urban Studies (Edinburgh, Scotland), 43(12), trepreneurship 2009. Research report presented
O
2552–2570. to the Small Enterprise Development Agency,
L
Graduate School of Business. Cape Town: Uni
CuadradoRoura, L. R., RubalcabaBermejo, L., &
versity of Cape Town.
Bryson, J. R. (Eds.). (2002). Trading services in the
G
global economy. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Longley, P., & Singleton, A. (2009). Linking so
cial deprivation and digital exclusion in England.
I
de Haan, A. (2001). Social exclusion: Enriching
Urban Studies (Edinburgh, Scotland), 47(7),
the understanding of deprivation. Institute of
1275–1298. doi:10.1177/0042098009104566
G
Development Studies and Poverty Research Unit,
I
University of Sussex. Sussex. UK. Retrieved No Malecki, E. J., & Moriset, B. (2008). The digital
vember 05, 2009, from www.sussex.ac.uk/cspt/ economy: Business organization, production
documents/issue22.pdf processes, and regional development. London,
UK: Routledge.
Felstead, A., Jewson, N., Phizacklea, A., &
Walters, S. (2001). Working at home: statisti Qiang, C., Rossotto, C., & Kimura, K. (2009).
cal evidence for seven key hypotheses. Work, Economic impacts of broadband (pp. 35–50).
Employment and Society, 15(2), 215–231. World Bank 2009 Information and Communica
doi:10.1177/09500170122118922 tions for Development: Extending Reach and
Increasing Impact, Washington DC.
GCRO. (2009). Gauteng cityregion quality of life
survey 2009. Johannesburg: Gauteng CityRegion
Observatory.
273
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
RSA. (2005). Electronic Communications Act, Smit, D., Neilsen, B., & Roetter, M. (2008). In
No. 36 of 2005, Government of the Republic of ternational peer benchmarking study on the cost
South Africa. Pretoria: RSA. to communicate in South Africa. Johannesburg:
BMITechknowledge.
RSA. (2007). Towards an inclusive information
F
society. Presidential National Commission on In UNESCO. (2005). Egovernment toolkit for
formation Society and Development, Government developing countries. Retrieved November 5,
of the Republic of South Africa. Pretoria: RSA. 2009, from http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/
O
user_upload/ci/documents/UNESCO_eGovt_
RSA. (2009). Development indicators 2009. The
Toolkit.pdf
Presidency, Government of the Republic of South
O
Africa. Pretoria: RSA. Women’s Net. (n.d.). Women’sNet website. Re
trieved November 14, 2010, from http://www.
R
RSA. (2010, 13 July). Broadband policy for South
womensnet.org.za
Africa. Government Gazette No 333772010, Gov
P
ernment of the Republic of South Africa (RSA),
Department of Communications, Pretoria.
ADDITIONAL READING
L
SangoNet. (n.d.). SANGONeT website. Retrieved
November 14, 2010, from http://www.ngopulse. Barker, A. (2002). The alchemy of innovation:
A
org/about Perspectives from the leading edge. London, UK:
Selwyn, N. (2004). Reconsidering political Spiro Press.
B
and popular understandings of the digital di Barney, B. (2004). The network society. Cam
vide. New Media & Society, 6(3), 341–362. bridge, MA: Polity Press Ltd.
O
doi:10.1177/1461444804042519
Bhatnagar, S. C. (2004). Egovernment: From
L
Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford, vision to implementation: A practical guide with
UK: Oxford University Press. case studies. New Delhi, India: Sage Publications
G
Sen, A. (2000). Social exclusion: Concept, appli Pvt Ltd.
cation and scrutiny. Social Development Papers,
I
Boddy, M., & Parkinson, M. (Eds.). (2004). City
1. Manila, Philippines: Office of Environment and matters: Competitiveness, cohesion and urban
Social Development, Asian Development Bank. governance. Bristol, UK: The Policy Press.
I G
Silver, H. (1994). Social exclusion and social Bohme, N., & Stehr, N. (1986). The knowledge
solidarity: Three paradigms. International Labour society. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: D. Reidel
Review, 133(5–6), 531–578. Publishing Company.
Silver, H. (2007). Social exclusion: Compara Cordella, A. (2007). Egovernment: towards
tive analysis of Europe and Middle East youth. the ebureaucratic form. Journal of Information
Working Paper No 1, The Middle East Youth Technology, 22, 265–274. doi:10.1057/palgrave.
Initiative, Wolfensohn Center for Development, jit.2000105
Dubai School of Government.
Drucker, P. (1993). Postcapitalist society. New
York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
274
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
Frissen, P., Bekkers, V., Snellen, B., Brussaard, Sassen, S. (Ed.). (2002). Global networks, linked
B., & Wolters, M. (Eds.). (1992). European public cities. New York, NY: Routledge.
administration and informatization. Amsterdam,
Snellen, I. T. M., & van de Donk, W. B. H. J. (Eds.).
The Netherlands: IOS Press.
(1998). Public administration in an information
F
Hassan, R. (2008). The information society. Cam age: A handbook. Informatization Developments
bridge, UK: Polity Press. and the Public Sector. Amsterdam, The Nether
lands: IOS Press.
O
Healey, P. (2007). Urban complexity and spatial
strategies: Towards a relational planning for our Steinfield, C., & Salvaggio, J. L. (1995). The
times. New York, NY: Routledge. information society: Economic, social and struc
O
tural issues. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Heeks, R. (1999). Reinventing government in
Associates, Inc.
R
the information age. London, UK: Routledge.
doi:10.4324/9780203204962 Van Dijk, J. (2006). The network society: Social
P
aspects of new media. London, UK: Sage Pub
Heeks, R. (2006). Implementing and managing
lications, Ltd.
eGovernment: An international text. London,
L
UK: Sage Publications Ltd. Webster, F. (1995). Theories of the information
society. London, UK: Routledge.
Laquian, A. (2005). Beyond metropolis: The
A
planning and governance of Asia’s megaurban
regions. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson
B
Center Press. KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
Liebowitz, J., & Beckman, T. (1998). Knowledge
O
Civic Engagement: Exercising the rights and
organizations: What every manager should know. obligations pertinent to democratic participation
L
United States of America: St. Lucie Press. Development Management: A philosophy of
Masuda, Y. (1980). The information society as management applicable to addressing develop
G
postindustrial society. Washington, DC: World ment challenges
Future Society. Digital Inclusion: Having access to the re
I
sources and power to engage in electronically me
May, C. (2002). The information society: A skepti diated actions and participate in public cyberspace
G
cal view. Cambridge, MA: Polity Press. eDevelopment: Social or economic value
I
Mosco, V., & Wasko, J. (Eds.). (1998). The politi creation through advances in ICT diffusion, so
cal economy of information. Madison, WI: The phistication, access, and usage
University of Wisconsin Press. eGovernance: Electronically mediated en
gagement between government and citizens in
Osborne, D., & Gaebler, T. (1992). Reinventing pursuit of development
government: How the entrepreneurial spirit is Public Policy: The explicit governmental
transforming the public sector. New York, NY: directions required to achieve development goals
Plume Books. Social Inclusion: Having access to the re
Pavlichev, A., & Garson, D. (Eds.). (2004). Digital sources and the power required to take action for
government: Principles and best practices. Lon social wellbeing
don, UK: Ideas Group Inc. Universal Household Broadband Internet
Service: Affordable broadband services for ef
fective household Internet usage
275
D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+/%>+:;<$=")%/%#"+*%+</(1"%'
ENDNOTES Lesedi, Emfuleni and the metropolitan mu

nicipality is Ekurhuleni.
1
A legal system of racial discrimination, 4
Approximately USD67 per month at an
segregation and minority rule exchange rate of 7.5ZAR to 1USD
2
Approximately USD70 per month 5
Unmediated consultations with communities
F
3
The local municipalities are Merafong, Rand at facetoface gatherings
fontein, Kungwini, Nokeng, Westonaria, 6
Short message service over a mobile phone
O
channel
R O
L P
B A
LO
I G
I G
276
277
Chapter 14
Implications of e-Government
in Botswana in the Realm
O F
O
of e-Participation:
R
Case of Francistown
Vako Mbako
University of Botswana, Botswana
Kelvin Joseph Bwalya
L P
A
University of Johannesburg, Center of Knowledge & Information Management, South Africa
B
Tanya Du Plessis
O
Chris Rensleigh
ABSTRACT
G L
I
Countries the world over have drawn eGovernment interventions placing much emphasis on erecting
85J#213'NQ('.15*8,3*#G3#*2,/'.1,3.3#3.&187/'72B87/'81)'*2B#783&*4'5*8=2F&*-,I'@&F2+2*/'=&,3'&5'3<2,2'
G
interventions lack carefullydrawn eGovernment awareness strategies, which translates into most of
I
these interventions being typically unknown by the general public and causing low eParticipation. This
chapter presents the novel interventions that are being authored towards robust eGovernment develop
ment for Botswana where eGovernment development is at the very intial stages. Using exploratory and
empirical study of Francistown and surrounding rural areas, the chapter presents a critical analysis of
the state of eGovernment preparedness and further presents the current status of eGovernment adop
tion in Botswana. This study establishes that whilst many eGovernment strategies are being authored in
Botswana, the eParticipation component has not been adequately considered in drawing the different
eGovernment interventions. This is negatively impacting on the overall anticipated value prepositions
for eGovernment implementation.
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch014
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
INTRODUCTION forums to communicate with political leaders, ac

cessing government services anywhere, anytime,
Governments throughout the world are man etc.) of eGovernment may potentially create value
dated with decisionmaking, managing the dif on the part of the citizen. This entails that citizens
ferent national resources and coordinating the can collaboratively participate in decision/policy
F
socioeconomic business processes on behalf of making through the use of ICTs (eParticipation).
the general citizenry. Recently, there has been Further, implementation of eGovernment enables
O
a paradigm shift where this decisionmaking, citizens and businesses to access information and
management and coordination is done with input services (such as accessing business opportunities
from citizens, businesses, and the civil society at in the public sector, utilization of eProcurement
O
large. This participatory governance is being made channels, etc.) in a faster and efficient manner.
possible with the use of information and commu This may change people’s general perception on
R
nication technologies (ICTs), a phenomenon called government which has been that governments are
electronic government (eGovernment). There complex, mammoth bureaucratic establishments
P
have generally been no commonlyagreed upon with a set of information silos that erect barriers
definition of eGovernment and several authors to access of information and make the provision
L
have attempted to define it strictly with reference of services cumbersome and frustrating (Cole
to their domains. Although eGovernment is often man, 2006).
A
defined as “online government” or “Internetbased Apart from the general benefits of eGovern
government”, many nonInternet “electronic ment mentioned above, it is a well known fact that
B
government” technologies such as telephone, it can also result in huge cost savings to govern
fax, short message service (SMS), multimedia ments, businesses, and citizens alike; increase
messaging service (MMS), wireless networks, transparency and reduce corrupt activities in public
O
Bluetooth, television and radiobased delivery of service delivery. eGovernment has the potential
L
government services can be used in the context to reduce the cost of providing efficient public
of eGovernment (Antiroiko and Malkia, 2006; services as demonstrated in the following cases:
Heeks, 2004; Ngulube, 2007). Implementation of a) with a total volume of over US$44bn transac
G
eGovernment centers on the use of ICT, provision tions done over the G2B Korean eGovernment
I
of an efficient public service, and promotion of platform1, a total of US$4.5bn cost savings were
participatory/responsive decision/policymaking. realised in 2006; b) in India, US$3.6bn worth of
G
EGovernment facilitates the reaping of maxi eProcurement transactions were done using the
I
mum advantage and value out of ICTs to support Indian eGovernment platform, resulting into cost
socioeconomical and political development with savings of over US$238.2mln in 2005, c) in Brazil,
a view to improve the quality of public services, 51% savings in transaction costs and 25.5.% reduc
and provide an avenue for citizens to interact tion in prices were realised during a period from
with government institutions and processes in the year 2000 to 2006, and d) in Romania, 650000
a democratic, transparent and equitable manner electronic auctions were done between the year
(Ngulube, 2007). 2002 and 2006 inclusive, resulting into cost sav
It cannot be overemphasized that proper use ings of over US$178mln. Not only in cost savings,
of eGovernment applications offers a plethora of eGovernment may also reduce corruption levels
socioeconomic development opportunities. Fuller as presented in a large portion of eGovernment
utilization (applying for government services such literature in an anecdotal perspective. However,
as passports, accessing policy and law documents, several concrete cases have demonstrated that e
taking advantage of interactive platforms and Government does contribute to the reduction of
278
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
corruption to a greater or lesser extent as presented offer, Botswana has started putting in place de
in the following cases: a) South Korea’s Seoul liberate policies and initiatives that delve for the
Metropolitan’s online procedures enhancement for proliferation of future eGovernment applications.
civil applications (OPEN ) project, and South Ko As eGovernment applications either fail or suc
rea’s Government eProcurement System (GePS) ceed (Bwalya, 2010; Finger & Pecaud, 2003), it
F
have been extensively utilised as anticorruption is important a proper eGovernment strategy is in
platforms (Iqbal, & Seo, 2008). b) In India, the place, and the different factors that may contribute
O
impact assessment of five eGovernment projects to either success or failure are known before the
was conducted and this resulted in reduction in actual fullscale implementation is undertaken.
the percentage of transactions involving bribes In this regard, it is important to note that the
O
(Bhatnagar, Rao, Singh, Vaidya, & Mandal, 2007). hallmark of citizens’ perception on eGovernment
c) In another eGovernment strategy impact assess applications lies on the trust of the information
R
ment in India, departments dealing with passport and channels through which eGovernment is
computerization showed increases in bribes while provided; and the general democratic culture in
P
the ministry of corporate affairs’ computerizations a given country. Botswana is a good democracy
showed signs of reduction in bribes (NeGP Report, and the citizens have trust in their leaders because
L
2007). d) Pathak and Prasad (2006) analyzed nine most of the government business processes are
eGovernment initiatives in India and arrived at done on public platforms and transparency is the
A
a conclusion that eGovernment is effective in order of the day (Lekorwe et al., 2001).
reducing corruption or eliminating it altogether. There are a couple of eGovernment initiatives
B
Also, from a study by Csaki and Gelleri (2005), ef underway in Botswana: erecting of a dedicated
fective use of decision support systems which can radial (Kgalagadi) fibre network and government
be embedded into eGovernment applications, in data network (GDN), subscription to regional sub
O
public procurement systems (G2B eGovernment) marine cable systems (such as EASSy and South
L
can limit the damaging effects of corruption, and e) Atlantic3/West African Submarine Cable, SAT3/
Kumar and Best (2006) posit that village Internet WASC), putting in place sound institutional, legal
facilities enable villagers in India to participate and regulatory frameworks (such as the establish
G
in obtaining agriculture services such as recom ment of the Botswana Telecommunications Au
I
mended prices of their agriculture produce on the thority), and setting up of an eGovernment task
market. Bhatnaga, S. (2003) has ascertained that force (mandated with driving the eGovernment
G
in addition to low probability of discovery, and agenda). These initiatives call for massive moni
I
perceived immunity against corruption, secrecy tory, technical and strategic investments which
in government, restrictions imposed on access to could otherwise be allocated to other national
information resources by the general citizenry, development initiatives. Investments in ICTs
including ill defined/complex and excessive make sense when these bring about eInclusion
rules, procedures and regulations leading to low (use of ICTs as a common platform where infor
chances of being discovery are the major factors mation can be accessed and individuals regarded
that support growth of corruption. These cases as equals regardless of social or economic status)
presented here are just some of the many cases which further matures and transcends into socio
that demonstrate the importance of eGovernment economic inclusiveness of all individuals, even
applications on the socioeconomic setup of any marginal ones (individuals who are disadvantaged
given location. in one way or the other either socially such as the
Having realized these different benefits that physically challenged, or economically such as
proper implementation of eGovernment has to the unemployed).
279
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
Are the eGovernment initiatives worth it 2. Formulation of a citizencentered eGovern

considering that the ICT infrastructure in Bo ment adoption model will guide the imple
tswana may not be that developed to accord the mentation of eGovernment to encourage
different stakeholders such as line ministries and speedy adoption of eGovernment by citizens
government departments a seamless integration in Botswana.
F
of services and interactive access of government 3. Successful implementation of eGovernment
files/forms? Are aforesaid interventions value in Botswana will enable the benefits of e
O
less prepositions? What is the current adoption Government to track down to the citizens at
status (technological buyins?) of eGovernment the community level.
services by individuals and businesses? Is the phe
O
nomenon of eGovernment bringing interaction This chapter is arranged as follows: the next
amongst government departments, citizens and section presents the background section that pres
R
businesses? These questions provide a guideline ents the theoretical and technical underpinnings
of how eGovernment should be assessed in Bo of eGovernment implementation. Thereafter,
P
tswana and this chapter attempts to answer some an exploratory section detailing the different
of these questions. eGovernment interventions in Botswana is pre
L
Using extensive document/publications re sented. Then, empirical findings of the study done
views, surveys, and some interviews with subject in Francistown are presented, together with the
A
matter experts from the Botswana eGovernment analysis of the current eGovernment adoption in
office, this chapter presents an exploratory and Botswana and some recommendations for future
B
empirical study that aims to answer some of the works. The chapter concludes by outlining the
questions outlined above. Specifically, it out conclusion of the study.
lines the adoption status of ICTs to access public
O
service delivery by both individuals and/or busi
L
nesses. The chapter also presents interventions BACKGROUND
and challenges that have been met in as far as
driving this eGovernment agenda is concerned. This section is divided into two subsections
G
The study was done in Francistown (the second providing theoretical and practical foundations
I
city of Botswana) and the surrounding villages of eGovernment.
within a radius of 30 kilometers (Shashe, Tati
A. The eGovernment Phenomenon
G
siding, Gerald estate, Chadibe, Shashe mooke,
I
Mathangwane and Matshelagabedi).
This chapter is timely as it presents lessons The Internet, coupled with massive adoption of
that are being learnt in setting up and consolidat ICTs world over positions eGovernment as a
ing eGovernment initiatives from a developing type of application that cannot be ignored. This
country’s perspective. In addition, this chapter culminates from the fact that the growth of the
aims to test the following hypothetical assertions: Internet has had a transformational effect on the
global society, making information and services
1. The implementation of eGovernment in accessible in ways that were not conceived, let
Botswana will result into efficient commu alone imagined, just some 30 years ago (Napoli
nication channels amongst the government, et. al., 2000). Further, the use of the Internet and
citizens and businesses; improve public Web tools for supporting participatory actions in
service delivery; and avoid social exclusion legislative processes, political or societal decision
from the governance hierarchy. making in governmental or communities’ context,
280
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
but also user friendly eGovernment services is Further, the US eGovernment Act of 2002
becoming a common practice. (Section 3601)3 defines eGovernment to mean
EGovernment and eGovernance are in most
of the times used interchangeably. EGovernment, “the use by the Government of webbased Internet
together with eAdministration and eGovernance, applications and other information technologies,
F
is the final result of the digitization process of combined with processes that implement these
public service delivery systems (Michel. 2005). technologies, to
O
Backus (2001) referred to eGovernment as the
transformation of the business of the government; (A) Enhance the access to and delivery of Gov
including processes, operations, and transac ernment information and services to the public,
O
tions; which are driven primarily by effective other agencies, and other Government entities; or
use of ICTs. Finger and Pecaud (2003) posit
R
that eGovernment brings about socioeconomic (B) Bring about improvements in Government op
development opportunities by opening up new erations that may include effectiveness, efficiency,
P
channels and platforms for accessing govern service quality, or transformation”.
ment, and contemporary systems for organising
L
and managing information and public services. UNESCO4 has defined eGovernance as
Bedi et al. (2001) has defined eGovernance as
A
“a government structure which is efficient and ...the exercise of political, economic and adminis
effective and is duly controlled by the citizens” trative authority in the management of a country’s
B
through the use of ICTs. EGovernance cannot ex affairs, including citizens’ articulation of their
ist if there is no eParticipation (the use of ICTs by interests and exercise of their legal rights and
citizens’ involvement in different eGovernment obligations. EGovernance may be understood as
O
applications) as distinct to eGovernment which the performance of this governance via the elec
L
can exist by the mere existence of platforms and tronic medium in order to facilitate an efficient,
channels that make it possible for ICTs to be speedy and transparent process of disseminating
used n the government business processes. Other information to the public, and other agencies,
G
institutions have defined eGovernment and e and for performing government administration
I
Governance as follows: activities.
The World Bank2 has defined eGovernment as
G
Some of the common differences between
I
“the use by government agencies of information the characteristics of eGovernment and eGov
technologies (such as Wide Area Networks, the ernance can be shown in Table1.
Internet, and mobile computing) that have the Precisely, eGovernment entails ICT usage to
ability to transform relations with citizens, busi promote responsive government and encom
nesses, and other arms of government. These passes such characteristics as electronic workflow,
technologies can serve a variety of different ends: electronic voting (eVoting), electronic service
better delivery of government services to citizens, delivery which correspondingly culminates into
improved interactions with business and industry, increased electronic productivity. Distinctly, e
citizen empowerment through access to informa Governance entails the procedural aspects of e
tion, or more efficient government management. Government and brings forth the societal synthe
The resulting benefits can be less corruption, sis of government policies and developmental
increased transparency, greater convenience, programmes, thereof. EGovernance entails the
revenue growth, and/or cost reductions.” processes that bring about participation in the
281
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
Table 1. Distinction between egovernment and egovernance
eGovernment eGovernance
ICT superstructure and institutional approach to public service System functionality and performance
delivery systems using ICTs
Rules and roles in public service delivery frameworks Business processes for public service delivery
F
Implementation Electronic consultation (eConsultation)
Electronic productivity (eProductivity) Electronic participation (eParticipation)
O
Electronic voting (eVoting) Coordination of public service delivery systems
Electronic workflow Goals and outcomes
government processes using ICTs (eParticipa

tion). Some of the characteristics of the eGover
R O
pate in policy formation and to be abreast with
government information such as memos, policies,
P
nance phenomenon are the following: electronic rules and regulations. Businesses can also benefit
consultation (eConsultation), electronic control from this arrangement because they can down
lership (eControllership), electronic engagement load business registration forms, obtain permits,
L
(eEngagement), and networked societal guidance. renew business licenses and pay taxes. G2B also
There are different types of eGovernment ap involves eProcurement, which is a government
A
plications meant to provide automation and dispensation for the exchange and purchase of
streamlining of government business processes goods and services. EProcurement makes the
B
so that efficiency and accountability are maxi bidding process for government projects trans
mized and ordinary transaction costs in public parent and aims not to leave room for corruption
O
service delivery are minimised. The following practices. This is one way in which eGovernment
paragraph discusses the different types of e contributes to reducing corrupting in the public
L
Government applications. service delivery networks. Correspondingly,
GovernmenttoCitizens (G2C) applications eProcurement enables cost savings on the part
G
allow interaction between the government and its of the government as there are no middlemen or
citizens in a setup where citizens are given chance agents in the procuring process. Governmentto
I
to effectively participate in the governance pro Government (G2G) enables different government
tocols and influence the direction of policy using line ministries and agencies to seamless integrate,
G
ICTs. The major cornerstone of G2C applications thereby culminating into faster and efficient pub
I
is information symmetry between the govern lic service delivery and transparency. G2G also
ment and its citizens. From the government’s provides an ICT platform for governments from
side, citizens can be able to access basic services different countries to collaborate and exchange
such as application for passports, license renew ideas on developmental issues. When used in this
als, agriculture services, acquiring of marriage/ way, G2G is used as an application for international
birth/death certificates, applying for government relations and diplomacy.
schemes, income taxes, and information on basic Effective eGovernment implementation de
public services such as health care, libraries, hos mands that the internal systems and procedures
pital information, and education. Governmentto which allow collaboration amongst different gov
Businesses (G2B) allows interaction between the ernment departments be strengthened before elec
government and different business establishments. tronic transactions with citizens and businesses can
This enables the business community to partici be successful (Bwalya and Healy, 2010). There is
282
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
also the GovernmenttoEmployees (G2E) model As indicated above, the benefits of eGovern
which aims to place the public service human ment can be so massive that this has motivated
resource base at a competitive advantage so that many governments the world over to employ ICTs
affluent service delivery is achievable. With this in most of their governance systems. Almarabeh
platform, government provides human resource & AbuAli (2010) have provided a tentative list
F
training so that employees are abreast with their on the major areas where eGovernment is imple
professions. This mode also allows interaction mented as shown in Table 2. These different areas
O
between the government and the employees so of eGovernment will eventually culminate into
that employees can access employment opportuni improving public service delivery for the different
ties, can be conversant with their scope of work, government departments.
O
employee welfare schemes, rules and regulations Table 2 has shown that eGovernment can be
and articulation of the desired public service work used in socioeconomic and governance value
R
culture. G2E platforms also promote collaboration chains to simplify the overall government business
amongst the different employees and can be used and bureaucratic processes. For these different
P
as an eLearning platform. benefits of eGovernment to be retrieved, there
is need that the necessary prerequisites such as
A
Table 2. Areas under the ambit of eGovernment
L
B
Sector eGovernment benefit or focus Application
Governance Core business Workflow Management, finances, personnel, documentation, records,
information, knowledge, internal communication, executive information
O
and decision making.
Transparency EProcurement, government portal, online availability of laws, regula
L
tions.
Participation Online petitions, notices, comments, citizen’s network, publication of
election results, emails to parliamentarians.
G
Economic Revenue general Taxation, custom, fee information and management.
I
Financial management Budget planning, accounting, expenditure, investment, payroll and other
information.
Resources management Geographic and natural resources information and management, land/
G
property/dwelling management, urban planning, development planning.
I
Business management Enterprise registration, investment, technology and technology transfer
information, patent information, market information, statistical analysis,
economic forecasting, laws or regulations.
Social Social services Civil applications, civil registrations, land and property registrations, per
sonal identification documents, social security, vehicle registration.
Education and culture Digital libraries, community information centers, education institutions –
information and management.
Health Distant medicine and prescription services, hospital information and ap
pointment, blood availability reports, health insurance reimbursements,
direct settlement.
Public safety Crime information, drug monitoring and control, prison information and
management, transportation information and management, natural disaster
forecasting and management.
Natural environment Natural environment information management, weather forecasting.
(Source: partly adapted from Almarabeh & AbuAli, 2010)
283
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
affluent ICT backbone infrastructure; sound in nor only customers for public services or only inert
stitutional, legal and regulatory frameworks; ef actors who should be submitting to the political
fective awareness campaigns leading to increased will, but also as active agents who are taking part
eParticipation, are in place. An environment with in the decision and policymaking processes.
such kind of attributes will make sure that there These three levels are the conceptual levels of
F
is acceptable adoption and usage of ICTs in the contemporary eGovernment phenomenon and
government realm. The implementation of e are the cardinal and desired characteristics of all
O
Government passes through a set of distinct steps eGovernment applications.
before most of the benefits of eGovernment Implementation of eGovernment follows
implementation can be amassed. According to some distinct phases as outlined in different matu
O
Bhatnaga (2003: 2), the first entry point of e rity models of eGovernment. The maturity models
Government implementation is a step where in details the steps and processes that need to be fol
R
formation about services is published on a Web lowed when eGovernment initiatives are being
site according the generally citizenry an implemented. Some of the common eGovernment
P
opportunity to interact with the site to download maturity levels are the Layne and Lee fourstage
application forms for a variety of public services. (catalogue, transaction, vertical integration,
L
In most of the cases, the next stage involves the horizontal integration) model; the Delloite’s six
use of ICT in “the actual delivery of service such stage (information publishing/dissemination, ‘of
A
as filing a tax return, renewing a license, etc”. ficial’ twoway transaction, multipurpose portals,
After that, a fully integrated eGovernment ap portal personalization) model, Deloitte & Touche
B
proach is going to involve more sophisticated (2001); the World Bank three stage (publishing,
applications such as processing of online pay interactivity, completing transaction) model,
ments. These different stages of eGovernment World Bank (2003); United Nations five stage
O
development are modeled by a variety of e (emerging presence, enhanced presence, interac
L
Government maturity models. The following tive presence, transactional presence, networked)
section discusses some of the most common e model; the West’s four stage (billboard, partial
Government maturity models. service delivery, full integrated service delivery,
G
interactive democracy with public outreach and
I
B. EGovernment Maturity Models accountability) model; Gartner (Web presence,
interaction, transaction, transformation) model,
G
The most generic model of eGovernment ‘meta Baum and Di Maio, (2000); Asia Pacific six stage
I
morphosis’ has been given by Michel (2005) who (Setting up an email system and internal network,
has identified three different levels of eGovern enabling interorganizational and public access
ment service provision. In the first level, “cus to information, allowing 2way communication,
tomers” are at the centre of all the eGovernment allowing exchange of value, digital democracy,
initiatives. The primary motive of governments Joinedup government) model; Accenture five
in this stage is to increase citizen satisfaction by stage (Online presence, Basic capability, Service
increasing efficiency in the public service delivery availability, Mature delivery, Service transforma
systems. The second level enables governments to tion) model; Chandler and Emanuel’s three stage
deploy such techniques as electronic voting which (information, interaction, transaction) model;
enables citizens to rate their acceptance levels of Howard’s three stage (publishing, interaction,
government’s policies and overall management of transaction) model, Horward (2009); Hiller and
a nation’s socioeconomic resources. In the third Blanger’s five stage (Information dissemination,
level, citizens are not only looked at as spectators Twoway communication, Service and financial
284
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
transaction, Vertical and horizontal integration, is no global or optimal eGovernment maturity

Political participation) model, Hiller and Blanger model amongst the existing eGovernment ma
(2001); Moon five stage (Simple information dis turity models. These models give a guideline as
semination (oneway communication, Twoway to what issues any eGovernment strategy should
communication (request and response, Service concentrate on at any stage of the eGovernment
F
and financial transaction, Vertical and horizontal maturity level. Table 3 shows characteristics of
integration, Political participation) model, Moon the different eGovernment maturity models.
O
(2002); and the Public Sector Process Rebuilding All the above mentioned adoption models may
(Cultivation, extension, Maturity, Revolutionary) be used to assess the penetration of eGovernment
as an extension of the 2001 Layne and Lee model, in Botswana and chat a way forward on how
O
Andersen and Henriksen (2006). The Public future eGovernment endeavors should be pur
Sector Process Rebuilding (PPR) Model) was sued. However, when using the Hiller and Blanger
R
proposed by PPR takes the customer centric ap model, it is fair to classify the eGovernment
proach whereas Layne and Lee model puts more status in Botswana as being at the stage of infor
P
emphasis on technological capability. mation. This is because an eGovernment portal,
Comparison of these different models reveals www.gov.bw, is available allowing users to access
L
that these models can work with appropriate con information on different government departments.
sideration to the local context where eGovernment This governmental portal acts as a central store
A
is implemented. The different models discussed to accessing information from other government
were implemented in different areas worldwide line ministries and departments. However, most
B
thereby being subjected to the local conditions of the ministries do not have their own websites.
of these different areas. This is to say that there When one clicks on the link to a particular gov
Name of
LO
Table 3. Characteristics of different adoption models
Stages involved Major characteristics
G
Adoption Model
I
West Fourstages (billboard, partial service delivery, full Functionality and citizencentric; fair consideration to both
integrated service delivery, interactive democracy technical and nontechnical security attributes.
with public outreach and accountability)
G
Asia Pacific Sixstages (publishing, interaction, transaction) Focuses on citizencentric and functionality together the
I
potential impact on eGovernment applications which can be
brought about by sudden political changes. Model does not
succinctly consider security issues (Wescott, 2009).
Chandler and Threestages (information, interaction, transaction) Ascertaining the functionality and whether eGovernment
Emanuel’s applications are citizencentric; consideration given to
security aspects of the applications. Considers sudden politi
cal changes on the eGovernment environment (Chandler &
Emanuels, 2002).
Howard Threestages (information, interaction, transaction) Maintains acceptable functionality of eGovernment ap
plication and doesn’t ignore the issue of citizencentric ap
plications. It does not consider the adverse effects, potential
benefits of political changes or any nontechnical issues of
eGovernment applications (Howard, 2009).
Hiller and Blanger fivestages (Information dissemination, Twoway Enables citizens to participate in politics through online vot
communication, Service and financial transac ing (eVoting) and eForums.
tion, Vertical and horizontal integration, Political
participation)
285
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
ernment department, a new page opens within the Generally, Botswana shows an acceptable ICT
government portal. In this regard, the portal is infrastructure preparedness. Fibre optic technol
mostly utilized as an information dissemination ogy is actively being installed: such as the Tlok
platform, providing static information to a variety weng fibre optic system which acts as a relay
of users. Interactivity of the users with the content network to handle traffic to South Africa; and the
F
provided on this Website is however not developed TransKgalagadi fibre optical cable system which
as of yet. The limitation of the presented models connects with the Namibian fibre optic system.
O
is that they do not give consideration to any se In the capital city, a government wide network
curityrelated issues including those which are (GWN) has been implemented for service integra
notechnical. Note that security is only given at tion amongst government departments and line
O
the financial transaction stage (Moon, 2002). ministries. On the legal, regulatory and institu
tional framework front, the Botswana government
R
and cooperating partners have established the
EGOVERNMENT IN BOTSWANA Botswana Telecommunication Authority (under
P
the Telecommunications Act, No. 15 of 1996) and
A. Exploratory Study the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation
L
(under the BTC Act of 1980, as amended in 1996).
To ascertain the level of eGovernment penetra An eGovernment team has also been put in place
A
tion, we explore the current status of ICT adop to come up with the eGovernment strategy and
tion and eReadiness in Botswana. The overall drive the eGovernment agenda. All these initia
B
eGovernment Interventions and status have tives are costing millions in US dollars and this
been benchmarked against the criteria suggested shows the direct commitment of the government
by Almarabeh and AbuAli (2010). Coupled with in making sure that ICT is used in many socio
O
other eGovernment metrics, eReadiness is used economic frameworks. The obvious lacking e
L
as a precondition for successful eGovernment Readiness component in Botswana is the low
development. Effective eGovernment cannot be Internet users as depicted in Table 3. This means
realized in an environment which is not eReady as that eParticipation is very low and, assuming all
G
eReadiness is one of the preliminary requirements public services were to be offered through the
I
for eGovernment applications. The eReadiness Internet, less than 5 out of 100 people could be
parameters for Botswana are shown in Table 4. reached. Although this is the case, the Botswana
111
I G
Table 4. Ereadiness parameters for Botswana
Rank Country
Algeria
Index
Value
0.1248
Estimated
Internet
users per 100
inhabitants
10.34
Main fixed
telephone
lines per 100
inhabitants
9.06
Mobile
subscribers per
100 inhabitants
81.41
Personal
computers per
100 inhabitants
1.07
Total fixed
broadband per
100 inhabitants
0.85
112 Namibia 0.1219 5.33 6.61 49.39 23.94 0.01
q q
121 Botswana 0.1081 4.16 7.41 77.34 4.83 0.19
153 Zambia 0.0427 5.55 0.72 28.04 1.12 0.04
156 Cameroon 0.0411 2.93 1.04 32.28 1.12 0.00
(Source: UN eGovernment survey, 2010)
286
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
government has actively been experimenting with transactionbased services to static information
the use of ICTs in its service delivery systems for to different eGovernment stakeholders and us
over a decade now. However, a dedicated e ers; and a relatively high Human Development
Government strategy has been lacking and hence Index (0.800) and an adult literacy rate of 84.4%.
not many people have benefited from any e Mauritius’s eGovernment has steadily developed
F
Government endeavors currently being promoted. because of government’s desire to transform it into
Against this background, it then becomes im a Cyber island and transcend towards putting in
O
perative that there is need to understand the place an informationbased society where interac
overall perceptions of eGovernment applications. tive platforms are readily available for citizens and
businesses to readily interact with the government
O
B. Problems Current Status (eGovernment Initiatives, 2005)
of eGovernment in Africa Some of the eGovernment projects imple
R
mented have been the Contribution Network
Realizing the eGovernment brings about many Project (CNP) which is a GovernmenttoBusiness
P
benefits such as improving power relations be (G2B) initiative of the Ministry of Finance. The
tween the politicians (and the government at large) CNP allows large employers to pay tax electroni
L
and the general citizenry, most African countries cally. In 2001, the eGovernment Task Force was
have started pursuing eGovernment implemen set up to spearhead the eGovernment mandate in
A
tation. Although almost everywhere in Africa it Mauritius. EGovernment Initiatives (2005) de
can be shown that the level of adoption of ICTs, tails the specific initiatives that were implemented
B
and correspondingly eParticipation, is still very in a bid to promote eGovernment as follows:
low, most countries do not want to pay the oppor set up of the Government Online Centre (GOC)
tunity cost that comes from shunning away from infrastructure at the Ebene Cybercity; Unveiling
O
eGovernment. Countries in the forefront in as far of eGovernment Master Plan for the Civil ser
L
as eGovernment implementation is concerned vice and set up of the Government Web Portal;
are Mauritius, South Africa, and Egypt. Other appointment of Chief Information Officers (CIO)
countries such as Botswana, Uganda, Tanzania, within individual ministries; set up of a Central
G
Namibia, Nigeria, and Kenya have also started IT Committee (CITC) at the Prime Minister’s
I
drawing eGovernment development plans. All Office; and set up of a CIO Council. To account
these countries have at least a government portal for appropriate change management initiatives, a
G
as an entry point to accessing government infor training programme targeting 5000 civil servants
I
mation. Twoway communication (interactivity was set up in 2002 to provide the necessary IT
brought about by dynamic Web content) is miss related training; introduced the eGovernment
ing even amongst the leaders of eGovernment Interoperability Framework which sets out the
implementation in Africa. The rest of the countries technical policies and specifications to achieve
are mostly at the ICT policy development levels. interoperability and information coherence across
The following paragraphs give a snapshot view the public service.
of overall eGovernment development in selected South Africa (SA) is one of the countries that
African countries. has also achieved some considerable strides in
Mauritius is the leader of eGovernment Readi utilizing ICTs in its public service platforms. With
ness and implementation on the African continent the successful hosting of the World Cup 2010, it
(UN eGovernment survey, 2010). Its strength lies is anticipated that more robust and appropriate
in its implementation of an integrated Web portal, ICT infrastructures have further been put in place.
www.gov.mu, allowing an array of sophisticated These are correspondingly going to contribute
287
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
towards encouraging faster adoption of ICTs. to 206 citizens and informal and openended
Some of the notable eGovernment initiatives are interviews were conducted with two officials
the eFilling that is used by the Southern African from the Botswana eGovernment office who are
Revenue Service – SARS5; the Cape Gateway engaged in eGovernment research, initiation and
portal presented in three languages – English, policy making. 175 responses were received. After
F
Afrikaans and iXhosa6 offers transparency in eliminating incomplete responses, the researcher
public service delivery by offering all government selected 163 usable responses as the sample giving
O
information online; and the Judicial Inspector a response rate of 79.1%. The participants were
ate of Prisons, the South African Department of selected randomly from different socioeconomic
Correctional Services7, and the Home Affairs strata in Francistown and surrounding areas as long
O
National Information System (HANIS) where as they have attained a certain level of education
citizens can access birth and death registration and are ICT literate and are at a stage where they
R
forms online (The eBusiness Handbook, 2005). can be potential eGovernment customers. This
Commitments have been shown by cooperating was done because it is understood that eGov
P
partners such as the government and the private ernment users and/or customers lie at the center
sector to transform SA into an information so of eGovernment implementation as they are the
L
ciety. Some of the notable initiatives have been active agents, and correspondingly enablers of
the Electronic Communications and Transactions various eGovernment value prepositions.
A
Act of 2002 which came up with an eStrategy After the questionnaire was designed, a pilot
especially hinged on developing a world class testing was done using six randomly selected
B
telecommunications infrastructure; and the put representatives. This was done in order to improve
ting together of a presidential National Council the questions and to test respondents’ comprehen
on ICTs directly answerable to the president. All sion and clarity of questions before a whole lot of
O
the eGovernment interventions and vision are questions were distributed on a large scale. The
L
entrenched onto SA’s Vision 2014 (eGov News questionnaire compromised 13 questions, unam
Oct/Nov 2002). biguous and easy for respondents to complete.
Some of the questions were open ended type ques
G
C. Empirical Study tions while others used the original measurement
I
scales for perceived usefulness and perceived
To probe whether these different interventions are ease of use included four levels in the Likert
G
transcending into appropriate value prepositions, scale. Each item of the closed ended questions
I
an empirical study was conducted in Francistown was measured on a fourpoint Likert scale with
and surrounding areas. The study aimed to under end points of “strongly agree” (4) and “strongly
stand the different implications of eGovernment disagree” (1). The questions were designed in a
implementation in Botswana and whether there manner that they will at the end address the aims
was adequate participation in government value and objective of the study, capture the individu
chains to translate into effective eParticipation. als knowledge on eGovernment and mainly the
The study specifically considered the influence possible implications that individual will or are
of rural/urban residence, ICT infrastructure, and experiencing. Before the questionnaire was given
education level as driving factors on eGovernment to a potential respondent, the term eGovernment
adoption. was thoroughly explained so that each participant
To explore the argument of the possible im answers with the same understanding.
plications eGovernment has on an individual The following charts represent the demog
in Botswana, questionnaires were distributed raphy of the sample population that was used in
288
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
Figure 1. Age range and educational level of respondents
O F
R O
P
answering the questionnaire. As seen below, the adoptions. Also, they were asked to indicate what
sample represents the age range and educational they think are the major factors that influence
L
level of respondents. eGovernment implementation and adoption. The
Research participants were given a chance to questionnaire asked the participants on different
A
articulate their expectations on what government items of eGovernment by classifying these items
should do to promote proliferation of eGovern verbatim on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being ‘strongly
B
ment in Botswana. The research probed the avail disagree’ and 1 being ‘strongly agree’. The results
ability of ICT platforms within their reach which of the different responses is shown in table 5.
can have an impact on overall eGovernment
Table 5. Empirical survey
LO
G
Probed parameter eGovernment aspect probed Count Corresponding Mean Score on the
Likert scale*
I
Usability The eGovernment portal is easier and friendly to 163 3.95
use?
G
EGovernment: what Familiarity with the term eGovernment and able to 147 2.96
I
it is? define what eGovernment is.
Availability of ICT Access to basic ICT gadgets for access of eGovern 123 1.79
platforms ment applications.
Opportunity cost Is eGovernment worth it considering how expen 162 3.23
sive eGovernment projects are?
eGovernment adoption Frequency use of eGovernment in everyday life. 162 2.90
eGovernment aware Effectiveness of government campaigns to promote 160 1.95
ness campaigns eGovernment?
Security and trust Protection of the user in the eGovernment environ 126 0.74
ment.
Overall benefits Implementation of eGovernment will enable citi 163 2.82
zens to participate in government processes, lead too
social inclusion, and enable efficient public service
delivery.
*(Scale: 1 = strongly disagree, to 5 = strongly agree)
289
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
As mentioned, a different set of questions were be performed online the issue of timely reaction
given to the participants to test their basic knowl often remains a problem.
edge of eGovernment. Generally, villagers unlike Derived from the respondents’ reasons the
city dwellers had shown ignorance of what is general response seems to be that an entire differ
happening in as far as eGovernment is concerned ent era is ahead where almost everything will be
F
because of lack of adequate ICT infrastructure in conducted online. A paperless society will soon
the country areas and the technological divide be possible and this will mean there will be heavy
O
between country and city areas. reliance on the Internet for communication, busi
To start with, before the respondents were to ness transaction, services and the way information
answer the rest of the questionnaire, the first ques will be disseminated.
O
tion asked the respondents if they were familiar The respondents were asked what the impact
with the term eGovernment. Only 53.8% of the of digitization of government business processes
R
respondents responded as yes to the question. From would be on the gap between the country and
the demographic information presented above, it city dwellers. The research showed that 48.1%
P
could be seen that most of the respondents have of respondents strongly agreed while 38.5%
a tertiary background therefore they might be of respondents opted to agree with the fact
L
having an idea of what the term means. Age wise, that eLiteracy will be popular among city and
most respondents were between 22 and 26 years country dwellers. On the other hand, 13.5% of
A
followed by 27 to 31 years. the respondents showed a tendency to disagree.
The second question was about how the respon This entails that the gap will widen between the
B
dents understand eGovernment; the question was country and city dwellers in as far as accessing
made open to allow the respondents to state their public services is concerned as the former does
views. Only 51.9% of the respondents responded not have adequate ICT infrastructure and ICT
O
to the question, their thoughts where different access points as compared to the latter.
L
but in the end the responses led to the follow On whether the implementation of eGovern
ing, i) the use of the Internet by the government ment has brought about any noticeable positive
to interact with its citizens and businesses, ii) a change in public service delivery, 13.5% of re
G
shift to digitalization (automation) and lastly iii) spondents strongly agreed and 5.8% of respon
I
a move towards a world driven by technological dents barely agreed. Of the respondents, 48.1%
means were the use of Internet and computers disagreed that there is no difference while the
G
will be highly valued. remaining 32.7% of respondents strongly dis
I
With regard to improving public service de agreed. Followup snapshot questions to this
livery, 32.7% of the respondents strongly agreed revealed that despite introducing eGovernment,
that eGovernment generally improves public there still remain long queues at serviceprovision
service delivery whereas 42.3% of respondents departments such as the Department of Roads and
opted to barely agree that eGovernment does im Transport. This was attributed to the fact that citi
prove service delivery. On the other hand, 15.4% zens can download the forms from the Botswana
of respondents disagreed while the remaining government website (www.gov.bw), and complete
9.6% of respondents chose to strongly disagree. it, but citizens still have to take it manually to the
The assumption here is that those who chose to department for submission. This brings us to the
disagree might be from the country side where fact that the current eGovernment portal may not
they do not have the necessary tools to access be as interactive as desired.
these services. The other reason might be that, The next question asked respondents to list
even though certain processes and actions can some of the benefits of eGovernment. Only
290
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
51.9% of respondents responded to the question. opted to strongly disagree and only a few, 15.4%
Of those who responded to the question, the fol disagreed with the motion. Those who chose to
lowing benefits surfaced, i) efficient and cost disagree might be right in the sense that most
effective on the side of the individual basically of the time there is need for someone who will
looking at the time taken, ii) improvement in demonstrate how to do things, give advice on
F
service delivery by the government, iii) access to who to see and basically being there at the help
current information and lastly, iv) transparency desk for additional information and assistance to
O
within the government. individuals.
Approximately two years have passed since The research investigated whether digitization
the project of eGovernment was launched, was likely to widen the gap between the country
O
therefore the question that was presented for the and city dwellers by rendering most of the country
respondents was that, do they as individuals, think dwellers digitally isolated and therefore socially
R
the government has done enough to disseminate excluded. It is true that there is a high possibility
information that has lead to the individuals be that this might be the case because city dwellers
P
ing familiarized with what eGovernment is and presumably have better access to information
what it has install for them. A total of 72.7% of communication tools compared to their country
L
respondents responded to this question with most counterparts. The discussions with workers in the
answers being given as no, and some respondents eGovernment office of Botswana indicated that
A
explained their reasoning. Those who explained, the ICT infrastructure in country areas of Botswana
indicated that, i) people residing in the country side is not developed. This entails that even though
B
knows little about it, ii) people are not proficient eGovernment is being promoted, there is chance
in IT services and, iii) the government usually that country dwellers will benefit less from this
does little to make citizens aware of its services. initiative compared with their city counterparts.
O
The questionnaire also gave a list of prob The government of Botswana has taken the
L
able benefits of eGovernment applications. The implementation of eGovernment with keen in
respondents identified the following as the major terest. For example, the Kgalagadi fund has been
possible uses of eGovernment applications: established to contribute in ICT infrastructure
G
Retrieval of current information on government development, and a substantial amount of money
I
policies, laws and other relevant decisions; plat has been pledged.
form for online voting (eDemocracy); buying Respondents were asked whether the imple
G
and selling of goods and services (eCommerce); mentation of eGovernment in government de
I
meaningful interaction platform for individuals partments results in a positive change in the way
and the government; and ICT platform for re public services are delivered. According to the
sponsive decision and/or policymaking. Some responses obtained, only 13.5% of respondents
of the respondents indicated that eGovernment strongly agreed while 5.8% of respondents nomi
can improve information management processing nally agreed as shown in Figure 2. The responses
and will create synthesis within different govern further showed that 48.1% of the respondents dis
ment departments. Since eGovernment involves agreed thereby indicating that irrespective of the
a shift to automation, it means that most of the use of ICTs by government departments, they did
middle men will be reduced. In response to the not experience an improvement in public service
question “Does this mean that the middle men delivery. The remaining 32.7% of respondents
will be eliminated?”, 21.2% of the respondents strongly disagreed that there is some improvement
strongly agreed with the 63.5% of respondents in service delivery when ICTs are utilized. It is
who agreed. Surprisingly none of the respondents worth noting that there seems to be strong criticism
291
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
Figure 2. Responses towards whether citizens benefit from eGovernment or not
O F
R O
P
of the value of eGovernment implementation in everyday lives as compared to those who will be
Francistown looking at the responses as illustrated born when ICTs are used in major socioeconomic
in Figure 2 above. This might be due to the poor sectors, iii) others think that the adoption of ICTs
L
services that the citizens are still experiencing, for depend on individual factors as individuals have
example, long queues at the department of roads choices whether to accept or reject ICTs.
A
and transport and the national registration office. It can be inferred from this empirical study that
The last question required respondents to in there are no adequate eGovernment awareness
B
dicate if recession, lack of infrastructure and re campaigns, and that eGovernment implementa
sources like skilled personnel are among the tion is at its very first stage of development in
O
major factors that lead to poor implementation of Botswana. This has resulted in having a weaker
eGovernment. In answer to this question, 50% demand side of eGovernment applications. ICT
L
of the respondents strongly agreed to those factors platforms through which individuals can ac
while an additional 40.1% of the respondents cess eGovernment applications are not readily
G
agreed that these factors are the major barriers to available and this presents a huge challenge to
eGovernment. However, the responses obtained eGovernment implementation efforts. The study
I
show that no respondents chose to strongly dis has also outlined the fact that the supply side of
agree and only about 9.6% of the respondents eGovernment in Botswana is to some extend de
G
chose to disagree. veloped as there are many interventions that have
I
Technology is dynamic therefore people gener been put in place especially at the policy level. The
ally would want to keep abreast with its pace so existing or current eGovernment portal needs to
that they can be able to perform optimally and be developed so that citizens can interact with the
benefit from the IT applications on their digital eGovernment contents in a convenient manner.
devices. Responses to the last question presented to
respondents revealed that those born in the digital
era will benefit more than those before them. Some FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS
of the responses from the questionnaires are the
following, i) those born into the digital era are Despite the fact that in Botswana, eGovernment
have ICTs as part of their lifestyle, so they will implementation is at the very first stage (pilot
benefit more, ii) those born before the digital era phase, to be specific), there is hope that prolif
face many challenges in adopting ICTs in their eration of eGovernment implementations may
292
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
be achieved in Botswana in the near future. The CONCLUSION

government of Botswana and other cooperating
partners should be commended for the affluent This chapter has looked at the status of eGov
eGovernment interventions that are being put ernment implementation in Francistown. It has
in place. Some of these interventions include the looked at the information access divides between
F
putting in place of an eGovernment taskforce the rural and urban communities. The chapter has
team mandated with developing an eGovernment outlined the background of the eGovernment
O
strategy for Botswana, erecting appropriate ICT interventions in Botswana, the eGovernment
infrastructures, establishing enabling institutional, phenomenon, value prepositions of eGovernment
legal and regulatory frameworks, etc. Despite implementation, the current status of Botswana’s
O
this being a good start in the promotion of e eReadiness status, and the role of eParticipation
Government, it is still premature to ascertain that in facilitating the proliferation of eGovernment
R
all is well with eGovernment implementation in implementation.
Botswana unless the eGovernment strategy is ap The empirical study presented in this chapter
P
propriately implemented with proper monitoring has shown that there is limited level of eGovern
and evaluation of interventions at each stage of ment adoption by individuals in Botswana. This
L
the implementation process. is because most citizens who participated in this
Once the different reasons that influence research did not even know what eGovernment
A
people’s involvement or shunning away from is, let alone its existence. Many citizens’ lack of
eGovernment are understood (looking at the knowledge of eGovernment existence indicates
B
empirical results from this study with references to that there are no adequate eGovernment aware
other studies that have focused on eGovernment ness campaigns in place. For those citizens who
adoption in developing countries), the next step knew of existence of eGovernment implemen
O
would be to develop a conceptual eGovernment tation in Botswana, most were found to have
L
adoption model. This adoption model should limited requisite ICT skills to engage and thrive
correspondingly be subjected to empirical testing in eGovernment applications. Also, there is
for validation before it could be adopted to guide generally limited availability of resources such as
G
eGovernment strategic and monitoring interven telecommunications lines, computers, the Internet
I
tions. This then may be incorporated into a robust (especially in rural areas).
and an appropriate eGovernment adoption model The research participants identified the follow
G
for Botswana. ing factors as the ones responsible for limitation
I
Other future research should be devoted of eGovernment proliferation in Botswana: lack
towards investigating how Botswana can take of adequate funds to appropriately implement e
advantage of its higher mobile penetration to Government programmes, poor road networks to
transcend towards implementing a blended ap most rural areas which has prevented ICT vendors
proach of eGovernment (also involving mobile to make available to rural areas any ICT products,
government (mGovernment)). This would reach lack of ready availability of ICT platforms through
most of the people who may not have access to which the Internet can be accessed, ignorance of
traditional Internet but have access to mobile eGovernment platforms and applications, and
devises such as mobile phones. high costs to access ICTs by the rural populations
Viability of a paradigm, model, implementa who in most cases have no jobs. The other reason
tion issues of proposed programs, etc., may be preventing people’s engagement in eGovernment
included in this section. If appropriate, suggest has been attributed by the local culture which is
future research opportunities within the domain not very susceptible to enveloping new cultures.
of the topic. Although most young individuals look at ICT as
293
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
a new wave in civilization, the older generation the eliteracy rate between the two. It might
has not been very keen to accept this wave. easily be mistakenly concluded that town
Out of the results from the empirical study, dwellers are more receptive to technology
it is evident that the following are some of the than rural dwellers, but this is made so by
recommendations to consider for eGovernment a small element of culture, rural dwellers
F
implementation to be a success in Botswana: still value their traditional social norms of
charting, interacting and doing things. For
O
A. There should be massive awareness cam them to be receptive to change, a carefully
paigns to the citizens on the importance of designed approach should be used to induce
eGovernment applications, that is why it is that change.
O
important that information that is dissemi
nated to citizens must reach individuals in This list of recommendations is not exhaus
R
the right format (right media, example, the tive as more factors influencing citizens to either
radio as it is the one that has a wide cover engage or not in egovernment implementations
P
age) and in the right package (language, it can be unveiled through extensive national e
should be noted that language is one of the Government readiness study. This current study,
L
major barrier to most things including e however, has highlighted the extent of develop
Government because people have no interest ment of the demand side of applications with
A
if they cannot read or let alone understand). limited participants.
Further, these awareness campaigns should
B
take into consideration the different disabili
ties (visual impairments, limitation in ICT REFERENCES
skills, etc.) that citizens may have.
O
B. Educate citizens so that they can be ICT Almarabeh, T., & AbuAli, A. (2010). A general
L
literate in order for them to be encouraged framework for egovernment: definition matu
to utilize ICTs in their bid to interact with rity challenges, opportunities, and success. from
the government. To achieve this not only http://www.eurojournals.com/ejsr.htm. European
G
does information need to be disseminated Journal of Scientific Research, 39(1), 29–42.
I
to people but also, demonstrations need to Retrieved June 7, 2010
be done because learning is best acquired Andersen, K. V., & Henriksen, H. Z. (2006). E
G
through visualization as compared to government maturity models: extension of the
I
listening. Layne and Lee model . Government Informa
C. To encourage eParticipation, robust and tion Quarterly, 23(2), 236–248. doi:10.1016/j.
relevant ICT infrastructure must be put in giq.2005.11.008
place. Through the successful implementa
tion of Nteletsa 2 (Community ICT project) Anttiroiko, A.V., & Malkia, M. (Eds.). (2006).
this can be achieved as about 197 villages Encyclopedia of digital government. Hershey, PA:
around Botswana will have access to tele Idea Group Reference (IGI) Publishing.
communications infrastructure which will
Backus, M. (2001). EGovernance in developing
allow the Internet to be accessed by everyone.
countries. Research Brief No.1. London, UK:
It is a fact that lack of ICTs mainly in rural
McGraw Hill.
areas is the major driving force towards the
digital divide between rural settlers and town Baum, C., & Maio, D. (2000). Gartner’s four
settlers, which on the other hand has widened phases of egovernment model. Gartner’s group.
294
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
Bedi, A. S., Manda, D. K., Nafula, N. N., & Kimalu, Lekorwe, M., Molomo, M., Molefe, W., & Moseki,
P. K. (2001). Primary school enrolment in Kenya. K. (2001). Public attitudes toward democracy,
Draft KIPPRA Discussion Paper. governance and economic development in Bo
tswana. Afrobarometer Paper No.14
Bwalya, K. J., & Healy, M. (2010). Harnessing
F
egovernment adoption in the SADC region: A March 26, 2009, from http://www.gfoa.org/ser
conceptual underpinning. Electronic . Journal of vices/gfr/ archives/2001/08/gfr0801.pdf.
EGovernment, 8(1), 23–32.
O
Michel, H. (2005). Eadministration, egov
Chandler, S., & Emanuels, S. (2002). Transforma ernment, egovernance and the learning city: A
tion not automation, (pp. 91102). Paper presented typology of citizenship management using ICTs.
O
at the 2nd European Conference on eGovernment, The Electronic . Journal of EGovernment, 3(4),
St Catherine’s College Oxford, UK. 213–218.
R
Coleman, S. (2006). African egovernance – Op Moon, M. J. (2002). The evolution of egovern
P
portunities and challenges. University of Oxford, ment among municipalities: Rhetoric or reality?
Univ. Press. Public Administration Review, 62(4), 424–433.
doi:10.1111/00333352.00196
L
Deloitte &Touche. (2001). The citizen as customer.
CMA Management, 74(10), 58. Napoli, J., Ewing, M. T., & Pitt, L. F. (2000). Fac
A
tors affecting the adoption of the Internet in the
EGov News. (2006). eGovernment in South
public sector. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector
Africa.
B
Marketing, 7, 77–88. doi:10.1300/J054v07n04_07
EGovernment Initiatives. (2004). Egovernment
Ngulube, P. (2007). The nature and accessibility of
initiatives 2000 – 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2010,
O
egovernment in Sub Saharan Africa. International
from http://www.gov.mu/portal/ goc/telecomit/
Review of Information Ethics (IRIE), 7.
L
files/ egov%20initiatives.pdf
Retrieved June 7, 2010, from www.ejeg.com.
Finger, F., & Pecaud, G. (2003). From egov
G
ernment to egovernance. In D. Remenyi & F. The eBusiness Handbook. (2005). The 2005
Bannister (Eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd European review of innovation at work in South African
I
Conference on eGovernment, Dublin. business. An IT web informatica Publication. Cape
Town, South Africa: Creda Communication (Pty)
G
Heeks, R. (2004). Egovernment for development
Ltd. UN eGovernment Survey (2010). Leveraging
I
basic definitions page. Retrieved May 25, 2009,
egovernment at a time of financial and economic
from http://www.egov4dev.org/ egovdefn.hml
crisis. Retrieved October 4, 2010, from http://un
Hiller, J. S., & Bélanger, F. (2001). Privacy strat pan1.un.org/intradoc/ groups/public/documents/
egies for electronic government . In Abramson, UNdpadm/unpan038853.pdf
M. A., & Means, G. E. (Eds.), EGovernment
Wescott, C. G. (2009). Egovernment in the Asia
2001 (pp. 162–198). Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Pacific region. Retrieved April 5, 2010, from http://
Littlefield Publishers.
www.adb.org/documents/papers/ e_government/
Howard, M. (2009). Egovernment across the egovernment.pdf.
globe: How will ‘e’change government?Retrieved.
295
0.A8*#/1*$%@+$-+";<$=")%."%1+*%+F$1@4/%/+*%+15"+!"/8.+$-+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
World Bank. (2003). Issue note. Egovernment EParticipation: The willingness and actual
and the World Bank. use of ICTs by individuals regardless of their
socioeconomic status.
World Bank. (2003). World development indica
ICT: This acronym stands for information and
tors. Retrieved January 10, 2009, from http://
communications infrastructure.
F
www.worldbank.org/ data/wdi2003
ICT Infrastructure: It encompasses all the
devices, networks, protocols and procedures that
O
are employed in the telecoms or information
ADDITIONAL READING technology fields to foster interaction amongst
different stakeholders.
O
Eddowes, L. A. (2004). The application of meth Francistown: The second largest city in Bo
odologies in egovernment. Electronic Journal of tswana sitting at the border with Zimbabwe
R
eGovernment, 2(2), 115–126. Retrieved August SADC: This acronym stands for Southern
6, 2010, from http://www.ejeg.com/volume2/ African Development Community – is a regional
P
volume2issue2/ v2i2eddowespp115126.pdf socioeconomic grouping of countries in the
Southern African region.
Fang, Z. (2002). Egovernment in digital era:
L
Concept, practice, and development. Interna
tional Journal of the Computer, the Internet and
A
Management, 10(2), 1 – 22.
ENDNOTES
B
National eStrategies. (2010). National estrate 1
For informatiopn on this section, please
gies for development global status and perspec refer to the following sites: www.g2b.
tives 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http:// go.kr, http://www.pps.go.kr/english/, http://
O
www.itu.int/wsis/implementation/ 2010/forum/ ccaharyana.gov.in/eprocurement.htm,
L
geneva/docs/ publications/estratflyer.pdf http://www.relogiodaeconomi.sp.gov.br/
br/home_results.asp, http://www.mcti.ro/
index.php?id=28&L=1&lege=1289
G
2
S o u r c e : h t t p : / / g o . w o r l d b a n k . o rg /
I
M1JHE0Z280 (Retrieved June 03, 2010)
3
Source: ‘EGovernment Act of 2002;
Democracy: Practicing of democratic prin
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgibin/
G
ciples using ICTs to provide an interaction platform
I
getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_public_
between parliamentarians and citizens. Through
laws&docid=f:publ347.107.pdf (Retrieved
eDemocracy, citizens are accorded a chance to
June 03, 2010)
participate in decisionmaking, electronic vot 4
Source: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/
ing (eVoting) and how to address other public
ev.phpURL_ID=4404&URL_DO=DO_
challenges.
TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html (Re
EGovernment: Is a platform through which
trieved June 03, 2010)
the government (government line ministries, 5
www.sars.gov.za/home.asp?pid=340
branches and organs) interacts with its citizens 6
http://www.capegateway.gov.za/eng
and business entities for the sake of exchange 7
(http://judicialinsp.pwv.gov.za/Annualre
of information, public services and participatory
ports/annual2000.asp
democracy through the use of ICT platforms.
296
297
Chapter 15
Impact of Internet Use
on Civic Engagement in
O F
O
Chinese Rural Areas:
R
A Preliminary Research
JianChuan Zhang
Northern Illinois University, USA
Ying Qin
L P
A
China Internet Network Information Center, China
ABSTRACT
OB
L
Few prior studies have addressed the political impact of the Internet on civic engagement in rural ar
eas. This preliminary study aims to explore the connection between Internet use and civic engagement
G
of rural Internet users. Based on the surveys implemented by the China Internet Network Information
Q2132*'XQYYNQZ/'3<2'8#3<&*,'C1)'3<83'#,.1B'3<2'N132*123')&2,'21<81G2'3<2'72+27'&5'G.+.G'21B8B2=213'
I
among rural Internet users in China. However, better use of the Internet faces some obstacles, too. They
are the young age of rural users and the limited Net bandwidth. Implications of these obstacles are dis
G
cussed. The chapter concludes that, under certain circumstances, there is great potential for Chinese
I
rural Internet users to become more actively engaged in public affairs in the future.
INTRODUCTION Chadwick, 2003). In addition, what economists

call the positive externalities of technology might
The Internet, an interactive and enabling peer also be a significant contributor to the broader
topeer information and communication tech public interest. Numerous speculations have
nology (ICT), has proven to be an invaluable emerged about the impact of Internet use on
communication means that continues to change civic engagement in the populace (Katz & Rice,
the conduct of public life (Bimber, 1998, 2003; 2002; Macintosh & Stephen, 2003; Norris, 2001).
The idealistic speculations see the Internet as
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch015
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
strengthening civil society and democratic politics development dimensions rather than being con
more generally as it expands the opportunities for cerned with the impact of Internet use on civic
communication and mobilization. Besides, the engagement in rural areas.
worldwide efforts to deploy the Internet in the This study is intended to fill the void. In light
public sector (digital or electronic government) of the survey data provided by the China Internet
F
and the explosion of political information on the Network Information Center (CNNIC), the lead
web mean that the Internet has already become ing Internet research organization in China, we
O
an important resource for civic information and have the opportunity to explore whether Internet
a significant platform for civic engagement and use among rural people has an impact on their
participation. For example, among those of the engagement in public affairs preliminarily. We
O
191 United Nations member states, 179 interact believe China’s case has peculiar implications not
with citizens via egovernment portals (United only because China is characterized as a country
R
Nations Online Network of Public Administra with a starling urbanrural gap, but also because
tion and Finance [UNPAN], 2006). Thus, how to this country is known for operating possibly the
P
engage citizens online to improve governance and most sophisticated Internet censoring and moni
facilitate the democratic citizenship has become toring system in the world (Cherry, 2005). Such
L
one of the key challenges for the proponents of control can translate into an imagined surveillance
egovernment in specific and ecitizenship more force, forcing Internet users into selfcensorship
A
broadly (Mossberger, Tolbert, & McNeal, 2008; (Harwit & Clark, 2001), and the consequence of
Pratchett & Krimmer, 2005; Welch, Hinnant, & which may be a widespread indifference to public
B
Moon, 2005; West, 2007; Yildiz, 2007). affairs. The absolute control over the Internet has
However, few discussions have mentioned also created a popular image that Chinese Internet
the impact of Internet use on rural civic engage users can do nothing but play. Nevertheless, this
O
ment. This absence may not be a big problem for misleading image may ignore the real struggles of
L
developed countries, since the disparity between Internet users in China (Yang, 2009). We assume
the urban and rural areas is no longer significant that the impact of the access to the Internet among
in these countries after decades of industrializa the rural users deserves a careful examination.
G
tion and urbanization. Nevertheless, this is not the The popular image mentioned above may
I
case for many developing countries. In fact, there be reinforced by the unfavorable conditions in
is a consensus in the international community which farmers live. Historically, the agricultural
G
that the arrival of broadband Internet constitutes industry and its workers (i.e., farmers or villag
I
a critical takeoff point in a rural community’s ers) have existed under extremely unfavorable
path to economic and social development in less conditions compared to their urban counterparts.
developed countries (International Telecom Although China has experienced an exponential
munication Union, 2009). Even in the United economic growth over the past three decades, the
States, recognizing that ICTs play a critical role development of the farming industry and rural
in expanding business and education opportunities communities has lagged far behind the economic
as well as enhancing the competitiveness of the expansion. While farmers account for roughly
nation’s small towns and rural communities, the threequarters (or 0.8 billion) of the total popula
Obama administration has decided to inject $6 tion in China, they have primarily been working
billion into the rural broadband internet project as cheap laborers to contribute to the economic
through the American Recovery and Reinvestment growth. Generally, the ruralurban migrant work
Act of 2009 (White House, 2009). Unfortunately, ers are permitted only in the lowest wage, lowest
these recent efforts focus more on economic and skill, and least pleasant urban jobs that are not
298
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
wanted by urban residents (Knight, Song, & Jia, Xu, 2009; Yang, 2003). However, most of these
1999). In other words, the majority of the rural studies focus on the component analysis or the
population has not shared the benefits generated functional discussion of the role of the Internet
from the economic development. The frightening (e.g., analyzing the components of governmen
disparity has emerged as such a serious obstacle tal web sites and discussing the function of one
F
to the sustainable development and social justice specific Internet application, say an online forum,
that observers believe China will collapse if noth to draw a conclusion of whether Internet use is
O
ing is changed (Dreyer, 2004; Shirk, 2007). Since able to advance democracy or civic engagement).
the 1990s, the Chinese government began to pay Few, if not all, have employed the research from a
special attention to the Three Agrarian Issues user’s perspective. Having found that most of the
O
(TAIs)—a nationwide drive in addressing the existing literature on egovernment pays limited
developmental issues regarding agriculture, rural attention to citizens’ perspective, Dimitrova and
R
communities, and farmers. Specifically, between Chen (2006) provide a conceptual framework
2004 and 2010, the Party’s central committee and combining both the supply and demand sides of
P
the state council have consecutively issued seven egovernment to analyze the impact of the Internet
“No. 1 Documents” 1 that highlight the importance on civic engagement. The key point here is that
L
of the TAIs in the construction of a “harmonious the supply side simply refers to the possibility
society” 2 and aim to bridge the rural–urban gap. of engaging citizens, while the demand side can
A
The improvement of the rural communication really denote citizens’ demand to interact with
infrastructure and information services, known government online and their perceptions towards
B
as Village Informatization Program (VIP), 3 is the real effect of the web portals. Similarly, Norris
an important and integral part of these efforts. (2005) has developed the political market model
Although VIP is meant to facilitate both IT access as a theoretic perspective to understand the impact
O
and IT applications in rural communities, it in of the knowledge society on democracy. In this
L
fact lacks a consistent and explicit objective and account, the impact of the knowledge society de
regulatory regime (Xia, 2010). The fragmented pends upon the interaction between the “supply”
and obscure nature of the program hinders the side—political information and communications
G
realization of some expected goals responding made available via the Internet from political
I
to the TAIs. institutions—and the “demand” side—the use of
Meanwhile, the Internet has undergone an information and communications about politics
G
impressive development in China since the con among the online public.
I
nectivity was officially established in 1994. In that This study will explore the influence of Inter
year, there were only about 10,000 Internet users net use on civic engagement in China from the
(Yang, 2003). However, just after fourteen years, perspective of the users who are dwelling in rural
the number of web sites in China has reached areas, including their features and perceptions of
1.9 million and the number of Internet users has Internet use.
reached 253 million by July 2008. China thus
jumped ahead of the U.S. to become the world’s
largest Internet user community (CNNIC, 2008a). BACKGROUND
These developments contribute to the emergence
of a new virtual public space in China. Seeing In a broad sense, civic engagement refers to
the rapid expansion, some scholars have been “the participation of individual citizens in the
interested in assessing the impact of the Inter association of civil and political society” (Brint
net use on civic engagement in China (Jiang & & Levy, 1999, p. 164). It should be understood
299
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
as a multifaceted concept, consisting of political Some existing research has demonstrated a

knowledge, political discussion, and political positive link between Internet use and participa
interest (Mossberger et al., 2008). While civic tion, such as citizeninitiated contact with govern
engagement is at the heart of republican virtue, ment (Bimber, 1999; Thomas & Streib, 2003) and
there is no single widely agreed definition for this voter turnout (Institute for Politics, Democracy
F
concept (Adler & Goggin, 2005). How the term is & the Internet, 2004; Tolbert & McNeal, 2003).
defined depends on the perspective and interests However, according to Mossberger et al. (2008),
O
of the definer. Putnam (2000) uses the term civic civic engagement may help to explain the findings
engagement quite broadly. Since his primary inter on political participation only if the link between
est is in studying social capital, the term is used to Internet use and participation is accompanied by
O
refer to the entire gamut of activities that build up enhanced engagement.
social capital. Therefore, his definition includes There are conflicting accounts of the impact
R
both formal and informal social activities, as well of the Internet use on civic engagement (and
as community and political participation. Diller social capital more generally). Many studies on
P
(2001) emphasizes the participation in voluntary this topic found that once researchers controlled
service of the local community, either by an indi for the educational background and income level,
L
vidual working independently or as a participant Internet users became indistinguishable from
in a group. Hollister (2002), on the other hand, nonusers on civic engagement measures (Bimber,
A
stresses the importance of one’s collaboration or 1999; Pew Research Center for the People and
intensively joint activity with others in pursuing the Press, 2009; Putnam, 2000). In other words,
B
community issues through work in all sectors. due in part to the “digital divide” factors, such
However, Cooper (2005) reminds us that it is as the differential access to the Internet and the
necessary to distinguish civic engagement from preexisting resources and skills, the people with
O
citizen participation. In Cooper’s opinion, civic more beneficiary status and resources will simply
L
engagement means people develop civic identity, adopt the Internet as another tool. As a result, the
involve people in governance processes, and par Internet could exaggerate the existing inequalities
ticipate together for deliberation and collective in terms of civic engagement (Margolis & Resnick,
G
action within varieties of interests, institutions, 2000). Like Margolis and Resnick conclude, “the
I
and networks. By contrast, citizen participation, Net is now and will continue to be a boon to those
a term mainly used several decades ago, usually who already have an active and sustained interest
G
means the programs contrived by government to in public affairs, but there is little evidence that the
I
provide opportunities for citizens to have input Internet by itself will increase the attentive public”
into the policymaking process. Carpini (2006) (2000, p. 212). Other skeptics view the Internet as
adopts this framework by defining political a depoliticizing medium. Just as television should
participation as individual and collective actions be responsible for the decline of some forms of
designed to identify and address public issues civic engagement, the Internet has been judged
through institutions of the polity. For them, civic as suspect for potentially deflecting people from
engagement seems to be a bottomup process social connections and civic engagement (Putnam,
where the grassroots users can get involved, which 2000). After all, when facing such diversified
is different from the topdown process imposed by Internet applications, why should ordinary people
government. Hence, civic engagement contains choose the Internet to enrich their civic lives?
more initiatives from the citizens and pays more When the Internet has gradually become a social
attention to their collaboration and deliberation. and occupational medium, as well as a shopping
and entertainment platform, it may even exacerbate
300
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
this bleak trend. Similarly, Garson (2003) criti Internet users from these original surveys from
cizes that shortcomings of Internet use in public 2006 and published the specific survey reports on
sector nowadays prevents the dream of advancing the Internet development in China’s rural areas.
authentic public participation from happening. Without specific notification, all the figures and
On the other hand, a growing body of literature tables hereinafter used in this article are drawn
F
on the importance of information access through from the data contained in these specific reports
Internet in civic engagement provides some evi (CNNIC, 2007, 2008b, 2009, 2010).
O
dence of the positive connection between these Simply to say, CNNIC’s survey is rest on a set
two issues. For instance, drawing on a fifteenyear of sampling processes in which the interviewers
panel data, Jennings and Zeitner (2003) find that do telephone interviews with the assistance of
O
the Internet use does magnify civic engagement. a standard questionnaire. 4 The sample consists
In this process, however, those who have been of two groups in mainland China (Hong Kong,
R
engaged in public affairs before the rise of the Macau, and Taiwan are not included): one is the
Internet are more likely to use the new technol population with fixedline telephones and the other
P
ogy to follow or engage in public affairs. In is the population with cell phones but no residential
addition, Price and Cappella (2002) report that telephones. Due to the dramatic development of the
L
online political discussions increase civic engage telecommunication industry, CNNIC’s research
ment and general community participation. The team assumes that the individuals with neither
A
participants of online political discussion during type of phone include only a very small portion
the 2000 election are more politically interested of the whole population. Moreover, this portion
B
and knowledgeable and more likely to report in of population is not online at all, and thus will not
creased social trust than those nonparticipants. be counted as the target population.
Mossberger et al. (2008) confirm that the use A twostage stratified random sampling is
O
of online news promotes and encourages civic employed for the fixedline telephone users.
L
engagement. To begin with, the population is divided into
31 segments (strata) since there are totally 31
provinces (or autonomous regions, or provincial
G
DATA, METHODOLOGY, level municipalities. All of them will be referred
I
AND MAIN FINDINGS to as “province(s)” in the remaining part of the
article) in China. Within each province, every
Introduction to Data
G
city or county is selected and the sample size is
I
and Methodology decided by the ratio of the telephone numbers in
the city or county to the provincial ones. Within
The data used in this article come from the surveys each city or county, the interviewing telephone
conducted by the China Internet Network Infor number is chosen by randomdigit dialing (RDD).
mation (CNNIC). Authorized by the competent The interviewer conducts the survey with the
ministry of Chinese central government, CNNIC assistance of Computer Assisted Telephone In
is responsible for systematically collecting and terviewing System (CATI). To take the sample of
analyzing the information with respect to the cell phone users, each province’s size is decided
access condition, web applications, and Internet by the ratio of the provincial cell phone numbers
users’ behaviors in China. Since 1998, CNNIC to the national ones. Then the respondents’ cell
has consecutively published the Statistical Re phone numbers are randomly chosen by RDD
port on the Internet Development in China twice within each province. Taking into consideration
a year. It began to mine the data about the rural both the accuracy of sample size and the cost of
301
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
the survey, a typical survey generally consists of has witnessed a startling increase of rural Internet
15000 fixedline telephone users and 15000 cell users over the last five years (see Figure 3).
phone users as the sample. Table 1 summarizes the demographic charac
teristics of the rural Internet users. From the table,
Features of Chinese we can find that the majority of Internet users in
F
Rural Internet Users rural area are young (under 19 years old) male
students with relatively low education and
O
As Figure 1 and Figure 2 indicate, there exists huge monthly income levels.
gap between rural and urban areas with regard to Looking at the information contained in Table
the size of Internet users in both the absolute num 2, it is not surprising to find that two of the top
O
ber and the penetration rate. Meanwhile, China three online activities for rural Internet users are
Figure 1. The size of Internet users in urban and rural areas respectively
P R
A L
OB
G L
I
Figure 2. Penetration rate of Internet users 5
I G
302
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
Figure 3. Growth rate of Internet users
O F
R O
entertainmentorientated (particularly the online
games) when comparing with their urban coun
terparts. Urban users tend to use the Internet more P
latter types of applications are more “advanced”
L
than the former ones, the tendency of using In
ternet for amusement among the rural users does
A
to acquire information and conducting business/ not help eliminate the existing gap between them
transactions. Although it is hard to say that the and the urban users. In addition, it seems like the
B
Table 1. The demographic characteristics of rural Internet users
O
L
Demographic Urban Rural
Sex Male 52.7% 58.0%
G
Female 47.3% 42.0%
Total 100.0% 100.0%
I
Age <=19 29.7% 41.1%
2029 28.7% 28.1%
G
3039 22.6% 18.8%
I
4049 11.4% 8.7%
5059 5.2% 2.5%
>=60 2.3% 0.8%
Total 100.0% 100.0%
Education Primary school and below 7.3% 12.6%
Middle school 21.9% 39.5%
High school or equivalent vocational education 41.5% 36.6%
Threeyear college degree 14.3% 6.7%
Undergraduate 13.6% 4.3%
Graduate and above 1.4% 0.2%
Total 100.0% 100.0%
303
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
Table 1. Continued
Demographic Urban Rural

Employment Student in school 27.4% 32.3%
Government or quasigovernment 8.9% 3.8%
F
Corporation/Enterprise Manager 3.8% 1.3%
General staff in corporation/enterprise 16.6% 10.6%
Researchers or Engineers 10.9% 9.1%
O
migrant workers 1.7% 4.0%
Nontechnical labor and manual workers 4.4% 4.6%
O
Employers of individual enterprise or selfemployed entrepreneurs 13.1% 12.9%
Agriculture sector 1.1% 7.2%
R
Retired 2.7% 0.4%
Unemployed 8.5% 13.1%
P
Other 0.8% 0.8%
Total 100.0% 100.0%
L
Individual Income Zero 9.0% 12.6%
per Month
under 500 15.6% 24.3%
501~1000 13.8% 16.5%
A
1001~1500 13.4% 14.8%
B
1501~2000 14.1% 11.6%
2001~3000 16.9% 11.6%
3001~5000 10.9% 5.3%
O
5001~8000 3.2% 1.5%
L
Above 8000 3.2% 1.9%
Total 100.0% 100.0%
I G
urban users are likely to use the Internet as a new
means to reinforce their existing social and eco
nomic advantages.
respectively (see Table 3). Except for the feeling
of isolation, the other two perceptions indicate
that the expansion of Internet use in rural areas
I G
actually creates two unexpected results. One is the
Main Findings and Discussions significant increase in users’ perception of civic
engagement. Rural Internet users have demon
Besides the objective information showed above, strated a higher percentage of positive attitudes
CNNIC’s analysts are also interested in under towards the perceived civic engagement than the
standing the rural users’ subjective feelings or urban users. On the one hand, 44.5% of rural users
evaluations towards use of the Internet. They view the Internet as the primary channel to give
compare six subjective feelings between urban voices, while 40.9% of urban users believe so;
and rural Internet users and find that three of on the other hand, 77.6% of rural users believe
them are given higher recognition by rural users. that using the Internet makes them become more
These three higher perceptions include using the attentive to social events as compared to 76.6%
Internet as social networking tool, the feeling of of urban users. The other unexpected result is the
social isolation, and enhanced social participation, higher percentage among the rural Internet users
304
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
Table 2. Popularity of Web applications among urban and rural Internet users in 2009 (growth rate is
compared with that of 2008)
Applications Urban Rural Disparity(rural Annual Growth Rate Annual Growth Rate
urban) (rural) (urban)
Music 83.8% 82.7% 1% 29.2% 28.4%
F
News 82.8% 72.4% 10.3% 33.2% 30.6%
Games 68.6% 69.9% 1.3% 47.5% 39.4%
O
IM 71.9% 68.2% 3.7% 21.3% 21.2%
Search Engine 75.9% 66.5% 9.4% 43.3% 37.5%
O
Videos 64.5% 57.3% 7.2% 19.9% 18.6%
Blogging 58.4% 55.5% 2.9% 45.1% 33.8%
R
Email 61.0% 44.6% 16.4% 25.1% 28.7%
Novels 42.7% 41.2% 1.6% — —
P
Social Networking 47.9% 41.0% 6.9% — —
Forum/BBS 32.9% 23.3% 9.6% 48.0% 21.9%
L
Shopping 31.7% 17.6% 14.1% 44.7% 44.6%
Banking 27.7% 15.2% 12.5% 103.2% 55.1%
Payment 27.7% 15.1% 12.6% 101.7% 72.3%
A
Speculating in Stocks 16.9% 8.5% 8.4% 153.7% 54.8%
B
Booking & Reserving 9.4% 3.3% 6.1% 60.2% 80.2%
Table 3. Subjective feelings towards Internet use (CNNIC, 2009)
Categories
Assistance to Daily Life
LO Wordings of the Feelings
I cannot work and study normally without the

Agreed by Urban
39.6%
Users
Agreed by Rural
37.3%
Users
Total
39.0%
G
Internet.
My leisure time will become very boring without 59.6% 57.9% 59.1%
I
the Internet.
Online service reduces the inconvenience of onsite 70.5% 66.0% 69.3%
service.
I G
Information Channel Generally, I first get to know the important news 63.4% 57.5% 61.8%
through the Internet.
I first go to the Internet to get solutions when I have 67.3% 57.5% 64.6%
problems.
Social Networking Tool I make many new friends through the Internet. 62.9% 72.5% 65.4%
The Internet intensifies my connections with my 81.7% 84.9% 82.5%
friends.
Social Isolation I feel lonelier in the age of the Internet. 19.2% 22.1% 19.9%
The Internet reduces the time I stay with my family. 28.5% 30.6% 29.0%
Online Trust and I often provide real information when registering 48.2% 45.7% 47.5%
Security online.
I believe online transactions are safe enough. 29.3% 22.9% 27.6%
Social Participation/ The Internet is the primary channel to voice my 40.9% 44.5% 41.9%
Civic Engagement opinions.
I become more attentive to the social events after 76.6% 77.6% 76.9%
using the Internet.
305
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
who hold positive attitudes towards the Internet government as well as to reinforce the monopoly
as a useful social networking tool. The networks control over the governmentcitizen relationship
of friends through the Internet can be viewed as a (Harwi & Clark, 2001; Seifert & Chung, 2009).
facilitating factor that enhances civic engagement Therefore, from the perspective of conventional
further (this point will be discussed in detail later). wisdom, it seems to be unsurprising that online
F
It is noteworthy that the term social participa entertainment has become so popular among the
tion (strictly literal translation) rather than civic rural users.
O
engagement is used in CNNIC’s surveys. It is not However, the findings challenge one of the
only because the meaning of “participation” and skeptical views regarding the role of the Internet
that of “engagement” have no difference in Chi in civic engagement. That is, people will become
O
nese, but also because it is a wise strategy to indifferent to the civic affairs because of Internet
implement the surveys. As mentioned before, the use. The findings match Yang’s (2003) observation
R
term “civic” is more politically sensitive under that the Internet has given rise to online critical
the contemporary political context in China. On debate and thus facilitated the articulation of
P
the contrary, the word “social” sounds more neu social problems. The findings also demonstrate
tral. In fact, the wordings in the questionnaire that the potential key role of the Internet in Chinese
L
the researchers use to describe “social participa politics. Through Internet use, citizens may be
tion” convey the meaning of “civic engagement.” come better informed about and more engaged
A
Two wordings are quoted as follows: (1) The in public affairs. In this process, Chinese rural
Internet is the primary channel to voice my opin Internet users demonstrate more enthusiasm and
B
ions; (2) I have become more attentive to social courage towards civic engagement.
events after using the Internet. Another two figures (under the category of
The higher perception of civic engagement Social Networking Tool) in Table 3 also match and
O
among rural Internet users is unexpected or even support these findings. One is the percentage
L
surprising since it seems to contradict with the of rural users who recognize that the Internet is very
historical background and conventional wisdom. helpful in making new friends, and the other is the
As mentioned before, Chinese farmers or peasants percentage of rural users who believe the Internet
G
have been historically living under so disadvan intensifies the connections with friends. Although
I
taged conditions that they should be more easily we do not obtain direct evidence from the surveys
sensitive to agriculturerelated information such that the intensified interactions with friends will
G
as the rural policies, technologies and marketing facilitate civic engagement, we do believe it is
I
that are rarely found in the traditional mass me not just a coincidence that the rural users with a
dia. Some of rural users may hope to voice their higher perception of civic engagement also have
needs through the Internet as a new channel, but a higher perception of social networking tool. A
the severe Internet control forbids it from happen reasonable deduction can be made that networks
ing. In fact, the VIP in rural communities focuses of friends will foster similar political knowledge
on the economic dimension (improving farmers’ and interest when they discuss or debate the public
living condition to ease the potential resentment), events with common interests. This deduction gets
rather than the political dimension (making them support from studies on Internet use in China.
become more active in civic engagement). That Studies observe that Internet use is positively
explains why most of the observers believe that related with online network size and in favor of
the Internet in China just represents an effective constructing citizen groups (Shen, Wang, Guo,
means to bring subnational level of government & Guo, 2009; Yang, 2003). An empirical study
under greater scrutiny and control by the central in the U.S. (Pew Research Center for the People
306
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
and the Press, 2009) also supports the above de choice to surf the net (CNNIC, 2009; 2010). Since
duction. According to Pew’s researchers, forms there is no regulation on what services should be
of civic engagement anchored in blogs and social provided, numerous Internet bars tend to primarily
networking sites can alter longstanding patterns provide entertainmentorientated services in order
that are based on socioeconomic status. to please their customers, which in turn enhances
F
their commitment to online amusement. Neverthe
The Obstacles to Better Internet less, the dominant young rural Internet users may
O
User and Implications be an encouraging profile too, as it promises a
stronger likelihood that the impact of the Internet
Unfortunately, the data above also demonstrates will keep growing in the future.
O
two features that may become obstacles to facili The second possible obstacle is the limited Net
tating civic engagement. First, as Table 2 shows, bandwidth in rural areas. As Figure 4 indicates,
R
except for the online news, the entertainment the percentage of broadband users in rural areas
orientated activities, including online music is 82%, around 12 percent lower than their urban
P
(downloading and listening) and online games, counterparts. However, the number of narrowband
serve as the most popular online activities among users in rural areas is roughly 12 percent higher
L
rural Internet users. Moreover, the percentage of than urban Internet users.
rural users playing online games overtakes that of Fortunately, most of the rural narrowband us
A
urban users. Although online entertainment might ers in China access the Internet through cell phones
be the stepping stone for farmers or villagers to rather than the personal computers by dialup (see
B
start the Internet tour, the high percentage of simply Figure 5). The percentage of cell phone users in
using the Internet to watch movies, listen to music, rural areas is even higher than that of cell phone
or play games will surely prohibit rural Internet users in urban areas. Constrained by the income
O
users from trying more useful or beneficial ap level, the number of personal computers may not
L
plications that may improve their socialeconomic be largely increased in the near future, and using
status. The most valuable web applications for cell phones to access the Internet will stay domi
rural users to bridge the gap from their urban nant. However, cell phones have become a fa
G
counterparts include, but is not limited to, infor cilitating means that contributes to sociopolitical
I
mation searching, job hunting, performing online mobilization in developing countries (Castells,
transaction, and participating online forums, etc. FernandezArdevol, Qiu, & Sey, 2005) because
G
Without these valueadded applications, the In they are easier to obtain at low price, to be carried,
I
ternet is only a new media that simply reinforces and to be used anywhere at any time. Over the
the existing disparity among Internet users with last three years, there have been increased peace
respect to their social and economic status. The ful protests (called “walks” or sanbu in Chinese)
overreliance on entertainment is closely related mobilized through cell phones in China. For in
to the younger age of rural Internet users. Among stance, the people in the City of Xiamen, Fujian
the 84.6 million farmer users, around 29.1 million walked against the PX Chemical project in 2007
(34.4%) are under the age of 19. The number of and the Shanghai residents walked against the
juvenile users doubled within only one year from Maglev Railway program in 2009. Similarly, it is
the end of 2007 to the end of 2008. In addition, reasonable to expect that more and more rural
81.6% of these young rural users are students. Internet users will make use of cell phones to
Limited by their age and life experiences, these participate in public events that concern them and
teenagers tend to be easily addicted to playing on even voice their opinions via this communication
line games rather than showing interests in public technology.
affairs. Furthermore, Internet bars are their first
307
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
Figure 4. Bandwidth in urban and rural areas respectively in 2009
O F
R O
Figure 5. Terminals used to access the Internet
L P
B A
LO
I G
CONCLUSION
I G
Based on the previous discussion, there is evidence
that the Internet does have a positive impact on
civic engagement among rural Internet users in
lead to a pessimistic outcome. By contrast, under
certain circumstances, those energetic young us
ers and the inherent advantages of cell phones
may break through their own disadvantages and
become powerful factors that facilitate active
China. Meanwhile, some characteristics of the civic engagement.
Internet users in rural areas may weaken their Readers need to pay attention to some limita
engagement in public affairs as active citizens. tions in this study. First, most of the questions
They include, among others, the relatively young about the rural Internet users’ perceived feelings
age of the user group and the related tendency to towards Internet use are “yesno” questions,
enjoy online entertainment, and the barrier of Net which make it difficult to identify the extent to
bandwidth. However, these features do not simply which the respondents feel about the impact of
308
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
the Internet. Furthermore, we do not know exactly Castells, M., FernandezArdevol, M., Qiu, J. L.,
what factor(s) may contribute to their positive & Sey, A. (2005). Electronic communication and
perceptions. Second, it is a puzzle that the same sociopolitical mobilisation: A new form of civil
group of respondents is not only prone to entertain society . In Glasius, M., Kaldor, M., & Anheier, H.
ment online but also more enthusiastic for civic (Eds.), Global Civil Society 2005/6 (pp. 113–131).
F
engagement. Third, this study does not mention London, UK: LSE Global Governance.
Chinese government’s policies on regulating the
Chadwick, A. (2003). Bringing edemocracy
O
Internet in the future at all. Rigidlyregulated
back in: Why it matters for future research on
Internet may influence the civic engagement in
egovernance. Social Science Computer Review,
a negative way. Lastly, more case studies will
O
21, 443–455. doi:10.1177/0894439303256372
be helpful to solidify the findings by providing
empirical support. Cherry, S. (2005). The net effect: as China’s In
R
ternet gets a muchneeded makeover, will the new
network promote freedom or curtail it? Spectrum,
P
REFERENCES IEEE, 42(6), 3844.
CNNIC. (2007). 2007 Survey report on the In
L
Adler, R. P., & Goggin, J. (2005). What do
we mean by “civic engagement”? Journal of ternet usage in Chinese rural area (in Chinese).
Retrieved from http://research.cnnic.cn/html/
A
Transformative Education, 3(3), 236–253.
doi:10.1177/1541344605276792 1245132476d649.html
B
Bimber, B. (1998). The Internet and political CNNIC. (2008a). CNNIC releases the 22nd
transformation: Populism, community, and statistical report on the Internet development in
China. Retrieved from http://www.cnnic.net.cn/
O
accelerated pluralism. Polity, 31, 133–160.
doi:10.2307/3235370 html/ Dir/2008/07/31/5247.htm
L
Bimber, B. (1999). The Internet and citizen com CNNIC. (2008b). 2008 survey report on the In
munication with government: Does the medium ternet usage in Chinese rural area (in Chinese).
G
matter? Political Communication, 16(4), 409–428. Retrieved from http://research.cnnic.cn/html/
1245138973d652.html
I
doi:10.1080/105846099198569
Bimber, B. (2003). Information and American CNNIC. (2009). 2009 survey report on the In
G
Democracy: Technology in the evolution of politi ternet usage in Chinese rural area (in Chinese).
I
cal power. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Retrieved from http://research.cnnic.cn/html/
Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511615573 1245139584d654.html
Brint, S., & Levy, C. (1999). Professions and CNNIC. (2010). 2010 survey report on the In
civic engagement: Trends in rhetoric and practice ternet usage in Chinese rural area (in Chinese).
18751995 . In Skocpol, T., & Fiorina, M. (Eds.), Retrieved from http://research.cnnic.cn/html/
Civic engagement in American democracy (pp. 1271381826d2072.html
163–210). Washington, DC: Brookings Institu Cooper, T. (2005). Civic engagement in the twenty
tion Press. first century: Toward a schoarly and practical
agenda. Public Administration Review, 65(5),
534–535. doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2005.00480.x
309
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
Delli Carpini, M. (2006, December 5). Michael X. International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Delli Carpini’s definitions of key terms. Retrieved (2009, November). Bringing broadband access to
from http://spotlight.macfound.org/ blog/entry/ rural areas: A stepbystep approach for regula
michaeldellicarpinis definitionskeyterms/ tors, policy makers and universal access program
administrators. Retrieved from http://www.itu.
F
Diller, E. C. (2001). Citizens in service: The chal
int/ITUD/treg/Events/ Seminars/GSR/GSR09/
lenge of delivering civic engagement training
doc/GSR09_
to national service programs. Washington, DC:
O
Corporation for National and Community Service. Jennings, M. K., & Zeitner, V. (2003). Internet
use and civic engagement: A longitudinal analy
Dimitrova, D., & Chen, Y.C. (2006). Profiling
O
sis. Public Opinion Quarterly, 67(3), 311–334.
the adopters of egovernment information and
doi:10.1086/376947
services: The influence of psychological char
R
acteristics, civic mindedness, and information Jiang, M., & Xu, H. (2009). Exploring online
channels. Social Science Computer Review, 24(2), structures on Chinese government portals: Citizen
P
172–188. doi:10.1177/0894439305281517 political participation and government legitima
tion. Social Science Computer Review, 27(2),
Dreyer, J. T. (2004). Democratization in greater
L
174–195. doi:10.1177/0894439308327313
China: The limits to China’s growth. Orbis, 48(2),
233–246. Katz, J. E., & Rice, R. E. (2002). Social conse
A
quences of Internet use: Access, involvement, and
interaction. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
B
nology: Policy and management issues. Hershey,
PA: Idea Group Inc. Knight, J., Song, L., & Jia, H. (1999). Chinese
rural migrants in urban enterprises: Three per
O
Harwi, E., & Clark, D. (2001). Shaping the Inter
spectives. The Journal of Development Studies,
net in China: Evolution of political control over
L
35(3), 73–104. doi:10.1080/00220389908422574
network infrastructure and content. Asian Survey,
41(3), 377–408. doi:10.1525/as.2001.41.3.377 Kraemer, K. L., & Dedrick, J. (1994). Payoffs from
G
investment in information technology: Lessons
Hollister, R. (2002, Feburary). Lives of active
from the AsiaPacific region. World Develop
I
citizenship. Inaugural lecture for the John DiBiag
ment, 22(12), 1921–1931. doi:10.1016/0305
gio Chair in Citizenship and Public Policy. Tufts
750X(94)90183X
G
University. Medford, MA.
I
Macintosh, A., & Stephen, C. (2003). Promise
Institute for Politics. Democracy & the Internet.
and problems of edemocracy: Challenges of
(2004, March). Political influentials online in the
online citizen engagement. Paris, France: OECD
2004 presidential campaign. Washington, DC: The
Publication Service.
George Washington University. Retrieved from
http://www.ipdi.org/UploadedFiles/ political%20 Margolis, M., & Resnick, D. (2000). Politics as
influentials.pdf usual: The cyber space revolution. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
Mossberger, K., Tolbert, C. J., & McNeal, R. S.
(2008). Digital citizenship: The Internet, society,
and participation. Cambridge, MA: The MIT
Press.
310
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
Norris, P. (2001). Digital divide: Civic engage The White House. (2009). Technology. Retrieved
ment, information poverty, and the Internet world fom http://www.whitehouse.gov/ issues/technol
wide. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ogy/
Norris, P. (2005). The impact of the Internet on Thomas, J. C., & Streib, G. (2003). The new face
F
political activism: Evidence from Europe. Inter of government: Citizeninitiated contact in the
national Journal of Electronic Government Re era of egovernment. Journal of Public Admin
search, 1(1), 20–39. doi:10.4018/jegr.2005010102 istration: Research and Theory, 13(1), 83–102.
O
doi:10.1093/jpart/mug010
Pew Research Center for the People and the
Press. (2009). The Internet and civic engage Tolbert, C. J., & McNeal, R. S. (2003). Unraveling
O
ment. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet. the effects of the Internet on political participation?
org/Reports/2009/ 15TheInternetandCivic Political Research Quarterly, 56(2), 175–185.
R
Engagement.aspx
United Nations Online Network of Public Ad
P
Pratchett, L., & Krimmer, R. (2005). The coming of ministration and Finance (UNPAN). (2006).
edemocracy. International Journal of Electronic Global egovernment readiness report 2005:
Government Research, 1(3), i–iii. From egovernment to einclusion. New York:
L
United Nations.
Price, V., & Cappella, J. N. (2002). Online delib
A
eration and its influence: The Electronic Dialogue Welch, E., Hinnant, C., & Moon, M. J. (2005).
Project in campaign 2000. IT & Society, 1(1), Linking citizen satisfaction with egovernment
B
303–329. and trust in government. Journal of Public Admin
doi:10.1093/jopart/mui021
O
York, NY: Simon & Schuster. West, D. (2007). Digital government: Technology
L
and public sector performance. Princeton, NJ.
Seifert, J. W., & Chung, J. (2009). Using egov
Oxford: Princeton University Press.
G
ernment to reinforce governmentcitizen relation
ships: Comparing government reform in the United Xia, J. (2010). Linking ICTs to rural develop
I
States and China. Social Science Computer Review, ment: China’s rural information policy. Govern
27(1), 3–23. doi:10.1177/0894439308316404 ment Information Quarterly, 27(2), 187–195.
G
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2009.10.005
Shen, F., Wang, N., Guo, Z., & Guo, L. (2009).
I
Online network size, efficacy, and opinion ex Yang, G. (2003). The Internet and civil society
pression: Assessing the impacts of Internet use in in China: A peliminary assessment. Journal
China. International Journal of Public Opinion of Contemporary China, 12(36), 453–475.
Research, 21(4), 451–476. doi:10.1093/ijpor/ doi:10.1080/10670560305471
edp046
Yang, G. (2009). The power of the Internet in
Shirk, S. L. (2007). China: Fragile superpower: China: Citizen activism online. New York, NY:
How China’s internal politics could derail its Columbia University Press.
peaceful rise. New York, NY: Oxford University
Yildiz, M. (2007). Egovernment research:
Press.
Reviewing the literature, limitations, and ways
forward. Government Information Quarterly,
24(3), 646–665. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2007.01.002
311
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
ADDITIONAL READING CPC Central Committee & State Council. (2009).

Suggestions on the promotion of the steady
Alport, K., & Macintyre, C. (2007). Citizens development of agriculture and the consistent
to netizens: Grassroots driven democracy and increase of farmers’ income for the year of 2009
edemocracy in South America. International (in Chinese). Beijing, China.
F
Journal of Electronic Government Research, 3(4),
38–57. doi:10.4018/jegr.2007100103 CPC Central Committee General Administration
Office & State Council General Administration
O
Boyte, H. C. (2005). Reframing democracy: Office. (2006). National informatization strategy
Governance, civic agency, and politics. Pub for the years of 2006–2020 (in Chinese). Beijing,
O
lic Administration Review, 65(5), 536–546. China.
doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2005.00481.x
Horrigan, J. (2004). How Americans get in touch
R
Brainard, L. (2003). Citizen organizing in cy with government: Internet users benefit from the
berspace: Illustrations from health care and efficiency of egovernment, but multiple channels
P
implications for public administration. American are still needed for citizens to reach agencies and
Review of Public Administration, 33(4), 384–406. solve problems. Washington, DC: Pew Internet &
L
doi:10.1177/0275074003257430 American Life Project.
Carroll, J. M., & Rosson, M. B. (1996). De Hudson, H., & Pittman, T. (1999). From northern
A
veloping the Blacksburg electronic village. village to global village: Rural communications
Communications of the ACM, 39(12), 69–74. in Alaska. Pacific Telecommunications Review,
B
doi:10.1145/240483.240498 21(2), 23–34.
Castells, M. (2009). Communication power. New Hudson, H. E. (2006). From rural village to global
O
York, NY: Oxford University Press. village: Telecommunications for development
L
Chadwick, A. (2001). The electronic face of in the information age. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
government in the Internet age: Borrowing from Erlbaum Associates.
G
Murray Edelman. Information Communication Hun Myoung, P., & Perry, J. L. (2008). Do cam
and Society, 4, 435–457. paign web sites really matter in electoral civic
I
Cooper, T. L., Bryer, T. A., & Meek, J. W. engagement? Empirical evidence from the 2004
(2006). Citizencentered collaborative public postelection Internet tracking survey. Social
G
Science Computer Review, 26(2), 190–212.
I
management. Public Administration Review,
66(special issue), 76–88. doi:10.1111/j.1540 doi:10.1177/0894439307309026
6210.2006.00668.x International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
CPC Central Committee & State Council. (2008). (2007). World telecommunication/ICT develop
Suggestions on the earnest enhancement of the ment report 2006: Measuring ICT for social and
construction of rural infrastructure and the further economic development. Geneva, Switzerland.
promotion of the development of agriculture and Kavanaugh, A. (1999). The impact of computer
increasing famers’ income (in Chinese). Beijing, networking on community: A social network
China. analysis approach. Paper presented at the Tele
communications Policy Research Conference.
312
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
Lupia, A., & Baird, Z. (2003). Can websites change Zhao, Y. (1999). Labor migration and earnings
citizens? Implications of Web White and Blue differences: The case of rural China. Economic De
2000. PS: Political Science & Politics, 36(01), velopment and Cultural Change, 47(4), 767–782.
77–82. doi:10.1017/S1049096503001732 doi:10.1086/452431
F
Ma, L., Chung, J., & Thorson, S. (2005). Egovern
ment in China: Bringing economic development
through administrative reform. Government In KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
O
formation Quarterly, 22(1), 20–37. doi:10.1016/j.
giq.2004.10.001 Civic Engagement: The engagement of indi
O
vidual citizens in the civil and political society. It
Margolis, M., & Resnick, D. (2000). Politics as consists of political knowledge, political discus
usual: The cyberspace “revolution.”. Thousand
R
sion, and political interest.
Oaks, CA: Sage. Internet User: In China, an Internet use refers
P
Millard, J. (2006). User attitudes to egovernment to the individual who is at least 6 years old and
citizen services in Europe. International Journal has used the Internet at least one time during the
of Electronic Government Research, 2(2), 49–58. last six months when he or she is interviewed.
L
doi:10.4018/jegr.2006040103 Rural Internet User: An Internet user who
primarily live in rural areas during the last six
A
Quinn, A. C., & Ramasubramanian, L. (2007). months when he or she is interviewed.
Information technologies and civic engagement: Urban Internet User: An Internet user who
B
Perspectives from librarianship and planning. Gov primarily live in urban areas during the last six
ernment Information Quarterly, 24(3), 595–610. months when he or she is interviewed.
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.08.005
O
Skocpol, T., & Fiorina, M. P. (Eds.). (1999). Civic
L
engagement in American democracy. Washington, ENDNOTES
DC: Brookings Institution Press. Russell Sage
G
Foundation.
1
As a usual practice, in the beginning of
each year, the Central Committee of Chi
I
Verba, S., Schlozman, K. L., & Brady, H. (1995). nese Communist Party (CCP) and the State
Voice and equality: Civic voluntarism in American Council will jointly issue a “No. 1 Docu
G
politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University ment” highlighting the central government’s
I
Press. priorities of the year.
West, D. (2004). Egovernment and transforma
2
The latest political doctrine formally en
tion of service delivery and citizen attitudes. dorsed by China’s Party leadership in 2006.
Public Administration Review, 64(1), 15–27. It calls for a shift in the party’s focus from
doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2004.00343.x promoting allout economic growth to
solving worsening social tensions. Observ
Wines, M. (2009, June 17). Civicminded Chinese ers believe the doctrine reflects a balanced
find a voice online. The New York Times, p. A6. perspective on both rapid growth and on
ameliorating the problems that may threaten
Xia, J., & Lu, T. J. (2008). Bridging the digital
the social stability..
divide for rural communities: The case of China. 3
The term informatize or informatization
Telecommunications Policy, 32(910), 686–696.
(xinxihua) is officially used by Chinese
doi:10.1016/j.telpol.2008.07.006
313
0.A/#1+$-+0%1")%"1+L@"+$%+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1+*%+D5*%"@"+!()/8+6)"/@
government to indicate the ICT initiatives 5

In the 2006 report, CNNIC defines an
(e.g., government informatization, rual infor Internet user as one who in average uses
matization). Literally, it means the employ the Internet one hour each week. However,
ment of ICTs. More broadly, it includes the since July 2007 (the 20th survey report), the
production and use of IT hardware, software, definition has been changed to an individual
F
and services (Kraemer & Dedrick, 1994) in above 6 years old who has used the Internet
different fields. at least one time during the past six months.
O
4
The more detailed introduction to the survey Therefore, the readers need to pay special
methodology can be found in any of the attention to the size of the Internet users at
CNNIC’s statistical reports on its official web the end of 2006.
O
site: http://www1.cnnic.cn/en/index/0O/02/
index.htm.
P R
A L
OB
G L
G I
I
314
315
Chapter 16
Rural E-Governance
through the “Panchayati
O F
O
Raj” Institutions in India:
R
Prospects and Challenges
Malathi Subramanian
Amity University, India
L P
ABSTRACT
B A
In India, the administrative system, with roots in the colonial past, is largely perceived as unresponsive
O
and insensitive to the citizens’ needs particularly in its vast rural hinterland. The common citizens at
3<2'*#*87'+.778B2'72+27'&5321'C1)'3<2=,27+2,'83'3<2'*2G2.+.1B'21)'&5'8'G#=62*,&=2/'.1.W#.3&#,/'81)'#158.*'
L
service delivery system with very little involvement or inclusion in governance processes despite the best
intentions of the government. It is believed that Information Communication Technology (ICT) enabled
G
egovernance through the local self governing units (Panchayats) at the village level could simplify civic
governance, improve the public services delivery system, make government and administration more
I
democratic and inclusive, and more accessible to the citizens at the local village level. In this context,
the chapter attempts to examine the challenges to, and dimensions of the task of electronic delivery of
G
government services through the local selfgovernment Institutions called “Panchayati Raj” in India.
I
INTRODUCTION
Egovernance, refers to digital governance proc

esses in which Information and Communicati
ns interact and participate in the governance
sphere. (DigitalGovernance.org). It integrates vario
us services between Government and Citizens (G2C)
, and Government and Business (G2B) through
on Technology (ICT) is used to induce changes dissemination and exchange of information wi
in the delivery and standards of government th the help of ICTs. This further involves an i
services and more importantly, in the way citize ntegration and networking of back office process
es and interactions within the entire framework
ofGovernmentrequiringprovisionsofhardware,soft
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch016
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
ware,networking,processreengineeringandchange the aims of egovernance through the Panchayati

management (Nath, 2008). Egovernment which Raj institutions in rural India. These challenges
underlies e governance progresses through diffe need to be examined to assess the contours of the
rent modes and stages: First, the cataloging stag problem which is the objective of this chapter.
e which is marked by online presence of government
F
documents which offer public information rela
ting to government services. Second, the transac BACKGROUND
O
tion stage where the focus is on connecting the
internal government systems to online interface The implementation of “egovernance” in India
s making it possible for citizens to electronic began with the National Informatics Centre’s
O
ally transact with government institutions. Thi (NIC) efforts to connect all the district headquar
s further calls for vertical integration, o ters in the States through computers in the 1980s.
R
f federal, state and local governments to ensu This typically included connectivity, networking,
re compatibility and interoperability between var and technology up gradation, selective delivery
P
ious government databases. The most complex stage systems for information and services and an ar
is horizontal integration where different servi ray of software solutions. The 90s saw a spate of
L
ces and functions within the same level of gover experimental egovernment initiatives in India in
nment are integrated to provide a onestopsho various States in the Indian federal structure that
A
p for all major services. This requires a tra addressed issues such as land records manage
nsformation of how government functions ment through digitisation, issue of government
B
are conceived, organized and executed and is documents to public and collection of various
more difficult to realize than the initial stages dues via kioskbased centres etc. at the local level
(Weerakkody & Dwivedi, 2006). (De, 2006).
O
Egovernance is seen as an opportunity to trans
L
form the nature of governance and revolutionize EGovernance in India
public administration in India. Its potential for
delivery of service by government efficiently with, In the more recent times the egovernance per
G
and across a wide geographical reach at high speed spective has taken deep roots in India. Under
I
and low cost is officially acknowledged (Moily, the umbrella of the basic policy laid down by
2007). However, for bringing about the desired the Government at the Centre, every State has
G
changes with the help of Information Communi an IT policy in place and a huge budget for e
I
cation Technology (ICT) through the local self governance as well. The domains are clearly
governing units (Panchayats) at the village level laid out. The overarching IT policy is laid down
towards better civic governance, a fundamental by the Central Government under which there
change is called for in the organizational culture are projects initiated by the Central Government
to design and solve problems based on grassroots and sub programmes by State Governments.
level experiences. For this ICTs would have to be There is also a domain of integrated projects with
adapted and integrated with the local needs. How collaboration of both the Centre and the States.
ever, the sheer size and diversity of the area and Accordingly the core policies, core infrastructure,
population to be covered, the number of village and support infrastructure are in the domain of the
Panchayats to be eenabled, the existing ground Central government. Integrated services, technical
level realities and pre egovernance features of assistance, manpower & training etc. are in the
the legacy public administration at the local level domain of the States. 1
are challenges to be reckoned with for achieving
316
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
The ICTs have facilitated the design of pos their being included in participatory governance
sible solutions to deliver government services for processes despite the best intentions on the part
social development at the village level where most of government agencies (Aiyar, 2010).
of India’s rural poor dwell (Datta, 2004; Manzar, Given the realities of rural India (Datta,
2010). ICTs are now accepted as an effective tool 2004) ICTs must be adapted and integrated with
F
for delivery of service by government efficiently the local needs. But IT mediated processes may
with a wide geographical reach at high speed and also involve issues of power, class, gender, race,
O
low cost. Thus egovernance is acknowledged as culture, economy and ideology. Poor rural com
‘using IT to bring about Simple, Moral, Account munities lack access to social intellectual and
able, Responsible, and Transparent (SMART) financial capital and therefore may find it difficult
O
Governance’ (Karwal, 2009). and a convergence is to take advantage of ICT networks. And it is pos
seen between egovernance and good governance. sible for them to be indirectly excluded for these
R
The mechanisms and processes of egover reasons. Thus it is necessary to examine people’s
nance, are expected to lead to a more citizen centric capabilities to receive, process, use, and transmit
P
governance in India by bringing to its citizens ‘a information There is therefore need to evaluate
multichannel single window delivery structure the importance, utility and relevance of the in
L
for channelising all types of government services formation that the technology of ICT facilitates
at the local level in the most efficient manner in the context of the needs of rural egovernance
A
possible using modern IT (Moily, 2009). With (Subuddhi, 2006).
egovernance it is expected that the citizens will In India for it to be truly effective, electronic
B
be able to avail Government services in a more delivery of services calls for a stupendous data
convenient, efficient and transparent manner at bank creation involving an enormous volume
the local grass roots level. of digitization of manual records, tracking and
O
However, in India, the existing manual (legacy) monitoring systems, interlinking of the various
L
system of administration, rooted in the colonial departments of government and other related
mould of public administration historically, is organizations and a vast amount of integration
driven more by a spirit of authority and control and networking of back office processes and
G
rather than that of a spirit of service (Sharma, interactions which has not taken place fully as
I
2004). By and large it is perceived as unresponsive yet. In addition, in order to realize egovernance
and insensitive to the citizens’ needs. It is a system in the true sense, successful ICT projects have
G
where information is considered to be a privilege to involve in the design process, all stakeholders
I
rather than a citizen’s right. In this mould, the pro ranging from the government officials, legislators
cess for access to many government services and and regulatory agencies, to the citizens, voluntary
schemes has been quite cumbersome in operational organizations, technology consultants, vendors,
terms involving long winding procedures and funding agencies, academics researchers and
inconvenient steps. This has encouraged patron grassroots level workers.
age and corrupt practices in administration. It is,
further, a system marked by lack of coordination EGovernance in Rural India
among different departments, complete lack of
transparency and accountability, and considered The current Indian Government at the Centre ap
inefficient and hardly citizen friendly. Particularly proved the National eGovernance Plan (NeGP),
in the rural areas the common citizens are generally comprising 27 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs)
at the receiving end of a cumbersome, iniquitous, and 10 components in May 2006 with the central
and often unfair service delivery system rather than ity of citizen services delivery and use of ICT and
317
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
eGovernance to improve governance systems. Various uses and applications of ICTs in ru
One of the MMPs pertains to Panchayati Raj In ral areas of India include issues such as finding
stitutions as one of the key projects under NeGP.2 markets for farm produce, handicrafts, negotiating
The National egovernance Plan (NeGP) is a prices, arranging transport and delivery of inputs,
bold initiative to bring public services closer home information about market prices, financial trans
F
to citizens in a friendly, assisted format. In rural actions, educational opportunities, telemedicine,
India accessing a Government/Public service in support for self help groups, participatory decision
O
the non electronic mode often involves commuting making etc. (Subuddhi, 2006).
long distances, waiting in public offices and mak Some such notable initiatives are: eservices
ing many trips. Egovernance and NeGP promise for the rural areas4 (CARD, the Computer
O
to dramatically improve this situation by enabling Aided Registration Department5, both in Andhra
vast sections of the population transcend the bar Pradesh, ‘Tarahaat’6 to open up village market
R
riers of time, distance, and infrastructure to access (‘haat’) through the internet in Madhya Pradesh
government schemes and services more easily. and Punjab, ‘Raj Nidhi’ (State Information Kiosk)
P
The National Institute for Smart Govern in Rajasthan,7 The ‘Gyandoot’ (messenger of
ment (NISG) is engaged in partnering with e knowledge) programme in the Dhar district of
L
governance inititatives envisaged under NeGP. the State of Madhya Pradesh8, the ‘Warana Wired
The NISG has a strategic tie up with National Village Project’ in the State of Maharashtra in
A
eGovernance Division (NeGD) an independent Western India linking up 70 villages of Kolhapur
Business Division set up by the Department of district9 The Sustainable Access in Rural India
B
Information Technology(DIT), Government of (‘SARI’), a joint collaborative initiative between
India. The NiSG provides expert resources to international and local agencies in Madurai district
NeGD in areas such as programme management in Chennai in South India, Village Knowledge
O
for NeGP, capacity building, strategic planning, Centres (VKC) in Pondicherry in South India,10
L
standards, change management and technology.3 ‘Bhoomi’, initiative to computerize land records
Under the catalytic and enabling role of the in Karnataka, ‘Akshaya’ eliteracy initiative
Central government in India there have been a in Kerala, eChoupal ecommerce initiative in
G
variety of government and non government e Madhya Pradesh.
I
governance initiatives to connect rural India to the As indicated, while governmental and non
rest of India and the world. However, most of these governmental agencies have been involved in dif
G
efforts have been in the nature of pilot projects ferent innovative schemes for rural egovernance,
I
testing suitable and sustainable approaches with these do not cover the entire rural area nor all
a limited spread and not covering all the villages the rural concerns. Most of the segmental rural
in rural India as now aimed through Panchayati egovernance initiatives in different states of India
Raj institutions with full scale government initia have been on a public private partnership basis
tive and support. and have had a limited impact in benefiting the
Thus most of the specific IT enabled projects rural areas. There is a consensus at the policy level
for rural India have so far been organized by the that the value of e governance will not be truly
state governments, non governmental organiza realized unless it touches and improves the lives
tions, corporate sponsors and sometimes by a of masses and is specially targeted at improving
combination of these. Though many states have the livelihood of the poor and vulnerable. Though
taken such segmental egovernance initiatives, there are poor both in urban and rural areas, the
these varied greatly in orientation, priorities and majority of the poor in India live in its rural areas.11
level of activity. Hence the stated policy objectives of egovernance
318
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
schemes whether in the Centre or the States can disputes by the group. The term ‘Raj’ denotes
be achieved only if it succeeds in transforming authority to rule. Panchayati Raj thus denotes the
the nature of governance in the rural areas. Suc rule by those chosen to manage the village affairs
ceeding at the local level is thus imperative for called ‘ panchayats’. The term Panchayat came
egovernment success at the national level. generally to refer to village level institutions of
F
Therefore e governance through ICTs should self rule during the national freedom movement
result in better administration not only in terms in India.
O
of accessibility, transparency and accountability During the early post independence period,
but in the more visible outcome of reducing the Panchayati Raj legislations were enacted by the
urban and rural digital divide and poverty al respective state legislatures in various States in
O
leviation. With this conviction the Ministry of India. Gram (village) Panchayats were organized
Information Technology in India has decided to as units of selfgovernment in pursuance of the
R
directly intervene and has a plan to set up state promise of the freedom movement expressed in
wide information kiosk network connecting 0.6 Article 40 of the Indian Constitution according to
P
million villages in India in the next few years which the State shall take steps to organize village
involving the investment of requisite funds for Panchayats and endow them with such powers and
L
meeting the huge cost of wiring rural India. The authority as may be necessary to enable them to
importance of vernacular content in egovernance function as units of self government.
A
of rural India is also consciously acknowledged Accordingly village Panchayats or ‘Gram
by official agencies keeping in view the linguistic Panchayats’ (GPs) as they are called were estab
B
diversity of the country. For the first time it is lished in most of the States under the legislations
now proposed to implement the various social enacted by the respective State Legislatures.
development schemes of the government through But these units were endowed with insignificant
O
the application of the ICT directly through the powers, authority, responsibilities, resources and
L
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), which would autonomy to function effectively. The Balwantrai
be responsible for implementing these schemes Mehta Study Team set up in 1957 to examine how
rather than through partially government sup this could be rectified recommended that there
G
ported initiatives and public private partnership. should be administrative decentralization for the
I
effective implementation of developmental pro
grammes; and the decentralized administrative
RURAL EGOVERNANCE
G
system should be under the control of the elected
I
THROUGH PANCHAYATI bodies. Establishment of statutory local bodies
RAJ INSTITUTIONS (PRI) with devolution of necessary resources, power
and authority was recommended. Consequently
Panchayati Raj System and PRIs the three tier Panchayati Raj (structured in three
tiers of District, Block and Village levels) was
“Panchayat,” “Panchayati Raj,” established in almost all the States under the State
and Panchayati Raj Institutions legislations enacted for the purpose.
The official thinking on democratic decentral
The term Panchayat traditionally denotes a group ization involving the Panchayats has gone through
of five (panch) persons, generally village elders, many phases and engaged many committees
chosen by the village community and entrusted over the years recommending greater devolution
with the management of the village affairs. The of functions, functionaries and finances to the
term Panchayat also refers to reconciliation of PRIs. Finally the decision to give it a statutory
319
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
and constitutional position came through the are development units within the Districts) and
Constitution Seventy Third Amendment Act 1992 Gram Panchayat (Village local body). These are
which became operative from April 1993. The the existing structures and levels through which
amendment establishes Panchayati Raj: a system activities for rural governance are carried out in
of local democracy through local councils known the field by PR Department in India.12
F
as Panchayats. The amendment mandates that re With a firm Constitutional status, democrati
sources, responsibility and decision making power cally elected three tier Panchayats as institutions
O
be devolved from central government and placed in of self government were sought to be established
the hands of rural grassroots people, with elections throughout the country in all the States. Gram Sab
every five years. It created a threetier system of has (village assembly) were to be established in all
O
local democracy linking the lowest village level villages. Regular elections to the Panchayats on the
(gram panchayat), the block level (panchayat basis of adult franchise were to be held every five
R
samiti, (encompassing 10–20 panchayats), and the years and no area was to remain without an elected
district level (zilla panchayat, comprising 4–10 Panchayat to govern it at any time for more than
P
blocks). Conforming Panchayati Raj legislations six months. There is reservation of one third seats
were enacted by the State legislatures within a year of members as well as of Chairpersons in favour
L
under which the new Panchayats were elected in of women, and 22.5% in favour of Scheduled
almost all the States. The term Panchayati Raj Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) which
A
now denotes the three tier system including the are identified as socially disadvantaged groups for
one established under the Seventy Third Amend affirmative action in public policies by the Indian
B
ment of the Constitution of India that gave it a Constitution in proportion to their respective
statutory constitutional status populations to ensure equitable representation.
With the adoption of the 73rd amendment to Specific development role has been assigned
O
the Indian Constitution, India began a process to the Panchayats including the preparation and
L
with the potential to create genuine democracy implementation of plans for economic develop
at the village level. Article 243G of Part IX of ment and social justice covering the 29 subjects
the Constitution empowered the Panchayati Raj listed in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution.
G
Institutions (PRIs) to function as “institutions Preparation of a Development Plan for the entire
I
of self government.” It represented a historic district by a District Planning Committee to be
opportunity to transform the face of rural India. set up for the purpose has been mandated in the
G
The 11th Schedule of the amendment speci Constitution. An independent State Election Com
I
fies 29 areas of responsibility, covering all key mission for organizing, conducting and monitoring
aspects of village life, which State governments of all elections to the Panchayats has also been
may transfer to the panchayats along with suf provided for. An independent State Finance Com
ficient resources and decisionmaking authority. mission to periodically review financial position of
Panchayati Raj (PR) is thus the third tier of the Panchayats and to recommend the principles
governance in India. The Central and State gov to govern the distribution of financial resources
ernments are the chief units of the Indian federal between the States and Panchayats is also in place.
polity. ‘Panchayati Raj’ (local self government) The State legislatures were authorized to endow
system refers to the functioning of a decentralised, the Panchayats with such powers and authority
locally elected governance body. The Panchayati as my be necessary to enable them to function as
Raj Institutions (PRI) are the ‘Zilla’ Parishads and institutions of self – government thus laying the
District Rural Development Agencies at District road map for inclusive and participatory federal
level, Panchayat ‘Samitis’ at Block level, (Blocks structure of governance and development.
320
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
Subsequently these new provisions were ex examined and reviewed the problems and made
tended to the Scheduled Areas through the provi many recommendations. However there is concern
sions of the Panchayats (extension to Scheduled over the creeping widespread corruption in the
Areas) Act (PESA) 1996. In addition to the ap PRIs and the role of money and muscle power
plication of the restructured Panchayati Raj sys in indirect elections to the decisive offices of
F
tem, the PESA provides for greatly strengthened Chairpersons of Panchayat Samitis (Block level)
Gram Sabha (village assembly) in the tribal areas and Zilla Parishads (District level).
O
(scheduled areas) to facilitate direct democracy,
transparency and accountability to the general Panchayati Raj and ICT
body of voters in the village. In principle the
O
tribal Gram Sabhas have been empowered with In India for making governance more inclusive,
many responsibilities. PESA applies to nine the importance and need to give the local self
R
States, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, governing units, the Panchayati Raj Institutions
Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, (PRIs) the central role in the implementation of
P
Maharashtra, Orissa and Rajasthan which have schemes sponsored by the Government at the
tribal areas under the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Centre was officially acknowledged in the Second
L
Constitution. Administrative Reforms Commission Report on
A separate Ministry of Panchayati Raj was Local Governance. (Moily, 2007)
A
set up at the level of the Central Government in Direct administration of beneficial schemes
May 2004 with commitment for strengthening the for the rural areas through PRIs with the help of
B
Panchayati Raj System with a focus on the uplift of ICTs, it is believed, will help better governance
the rural poor and disadvantaged sections by gen and ensure that benefits will reach all the citizens
erating employment, strengthening rural economy, at the village level. The deployment of ICTs and
O
particularly agriculture and social development Information technology enabled services (ITES)
L
through provision of health care and education. for implementation of egovernance policies
With these aims and objectives, the new Ministry and schemes at the local ‘panchayat’ level is ex
of Panchayati Raj at the Centre convened seven pected to revolutionize public administration and
G
Round Tables of Ministers in charge of Panchayati public services delivery system in the vast rural
I
Raj in States in 2004 to evolve a consensus on hinterland in India and make it truly democratic
effective implementation of the Panchayati Raj and inclusive by covering ‘the last mile’ in every
G
as set out in Part IX of the Constitution of India. village. Given the size of the vast area and popu
I
Consensus and commitment evolved on 150 ac lation to be covered along with the complexity
tion points covering 18 dimensions of Panchayati of the ground level realities of the legacy public
Raj through these Round Tables. To monitor and administration in rural India, this is bound to be a
facilitate the effective implementation, there is daunting and challenging task indeed and perhaps
a Council of State Ministers of Panchayati Raj a unique experiment whereby so many villages
headed by the Central Minister of Panchayati Raj. will be wire linked.
In spite of such wide ranging provisions, the In 2004 the Seventh Roundtable of the Pan
PRIs are yet to be endowed with adequate pow chayati Raj Ministers recognized ICT enabled
ers and authority (functions, functionaries and eGovernance as ‘a decisionmaking support
finances) by the State governments to enable them system for Panchayats themselves, a tool for
to function as institutions of selfgovernment. transparency, disclosure of information to citizens,
(Prasad, 2006) A number of commissions and social audit, a means for better and convergent
committees between the year 2000 and 2007 have delivery of services to citizens, a means for
321
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
improving internal management and efficiency the biggest connected government project in the
of Panchayats, a means for capacity building of world as nearly a quarter million gram panchayats
representatives and officials of the Panchayats in the country are proposed to connect through
and as an eProcurement medium. It was held this project over the next three years). The needed
that introduction of Information and Communi funding was also allocated.13
F
cations Technology at the Panchayat level will More recently the Ministry of Panchayat Raj
not only allow experimentation with technology of the Government of India has adopted ambi
O
but also give immense opportunity to the people tious and wide ranging egovernance policies
to handle technology and also create largescale and schemes to achieve better, more efficient,
job opportunities at the grassroots level, as it has transparent and corruption free government at
O
done in urban areas, in the form of operational the local level with the application of information
services, maintenance and other ancillary areas. technology. Careful attention has been given to
R
The Planning Commission and Ministry of the requirements both to the suitable and available
Panchayati Raj Report of the Working Group on technology needed and the measures required for
P
Democratic Decentralisation & PRIs in its Report implementation processes involved. While many
of November 2006 recommended egovernance ICT driven schemes are already in operation on a
L
for all Panchayats and indicated the activities public private partnership basis in different states
that need to be supported. (Planning Commission primarily in urban areas14, the initiatives for
A
Report, 2006) egovernance through formal local government
The expert committee appointed by the Cen institutions of Panchayat Raj is a first serious
B
tral government on information technology for attempt directly by the government to revolution
Panchayati Raj in its report submitted in 2008 ize public administration and service delivery
recommends use of ICT to be an integral part of system at the local level in the rural areas where
O
the multimode training and capacity building. its impact is most crucial and decisive for the
L
The Committee gave extensive recommenda democratic outcomes, and where the intervention
tion on hardware, system software, application of the State matters.
software, open standards, connectivity, domain With this it was expected that people in the
G
specific Data and Meta Data Standards, capacity rural areas of India, will soon be able to get ser
I
building, adoption of National Panchayat Portals vices like birth and death certificates, on line tax
(NPP), and facility management etc payments, email etc, nearer home in their gram
G
Computerisation of Panchyati Raj Institutions (village) panchayat offices, through egovernance
I
is a mission mode project under the ambitious Na mode. With the induction of information and
tional eGovernnance Plan (NeGP) of government communication technologies (ICTs), the Gram
of India. With egovernance, it is anticipated that Panchayat President or Sarpanch would soon be
the grass root organisations will benefit in many able to monitor panchayat centric schemes, do
ways which would lead to decentralised plan financial accounting and reporting, keep records
ning, effective monitoring of centrally sponsored of panchayat meetings on the computer in the
schemes (CSSs), transparency and accountability, panchayat office. Introduction of ICT at the Pan
enhancing the ability of local bodies to gener chayat level would not only allow experimentation
ate, manage and collect local revenue and at the with the technology but also create largescale
same time automate their own functioning with job opportunities at the grassroots level, as it has
data bank on records of the minutes of meetings done in urban areas, in the form of operational
of the gram sabha etc. The Expert Committee of services, maintenance and many other ancillary
the Planning Commission felt that this could be areas. (Oneworld Southasia, 2004)
322
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
EGOVERNANCE THROUGH PRIS IN munication and human capital infrastructure

INDIA: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES development in a country (Ray et al, 2006).
A Study by the Department of Information
Networked Readiness Technology (DIT) India defines e readiness as
the preparedness of states to provide governance
F
Given the size and diversity of the country and the equitably and cost effectively and the capability
number of Panchayats which have to be woven in reflected in the degree of integration the deprived
O
the ICT driven egovernance net, the building of segments of society attain after application of ICT
the data base itself is a gigantic task. It would be as an egovernance tool. Apart from this the ability
relevant in this context to examine the networked of the state to provide business, the capacity to
O
readiness of India. Networked Readiness Index participate in the local level digital economy and
(NRI) is a measure to indicate a country’s potential further networking with the national level digital
R
to use ICT for development. The measure is also a economy are also important (DIT, NCAER, 2004).
pointer towards the kind and scale of investment According to the conceptual framework of
P
that would be required for realizing the potential the UN Global EGovernment Readiness Report
of ICT. For the year 200304 India was ranked 2004, the representative services for testing e
L
45th in the Networked Readiness Index out of governance effectiveness are: Health, Education,
102 countries. Moving up two positions, in 2009 Social Welfare, Labour and Finance because these
A
2010 India has been ranked 43 out of 133 coun are representative of what services citizens require
tries. (The Global Information Technology Report most from the government. In India the important
B
2009–2010). There are different parameters for government departments for these services are Ag
the index covering environment readiness, the riculture, Health, Labour, Food & Civil Supplies,
individual, business and government readiness Education, Panchayat & Rural Development and
O
and individual usage, business usage and govern Social Welfare (Ray et al, 2006). These depart
L
ment usage which in combination indicate the e ments are relevant for measuring government
government readiness of a country. effectiveness in the delivery of basic economic
and social services to the citizen.
G
Egovernment Readiness In terms of networked readiness or e readiness
I
India cannot be considered totally ready for full
The egovernment readiness measure is an assess scale e governance due to many shortcomings
G
ment of availability of information and services on the requisite parameters. The e governance
I
at the government websites. Presence of a very readiness ranking of India at 0.39 is lower than
sophisticated website full of services and informa other Asian countries like China. In fact the im
tion is not of much value until there is enabling petus for egovernance through Panchayati Raj
environment to access and use these information institutions in India came not due to networked
and services. Egovernment readiness measure readiness but from the need for reliable data for
therefore combines measure of information and realistic assessment of the financial needs of the
service availability on the websites, with measures Panchayats and for which the Finance Commission
of availability of technological infrastructure was mandated (Annamalai, 2009). The exercise
and capability of the stakeholders in using these of digitization of data on panchayati raj actually
services. Egovernment readiness is considered to started with this need.
be an assessment of a state’s use of Internet and In the context of enhancing decentralization
the World Wide Web for provision of information, process in terms of powers, functions and funds
products and services plus the level of telecom to the PRIs it was important to have a reliable and
323
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
accurate data base for planning and monitoring for each Panchayat. Further, the need for custom
of schemes and funds management and collection ized software for different states and for various
of revenue by Panchayats. Better service delivery applications of Panchayats adds to the complexity
and efficient management of Panchayats at all of the task. The linguistic diversity of the States
levels was an expected outcome. It was realized is itself a challenge to customization of software.
F
however, that there was no mechanism of col And then there is the question of sustainability
lection and collation of data on the revenue and of these infrastructures through self financing or
O
expenditure of the various tiers of the rural and government support.
urban bodies at a nodal place where it could be
compiled, processed and made available for use. Infrastructural Problems and
O
In the absence of any reliable financial or bud Social Development Issues
getary data no realistic assessment of the needs
R
of the Panchayats and municipalities for basic In India there is no dearth of new technology
developmental functions could be made nor could driven companies, tech savvy administrators
P
information on the flow of funds to the local bodies and managers, a political class aware of the pos
for the implementation of various developmental sibilities of IT, social entrepreneurs and Non Profit
L
schemes be obtained. Hence the 11th Finance organizations that are willing to participate in the
Commission propelled a process of development egovernance processes to reach the benefits of
A
of a database on the finances of the Panchayats networked technologies to rural and less privi
and municipalities needs at the district, state and leged groups. However, this is countered by the
B
central levels. This was expected to facilitate problems of intermittent, inconsistent electrical
availability of computerized and networked data power, inadequate, unreliable telephony and Net
which could be accessed by different agencies. For connectivity. Power supply is erratic. According
O
this purpose the Commission allocated a sum of 2 to the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII)
L
billion rupees for computerization of the database National Broadband Economy Committee, Vision
of the finances of the PRIs. 2010, to give broadband connectivity to 48% of the
This step initiated the process of computer rural population an estimated 100,000 broadband
G
ization of Panchayats at policy and field levels. kiosks need to be set up. It has been estimated that
I
However, the task is a daunting one as it meant presently less than 10,000 Indian villages out of
servicing a rural population of nearly 7 million a total of 0.6 million have seen the presence of
G
covered by around 0.25 million Panchayats and internet. Teledensity growth is sluggish in rural
I
involving approximately 0.7 million villages India (Teledensity: 2009).
(Census of India, 2001). There are many state The relationship between politics and busi
and central government schemes which need to ness is marked by features of feudalism. Deeply
be monitored and which would generate a large ingrained ideologies of caste hierarchy, gender
amount of data flow in both directions. A huge inequity, and religious communal differences,
data base also needs to be built at the Gram as well as significant deprivations of basic hu
Panchayat level upwards on activities related man needs are marked features of the Indian
to finances and planning and implementation social structure. Thus even the basic needs of
of projects. The magnitude of the task calls for social infrastructure, including schools, health
a matching investment even just to provide the care centres, balanced nutrition, gender equity,
basic infrastructure ranging from the location to employment, and transportation are lacking in
the provision of hardware, software, telephone, the Indian villages. 50% of the villages in India
electricity, internet and intranet connectivity, are not connected by motorable roads (Ghosh &
computer maintenance and software support etc. Banerjee, 2006).
324
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
Among many hurdles to the use of Informa continuously provided, notwithstanding narrow
tion Technology in rural areas is the question of bandwidth, slow transfer rates, and intermittent
language of web content. The vast majority of Web connectivity. Several projects are now attempt
sites are in English, a language which the major ing to provide information and services to rural
ity of Indians do not speak. With 70% of Indians citizenconsumers, via, humanmediated intranet
F
living in its 0.6 million villages and 95 percent systems. The Village Knowledge Centers Project
not speaking English, egovernance models which run by the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation
O
do not support the rural delivery system will not in Pondicherry represents an early experiment in
contribute much towards good governance. providing information and knowledge resources
Under such conditions how much can technol to rural communities despite infrastructural
O
ogy achieve? It is therefore not surprising that limitations.
social development issues like poverty alleviation,
R
primary education and health care are considered Urban Rural Gap, Digital
more important problems to be tackled rather than Divide and Rural Poverty
P
access to a computer, telephone or the internet.
However, ICT with its far reaching potential has The real challenge for E governance in India
L
emerged as an important instrument for delivery however lies in reducing the gap between the
of critical services like health and education cut urban and rural populace and between the rich
A
ting across diverse and dispersed geographical and poor towards a more democratic and inclu
areas. Thus it is not a choice between ICT and sive governance system benefiting all including
B
health or ICT and education, but choosing the the last citizen in the village particularly the poor
most effective way for ICT to be used for the and vulnerable. Digital divide is pervasive in the
delivery of health, education and other services. Indian context (Kaushik & Singh, 2004). A narrow
O
Telemedicine through the application of ICT for definition of the digital divide focuses on access
L
example can help in delivery of health care services to computers and the Internet. But access alone
to the villagers who can avoid the cost and hard does not bridge the technology gap. The social
ship of long distance travel for medical attention development issues are as important as technol
G
and diagnosis. ICT can also help in medical data ogy to be addressed for success in egovernance.
I
and record management which are important in The issue of egovernance is much more than a
health care services. technological initiative but is made of a complex
G
For rural egovernance through Panchayat Raj set of relationships between the stakeholder’s
I
system to deliver, diverse social and infrastruc commitment, structured developmental processes
tural needs would have to be addressed more or adequate infrastructural resources and targeted
less simultaneously. The three basic infrastruc outcomes. The success or failure of e governance
tural requirements for rural ICT initiatives are projects and whether they are doing well or fall
electricity, telephony (or its equivalent), and ing short of expectations can be judged against
network connectivity. The problems associated this measure.
with these inputs need to be recognised as inher A closer look at the Indian rural society shows
ent features of the landscape of rural India, and that almost half of the population lives below
tackled as an integral part of the implementation poverty line, with a majority of the population
process. Projects in Pondicherry and Warana, for deprived of basic civic amenities like primary
example, allowed users to access offline content, health care, drinking water facilities, housing and
which is updated several times a day with incom education. Poverty remains India’s most intrac
ing data. In this way, a range of services may be table problems. India stands at 119 in the ranking
325
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
of the UNDP Human Development Index (UN ing the indirect benefits which are in the forms
Human Development Report, 2010). of increased transparency, sense of economic and
In addition the rural society in India is plagued social empowerment by access to information and
by illiteracy, exploitative market forces, caste and better efficiency in delivery of public services.
class cleavages, poor governmental delivery sys Benchmarking of best practices especially in rural
F
tems, etc. There is a wide disparity of literacy rate egovernance might take some time to evolve but
between the rural and urban areas; urban literacy is important. Moreover in a country like India
O
rate is 80.06% compared to rural rate of 59.21% with its regional diversities, benchmarking itself
(Planning Commission, 2002). This is further com might have diverse parameters and not universally
pounded by the inadequate infocommunication applicable. One of the major challenges facing
O
infrastructure. An ICT based strategy for economic the NeGP is Capacity Building that is required
development of rural society has to transcend these to be built at various levels of the Government
R
barriers. It has to be based on the understanding of starting at the Policy and Decision makers, to the
informationrelated needs of people. “...there is an Management and Operational Level and creating
P
urgent need to examine the catalytic and enabling awareness amongst the general masses. It is also
role to be played by the government in ensuring recognized that different States are at different
L
that IT provides new opportunities for the 40 per levels of readiness and with varying range of
cent of the people who are living below poverty capacity gaps.
A
line, so that they may move above it.” (Govern E governance through Panchayati Raj calls for
ment of India Working Group on Information the requisite changes in the processes about the
B
Technology for the Masses).15 way government will deal with citizens in order
to bring about the change from the manual system
to the electronic system. For example lack of hori
O
MEASURES NEEDED FOR zontal integration and back end data coordination
L
EFFECTIVE EGOVERNANCE would mean that e governance projects would
THROUGH PRIS continue to deliver services in a fragmented and
unsatisfactory fashion resulting in the end users
G
There is a need for identifying strategic roles for having to approach a multitude of government
I
the three main actors in the rural society, viz. agencies in spite of a ‘single window’ promise of
official agencies, non profit non governmental egovernance thus defeating the aim of reducing
G
organizations (NGOs) and people, for developing direct dealing with government (Shukla, 2003).
I
a right blend of initiatives suiting the needs of the Thus egovernance anticipates and involves a great
rural society in order to make e governance at deal of back end data and record integration and
the local level effective in expected outcomes. coordination if it has to be truly effective.
Successful e governance implementation is While connecting the citizens directly to
about four main components: End users need government is desirable, creating a framework
identification, Business Process Modification, Use of interactions is just as important and this calls
of Information Technology and most importantly for a change in the design of government to citi
committed government intent. Deficiencies in any zen interaction. Egovernance calls for business
of these would result in e governance projects process reengineering (Gautam, 2006).
failing to achieve their objectives. Automation of backend procedures and data
Identifiable and measurable parameters to as coordination between different Departments alone
sess the success of egovernance projects are not would eventually result in egovernance and this
easy to formulate. This is especially true regard
326
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
is important particularly if egovernance through employee involvement for change management,

Panchayat Raj institutions is to become a reality. the nature of public private partnership (PPP),
The application of ICTs on the existing the kind of service delivery arrangement through
inequitous scenario in the rural India (Prasad, PPP, and the cost implication for the citizen and
2006) might reiterate the inequalities and exist the revenue possibility for the service provider.
F
ing cleavages. ICT access is likely to increase Apart from these factors, keeping the diversity
socioeconomic opportunities for dominant caste of India in view, a single development model of
O
landholding elites, rather than for the relatively egovernance cannot be sustained in every place.
nonelite non landholding artisan communities as Hence suitable designing of the egovernance
the services provided may have cultural assump scheme which addresses the specific needs of the
O
tions and economic needs of the land owning area and community is important. Selection of ap
dominant caste. It remains to be seen whether propriate technology and adopting them to meet
R
dalits, adivasis (socially disadvantaged groups) local needs with the aim of evolving a practically
and other marginalised groups will be able to workable, functionally reliable, economically
P
access and take advantage of the opportunities viable, socially acceptable easily replicable ‘con
offered by rural connectivity. nectivity model’ are all important determinants
L
It is of the utmost importance that rural ICT (Hermon: 2006). Added to this is the problem of
projects be carefully designed with a view to relevant information based on local needs, and
A
enabling and including the very rural nonelite its availability in local language.
nonagricultural communities that are most likely The distinctive initiatives for computerization
B
to be left out. This is critical for making the cru of panchayats depends to a large extent on the avail
cial difference between inclusivist, empowering ability of finances and the continued state support
projects and exclusivist elitist information centers. without which it would be difficult to sustain the
O
Where and how the information center is located, efforts in financaially weak panchayats. Even in
L
the hardware and software design, the content, comparatively successful states in egovernance
language, accent and font of audiovisual interfaces, of the panchayats as in Kerala for instance, full
the kind of services available at the center are all scale of computerization of panchayats is yet
G
decisive factors. This would require finding ways to be reached because of poor communication
I
of working and innovating from the ground up, connectivity, erratic or lack of power supply in
working always in partnership and dialogue with remote tribal areas (Annamalai, 2009). Moreover,
G
local communities. This would call for a change the experiments of one state may not be possible
I
in the assumption of executive infallibility, and to replicate fully in other states due to the unique
stronger institutional relationships with scholars, factors there which impinge upon their scalability
intellectuals, and knowledge workers. in terms of funds, infrastructure and acceptability.
The major factors which underlie the successful Thus the important conditions for the success
implementation and sustenance of ICT projects of egovernance through panchayati raj in India
for social development in India would depend on depends upon firstly, political will and support to
the degree of efficiency and transparency in the the goal of and conviction in egovernance as a
services offered, the extent of reduction in cost and necessary step towards good governance. Citizen
at the same time improvement of convenience for interface services and their effective implementa
citizens, extent of reengineering and improvement tion through ICTs is equally important. Empow
of back end services, the extent of integration of ering the common man to access information
back end processes with citizen interface and the and knowledge to be able to be a participant in
website, change management and the extent of egovernance is the very basis of egovernance.
327
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
Elearning and ehealth initiatives are integral some of them with visible results, there is a dearth
parts of operationalizing egovernance through of replicable models for wider applications. Mostly
panchayati raj institutions in India. the application of ICT has helped in building
database by converting the manual data to digital
mode. In some cases selective customization has
F
AN ASSESSMENT been done which is serving as an input partially
in egovernance efforts. Though most states are
O
Public interacts with government in three ways: spelling out the ICT policies and IT priorities,
as consumers of government information; as objective need assessment at the ground level
customers of government services and as citizens has taken off only partially. In most cases the
O
participating in government decision making and ongoing governmental schemes and programmes
policy making. In none of these aspects has e are being implemented rather than on the basis
R
government made substantial difference in India. of needs assessment. Most such initiatives and
Improving the internal processes of government interventions based on the need of the local area
P
and providing a seamless public service delivery and people are those by some corporate sectors
system has not yet been fully realized. and Non Governmental Organizations (NGO).16
L
E governance through the PRIs are seen as a There are many rural egovernance projects in
measure with great potential towards realizing the India which are successful as silos but when the
A
democratic goal of ‘power to the people’ in India. integration with large projects is required these
Also it is seen as that ideal situation whereby the fail to deliver. Pockets of success can be seen in
B
‘unnecessary’ interaction of the common man with pilot projects in a district but when it comes to full
government officials would be eliminated with scale roll out there are many difficulties. A number
the computers taking over such interactions. This of NGOs have implemented many pilot projects
O
raises the expectations of the citizens in looking based on kiosk model in India but have failed to
L
forward to a corruption free system where each in roll out integrated projects. The projects succeed
dividual is treated equally according to rules which in controlled environment but fail beyond it.
are transparent. This enthusiasm for IT enabled The integration of Central, State and Local
G
e governance has led governments to announce governments is not only complex but difficult
I
and launch mega egovernance schemes which to implement. The web portals of the national
often translate into just large scale expenditure government, with links to local government
G
on hardware and software and related activities. should provide a single point of contact for e
I
Many egovernance inititatives are currently government. However, it is yet to function as a
operational in rural India. The Central govern proper web portal that offers a gateway to local
ment has launched ambitious projects like the and national government websites to provide a
NeGP project at a cost of 1.3 billion dollars to single point of contact for fully interactive and
connect 0.6 million villages seeking participa integrated online service delivery. Various politi
tion from various state government agencies cal, organizational and technical challenges may
and corporates. The many multi purpose kiosks hinder bridging the gap between the national
to be set up are expected to enable services like expectations for egovernment implementation
elearning, etraining, eteaching, ehealth, tele at the local grass roots level and its actual shape.
medicine, efarming, etourism, eentertainment, Some of the problems in addition are lack of
and ecommerce for village entrepreneurs. awareness, lack of access to eservices, usability
It is interesting to note that despite several pilot of egovernment websites, lack of trust, security
projects for ICT application for rural egovernance, concerns, resistance to change, lack of skills and
328
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
funding, data protection laws and lack of strategy nications infrastructure, which allows the dis
and frameworks. For these reasons the expectation semination of information, and to some extent,
that the Panchayati Raj Institutions will constitute education across distances. Developmental ICT
the most crucial delivery mechanism is somewhat projects, therefore, have attempted to assist rural
misplaced. PRI’s role has been considered to be communities by providing them news, informa
F
debatable (Prasad, 2006). tion, advice, and knowledge relevant to them that
has hitherto been inaccessible to them. These kinds
O
of inputs have allowed rural citizen consumers to
CONCLUSION make more informed economic decisions while
providing them information useful to them. For
O
This chapter set out to examine the dimensions of egovernance to unfold to its true potential how
the problem of egovernance through Panchayati ever, a lot more needs to be achieved.
R
Raj in India and the challenges to it. While ICT The transfer of public administrative processes
has facilitated the design of possible solutions to from a largely inefficient and bureaucratic manual
P
deliver government services for social develop state to an eenabled realtime automated state
ment at the village level there are still many chal in India would involve fundamental changes to
L
lenges to the prospects of achieving the goals of processes at both local and national government
egovernance encompassing rural India. levels. The typical public administrative processes
A
In the earlier format of administration in India, such as accountability arrangements, budgeting,
invariably the rural population would have to travel monitoring and reporting, decisionmaking and
B
long distances to the district headquarters to sub performance management would have to be re
mit applications, meet officials, acquire copies of engineered. However the ICT enabled change of
public records, or seek different kinds of informa state services will depend to a large extent on the
O
tion relevant to them. Apart from having to travel ICT resources available to the different govern
L
distances, it also involved cost of transportation ments and their attitude to IT enabled change. It
and taking off from their income generating activi also seeks redesign of not just the structure of
ties. Often repeated visits at additional cost would governance but indeed the architecture of the
G
become necessary if the information or the official administration (Gautam, 2006).
I
concerned was not available. ICT has helped in There are thus process and systems integration
collapsing the distance between the government challenges in local government in India. The cur
G
and citizen thus transforming the relation of gov rent ICT infrastructure in place in India does not
I
ernment with citizen and business to some extent. provide an adequate platform for process and ICT
It is possible to procure documents, land records integration which restricts sharing of resources and
and some public services through ICT services information. The citizen data bases where they
set up close to the citizen’s abode such as the exist are dispersed within different departments
service kiosks in the eseva (eservice) centers in and citizens have to contact these departments
Andhra Pradesh. The ICT enabled services bring to access different services. Outdated ICT infra
with them increased transparency, less corruption, structure can further hamper e governance efforts
more timely delivery of government services and as they are unable to support citizen’s queries
better government responsiveness which marks it online as a result of which contact has to be made
off from the pre egovernance features of govern in person at the government offices defeating the
ment services delivery. very purpose of egovernance.
Apart from this, so far ICTs have been largely The exchange of information at the vertical
effective as a new kind of media or telecommu level from the local village level to the upper
329
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
administrative levels if ineffective will seriously tion that egovernance calls for is still not fully
hamper egovernance efforts. Also it calls for inte achieved. ‘IT for masses’ thinking is yet to take
gration of customer records and verification from shape in practice. State specific IT policies have
different departments both at the Central and local to yet to determine the most appropriate ICT for
levels. Such information may take many days to citizen interface. ICT in domains of agriculture,
F
reach before the citizen benefit can be discharged. health, education, local language, welfare of
Thus there would be a need for databases from socially disadvantaged groups are yet to become
O
different departments to be integrated at the lo people centered with their wide participation for
cal government Panchayat level so that there is a egovernance to translate into good governance
single set of citizens’ records and the capability in practice.
O
of the local government officials to access the
latest information from central government on
R
their computer screens. Data sharing should be REFERENCES
possible between local government departments
P
and central government and online access for Aiyar, M. S. (2010, November 24). The dilemma of
citizens to apply for eservices such as social development and democracy in India. Address at
L
welfare schemes, education, health etc. Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi.
While there are web portals of the various Annamalai, V. (2009). Egovernance at Panchayat
A
state governments in the context for the need level: Role of infrastructure in ICT development .
to offer a one stop shop for key public services In Misra, H. (Ed.), Governance of rural informa
B
such as health, education, agriculture, employ tion and communication technologies: Opportu
ment etc. moving beyond the cataloguing stage nities and challenges (pp. 217–227). New Delhi,
to the vertical and horizontal integration will
O
India: Academic Foundation.
require a great deal of process and information
L
systems redesign that needs to be supported by Census of India. (2001). Retreived from http://
new integration/networking technologies such as www.censusindia.gov.in/ Census_Data_2001/
web services failing which inefficient processes India_at_glance/ rural.aspx
G
due to fragmented information systems would
Datta, P. (2004, July. 03). The great Indian
I
only make the exchange of information between
divide. In Frontline, 36(14). Retrieved from
processes and systems impossible.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2114/ sto
G
Almost all States and union territories in India
ries/20040716002009000.htm
I
have a web presence. However, few have pro
gressed to delivering comprehensive eservices De, R. (2006). The impact of Indian egovernment
even at the State level. Some rural egovernance initiatives: Issues of poverty and vulnerability re
initiatives have been successful but only in silos. duction and conflict. Paper presented in Regional
Many State governments in India are yet to com Workshop for ‘Capacity Building of AsiaPacific
puterize all the panchayats. They are still to create eGovernment Initiatives’. Bangkok, Thailand.
the requisite and needed data base for the purpose Retrieved from http://www.apdip.net/projects/e
of assessment of the real needs of the panchayats, government/ capblg/casestudies/IndiaDe.pdf
monitoring of schemes and creating appropriate
DIT. NCAER. (2004). India ereadiness assess
interface with citizens for service delivery. The
ment report 2004: For states/union territories.
very complexity of collection and building data
Delhi, India: Department of Information Technol
base involves thousands of panchayats which
ogy, Government of India, New Delhi.
also involves funding. Complete computeriza
330
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
Ereadiness assessment. (n.d.). Retrieved from Moily, V. (2007). Local governance: An inspir
http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/ groups/public/ ing journey into the future. Sixth Report, Second
documents/ APCITY/UNPAN014673.pdf Administrative Reforms Commission (p. vi). New
Delhi, India: Government of India.
E – readiness index of the States in India. (n.d.).
F
Retrieved from http://darpg.nic.in/arpgwebsite/ Moily, V. (2009). Citizen centric administration:
Conference/ 10thconference/cd/Chap2.pdf The heart of governance. Twelfth Report, Second
Administrative Reforms Commission (pp. i–iii).
O
Gautam, V. (2006). Egovernance ‘paradigms’
New Delhi, India: Government of India.
revisited: Constraints and possibilities . In Sahu,
G. P. (Ed.), Delivering egovernment (pp. 1–5). Nath, K. (2008). Egovernance: Strategy, policy,
O
New Delhi, India: Gift Publishing. prescription and prospect for the ‘common man’:
A Case study of government of Orissa visàvis
R
Hermon, R. R. (2009). ICT infrastructure for
India. Paper presented at the 17th Biennial Confer
rural development: Issues and priority for appli
ence of International Telecommunications Society
P
cation . In Misra, H. (Ed.), Governance of rural
(ITS), Montreal, Canada June 2428. Retrieved
information and communication technologies:
from www.its2008montreal.org
Opportunities and challenges (pp. 265–272). New
L
Delhi, India: Academic Foundation. Networked Readiness Index 20092010. (2009).
The Global Information Technology Report
A
India’s Rural Poor. (2007). Why housing isn’t
2009–2010. World Economic Forum. Retrieved
enough to create sustainable communities. Re
from http://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/ cen
B
trieved from http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.
tres/elab/rightnav/documents/ NetworkedReadi
edu/ india/article.cfm?articleid=4219
nessIndex_2009_10_Rankings.pdf
O
Karwal, A. (2009). Egovernance and citizen’s
Oneworld Southasia (2004). Retrieved from
charter: An agenda for an effective delivery
L
http://southasia.oneworld.net/ OWSAInfo/
mechanism – The Ahmedabad experience . In
FunctionalArea/ KnowledgeServicesDelivery
Misra, H. (Ed.), Governance of rural information
G
ForGrassroots
and communication technologies: Opportunities
and challenges (pp. 67–96). New Delhi: Academic Planning Commission. (2006). Ministry of
I
Foundation. Panchayati Raj report of the Working Group on
Democratic Decentralisation & PRIs, 2006. New
G
Kaushik, P. D., & Singh, N. (2004). Informa
Delhi, India: Government of India.
I
tion Technology and broadbased development:
Preliminary lessons from North India. World Prasad, K. (2006). Indian administration: Poli
Development, 32(4), 591–607. doi:10.1016/j. tics, policies and prospects. Delhi, India: Pearson
worlddev.2003.11.002 Longman.
Manzar, O. (2002). Rural development through Rao, M. V. (2009). ICT for rural development . In
broadband, wireless and mobiles. Retrieved Misra, H. (Ed.), Governance of rural information
from http://Www.Livemint.Com/2010/06/ and communication technologies: Opportunities
20211100/RuralDevelopment ThroughBroa. and challenges (pp. 203–216). New Delhi, India:
Html?Atype=Tp Academic Foundation.
331
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
Rattan, N. (2005). National egovernance plan Weerakkody, V., & Dwivedi, Y. K. (2006). Trans
of India: Driving good governance using ICT. forming local government . In Mitra, R. K. (Ed.),
Retrieved from www.digitallearning.co.in Egovernment: Macro issues (pp. 249–263). New
Delhi, India: Gift Publishing House.
Ray, D. (2006). A study on egovernment readi
F
ness of Indian states . In Mitra, R. K. (Ed.), E
government: Macro issues (pp. 107–122). New
Delhi, India: Gift Publishing. ADDITIONAL READING
O
Sharma, B. D. (2004). The little lights in tiny mud Agarwal, N., Sahu, G. P., & Mittal, V. (2006).
pots defy 50 years of anti‘Panchayat’ Raj (p. 75).
O
Egovernment: A study on current scenario in
New Delhi, India: Sahyog Pustak Kuteer Trust. rural India . In Sahu, G. P. (Ed.), Delivering E
R
Shukla, S. (2003). Why e governance projects government. New Delhi, India: Gift Publishing.
fail. Retrieved from http://www.intosaiitaudit. Asoka Mehta Committee Report. (1978). Commit
P
org/ muscat/IndiaWhy_EGovernance_ Proj tee on Panchayati Raj Institutions. Government
ects_Fail.pdf of India, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation,
L
Sood, A. D. (2001). How to wire rural India: Department of Rural Development, New Delhi.
Problems and possibilities of digital development. Bakshi, P. M. (1998). The Constitution of India.
A
[Mumbai, India]. Economic and Political Weekly, Delhi, India: Universal law Publishing Company.
36(43), 4134–4141.
B
Bhatnagar, S. (2004). Egovernment: From vi
Subuddhi, K. (2006). Egovernance in rural India sion to implementation. New Delhi, India: Sage
for poverty alleviation and development admin Publications India.
O
istration: An approach towards administrative
reforms . In Mitra, R. K. (Ed.), Egovernment: Bhattacharya, M. (2011). Telecom sector in India:
L
Macro issues (pp. 295–297). New Delhi, India: Vision 2020. Background Paper Submitted To the
Gift Publishing. Committee on India: Vision 2020.
G
Teledensity in Urban and Rural India. (n.d.). Ghosh, A., & Banerjee, G. (2006). A study of e
I
Retrieved from http://www.assams.info/2009/12/ governance in rural India . In Sahu, G. P. (Ed.),
teledensityinurbanandruralindia.html Delivering egovernment. New Delhi, India:
Gift Publishing Government of India. (2004). A
G
The Global Information Technology Report
I
compendium of resolutions of the Seven Round
20092010. (2010). Retrieved from http://www. Tables of Ministers in charge of Panchayati Raj.
weforum.org/pdf/GITR10/ TheNetworkedReadi New Delhi: Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
nessIndexRankings.pdf
Heeks, R. (2000). Reinventing government in the
UN Global EGovernment Readiness Report. information age. London, UK: Routledge Press.
(2004). Retrieved from http://unpan1.un.org/intra
doc/ groups/public/documents/ un/unpan019207. Information Technology Action Plan India. (1996).
pdf Human resources development recommendation,
part III: Longterm national IT policy 19962008.
UN Human Development Report. (2010). Re International Labour Organization (ILO). Re
trieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/ trieved from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/
employment/skills/hrdr/init/ ind_1.htm#3
332
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
Kaushik, P. D. (2002). Information Technology: Sahu, G. P. (2006). Delivering Egovernment.

Decentralisation and the rural poor in India . In New Delhi, India: Gift Publishing.
Gangopadhaya, S., & Wadhwa, W. (Eds.), Eco
Second Administrative Reforms Commission
nomic reforms for the poor. New Delhi, India:
Sixth Report. (2007). Local governance: An in
Konarak Publishers.
F
spiring journey into the future. New Delhi, India:
Kaushik, P. D. (2004). An agenda: Electronic gov Government of India.
ernance for the poor . In Keniston, K., & Kumar,
O
Second Administrative Reforms Commission
D. (Eds.), Experience in India: Bridging the digital
Twelfth Report. (2009). Citizen centric admin
divide. New Delhi, India: Sage Publications.
istration: The heart of governance. New Delhi,
O
Labelle, R. (2004). ICT policies formulation and India: Government of India
estrategy development. Bangkok: UNDP, Asia
R
Subramanian, M. (2007 December 10 – 13).
Pacific Development Information Programme.
Theory and practice of egovernance in India: A
P
Mathew, G. (2003 January 11). Panchayati Raj gender perspective. Paper presented in the Inter
institutions and human rights in India. Economic national Conference on Theory and Practice of
& Political Weekly. Mumbai, India. EGovernance. Macao, SAA: China.
L
Mitra, R. K. (2006). Egovernment: Macro issues. Subramanian, M., & Saxena, A. (2006). E
A
New Delhi, India: Gift Publishing House. governance initiatives in an Indian state: Some
observations from a gender perspective . In Mitra,
(2004). National EReadiness Report. New Delhi:
B
R. K. (Ed.), Egovernment: Macro issues. New
National Informatics Centre, Department of
Delhi, India: Gift Publishing House.
Information Technology: Government of India.
O
Subramanian, M., & Saxena, A. (2008). Egov
Panchayati Raj Update. (2009 March). New Delhi,
ernance in India: From policy to reality: A case
L
India: Institute of Social Sciences.
study of Chhattisgarh online Information System
Report, A. (200607 & 200708). Panchayati for citizen empowerment (CHoiCe) Project of
G
Raj Department, Government of Orissa, 2008. Chhattisgarh State of India. International Jour
Retrieved from www.orissagov.nic.in nal of Electronic Government Research, 4(2).
I
doi:10.4018/jegr.2008040102
Report of the Committee on Panchayati Raj In
G
stitutions. (1978 August). Ministry of Agriculture The Constitution SeventyThird Amendment Act
I
and irrigation, Department of Rural Development. 1992 on the Panchayats. (1992). Ministry of Rural
New Delhi, India: Government of India. Development, New Delhi: Government of India.
(2005). Report of the Eleventh Finance Com The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
mission for 20002005. Delhi, India: Akalank 2005 (NREGA). (2006). Ministry of Panchayati
Publications. Raj, Department of Rural Development, New
Delhi: Government of India. Retrieved from
Report of the Expert Group on IT Programmes.
http://rural.nic.in/
(2008). Ministry of Panchayati Raj. New Delhi,
India: Government of India. The State of Panchayats. (200708). Ministry of
Panchayati Raj, Volume I, II & III. New Delhi,
Report of the Twelfth Finance Commission.
India: Government of India.
(2004). Local bodies. Delhi, India: Akalank
Publications.
333
!()/8+:;<$=")%/%#"+15)$('5+15"+V,/%#5/9/1*+!/WX+0%@1*1(1*$%@+*%+0%>*/
UN Global EGovernment Readiness Report. sons, generally village elders, chosen by the village
(2004). Retrieved from http://unpan1.un.org/intra community and entrusted with the management
doc/ groups/public/documents/ un/unpan019207. of the village affairs. The term Panchayat also
pdf refers to reconciliation of disputes by the group.
“Panchayati Raj”: The term ‘Raj’ denotes
F
UN Human Development Report. (2008). Re
rule. Panchayati Raj thus denotes the rule by
trieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/
those chosen to manage the village affairs called
O
UNDP Human Development Index for India. ‘ panchayats’. Thus the term Panchayat and
(2007). Retrieved from http://hdrstats.undp.org/ Panchayati Raj came generally to refer to village
en/countries/ country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_IND. level institutions of self rule during the national
O
html freedom movement in India.:
Rural Egovernance: EGovernance of and
R
Unnikrishnan, P. V. (2006). Strengthening lo
through the local self governing units at the vil
cal self governments through IT: A case study
lage level for administration and public service
P
of Kerala . In Sahu, G. P. (Ed.), Delivering e
delivery in rural areas
government. New Delhi, India: Gift Publishing.
L
ENDNOTES
A
1 www.digitallearning.co.in
B
Egovernance: Egovernance refers to digi 2 http://www.mit.gov.in/eg/ms.asp
tal governance processes in which Information 3 www.negp.gov.in
and Communications Technology (ICT) play a 4 www.andhrapradesh.com
O
significant role. 5 www.ikisan.com
L
Ereadiness: ereadiness is an assessment of 6 www.tarahaat.com
the telecommunication infrastructure availability 7 www.rajgovt.org
and its use in a country. It is a measure of a state’s 8 http://www.gyandoot.net
G
use of Internet and the World Wide Web for provi 9 www.warana.com
I
sion of information, products and services. 10 www.mssrf.org
Inclusive Governance: The deployment of 11 India’s rural poor, http://knowl
ICTs is expected to make government more ac edge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.
I G
cessible to all the citizens at the village level so cfm?articleid=4219
that no one is excluded due to geographical or 12 http://panchayat.gov.in/
other factors. 13 http://www.telecentre.org/en/news.de
Networked Readiness: Network Readiness tail/101805
Index (NRI) is used to measure the degree of 14 E–governance initiatives in the States
preparation of a country to participate in and in India Retrieved from http://dqindia.ciol.
benefit from ICT development and application. com/content/top_stories/103101501.asp
It is a measure to indicate a country’s potential 15 http://itformasses.nic.in/vsitformasses/
to use ICT for development. pagel.htm
“Panchayat”: In India the term ‘Panchayat’ 16 http://dqindia.ciol.com/content/top_sto
traditionally denotes a group of five (panch) per ries/103101501.asp
334
335
Chapter 17
E-Engaging India:
E-Democracy Strategies for
Empowerment and Civic Participation
O F
Kavita Karan
R O
P
Southern Illinois University, USA
ABSTRACT
A L
EGovernance, inclusive of edemocracy, egovernment, and ebusiness, has the power to improve processes,
B
connect citizens, and build interactions with civil societies. The infusion of Information Communication
Technologies (ICTs) by the governments, civil society organizations, and political institutions to engage
O
citizens, have promoted greater participation in the process of governance. EDemocracy encompasses
all forms of electronic interaction between the elected government and the electorate. Examples include
L
evoting, econsultation, erepresentatives, ecampaigning, online deliberative polling, epetitions, and
ereferendums. India is the largest democracy in the world and a frontrunner in the use of ICTs for e
G
governance and edemocracy. The last few elections witnessed a surge in the use of new technologies
inclusive of Internet, social networking, and mobile technologies, alongside the traditional forms of
I
electioneering. This chapter examines the egovernance and edemocracy strategies, and the innovative
new media technologies used by political parties, industrial corporations, and other organizations that
G
have eengaged the citizens.
I
INTRODUCTION
The infusion of Information Communication Tech

nologies (ICTs) by the governments, civil society
nance, inclusive of edemocracy, egovernment
and ebusiness (Riley & OkotUma, 2001) has the
power to improve processes, connect citizens and
build interactions with and within civil societies
organizations (CSOs) and political institutions to (Heeks, 2001; Fountain, 2001; Welch & Wong,
engage citizens through dialogue and feedback 2001). Egovernment is a subset of egovernance,
have promoted greater participation in the process and its focus is largely on improving administrative
of governance and citizen interaction. EGover efficiency, transparency and reducing administra
tive corruption (Bagga, Keniston & Mathur, 2005;
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch017
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
Bhatnagar, 2004; Choudhary Kala, Sarwan, & paigning, online deliberative polling, epetitions,
Kumar, 2007; Karan, 2004; Saith, Vijaybhaskar ereferendum etc (Choudhury, et. all, 2007; Chad
& Gayathri, 2008). wick, 2009; Kluver, 2007; Mishra, 2009;Rahul &
According to Warkentin, Gefen, Pavlou, & Sen, 2004). Bentivegna (2006) explored how the
Rose (2002), governments are embarking on e use of information communication Technologies
F
initiatives to improve the process and delivery of (ICTs) brought in significant changes, where
government services, transactions as well as com citizens have refocused their political attention
O
munications with citizens and businesses. They outside the formal political arena. Online social
recognize the potential of ICTs to bring changes networks, civil associations, single issue groups
and increase efficiency and effectiveness in the and even discussion groups can be considered
O
public and private sector (Layne & Lee, 2001; indicators of what has been called “life politics”
Karan, 2004; Mathison, 2003; UNDP, 2004; World or “subpolitics”. Internet has the potential to build
R
Bank, 2004). India is on a threshold of informa social capital, interpersonal trust and political
tion revolution and the World Wide Web has knowledge (Pasek, more & Romer, 2009).
P
opened the global world of news and information Recent studies have found that political party
platforms, easing the way for people to connect Web sites, candidate Web sites, and weblogs
L
with the governments, other commercial and non have become major avenues for election cam
commercial organizations, and with each other. paigns, where the electorate are actively seeking
A
Despite the diverse barriers that emerge from its information, interacting with fellow citizens and
frontiers of diversity and divide, India is emerging debating on economic and social issues (Anstead
B
as frontrunner in terms of ICT users in the world. & Chadwick, 2007; Chadwick, 2009; Bimber &
The country has adopted egovernance platforms, Davis, 2003; Davis, 2010; Grönlund 2001; Karan,
which is a paradigm shift over the traditional ap Gimenao, & Tandoc, 2009; Kluver 2007; Tekwani
O
proaches in public administration in rendering of & Shetty, 2007). Studies have established the use
L
government services and information to the public of Internet by youth and civic engagement (Shaw,
using electronic means. This new paradigm has Kwak and Holbert, 2010). Citizens gain political
ushered in transparency in the governing process; knowledge, develop partisan affiliations, and ac
G
saving of time with the government services be quire a sense of civic duty as a result of political
I
ing delivered electronically through the single campaign messages. The advent of instant news
window systems; simplification of procedures; and interactivity through mass and new media
G
better office and record management; reduction technologies facilitate novel forays into news
I
in corruption; improved attitude and job handling and information dissemination, thereby cultivat
capacity of the dealing personnel (Menon, 2004; ing fresh opportunities for civic involvement,
Mitra, 2004; Monga, 2008). Given the success at dialogue and participation among the electorate.
the egovernance levels, efforts are on to introduce It is clear that the relationship between the new
similar electronic strategies in a move towards media technology, political communication and
edemocracy. elections is complicated and dynamic.
Democratic processes incorporate not only In the largest democracy in the world with a
voting but also citizen participation and engage dynamic political system, Indian elections have
ment in the political process. EDemocracy refers undergone several changes in the last six decades.
to the processes and structures that encompass all Elections have become extremely highpowered
forms of electronic interaction between the elected with the use of high tech modern digital technolo
government and the electorate. Examples include gies including Internet websites, interactive media,
evoting, econsultation, erepresentatives, ecam mobile telephones etc, to the very indigenous
336
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
mythological based folk tales and street theaters for support groups (Ackland & Gibson, 2006; Adamic
campaigning. Western models interspersed with & Glance, 2005; Bentivegna, 2006; Chadwick,
traditional forms are used to communicate with 2009; Davis, 2010; Bimber & Davis, 2003;
the diverse Indian audiences. At present profes Davis, 2010; Grönlund 2001; Karan, Gimeno &
sional marketing, advertising and public relations Tandoc, 2009). Considerable literature in politi
F
consultancies are churning out a multitude of cal communication has evolved in the western
strategies during election campaigns. democracies as well as in Asia in the last decade
O
This chapter will review the successful changes (Kluver, 2007; Park et al., 2000; Takeshita &
of egovernance in India, which has been on the Makami, 1995; Karan, 2009; Willnat & Aw, 2009).
forefront with egovernment initiatives in many Most studies have found that countries across the
O
states, and is dovetailing into edemocracy. world are adopting election strategies similar to
Through a case study approach, (Wimmer & the American styles of campaigning (Diamond
R
Dominick, 2006; Yin, 1994), it will examine the & Bates, 1988; Elebash, 1984; Blumler, 1987;
strategic marketing and new media technologies Johnson et al., 1991; Willnat & Aw, 2009) and
P
used by political parties, the Election Commission in recent years are following the Obama style of
of India (EC), the major business corporations and using new media technologies for campaigning in
L
examine how these strategies were successful in the 2008 elections. The vital role of the Internet
engaging the electorate, particularly the youth and mobile technologies in the 2008 US election
A
of India. Further to the introduction, the chapter has further endorsed the interest and relevance
is divided into five sections; the first provides a of these technologies in India’s own election
B
theoretical framework and the background on processes and dialogue. As a result, edemocracy
India and reviews the egovernment strategies, the has emerged as a channel to enhance political
second sections examines political communica accessibility, increase citizen dialogue and build
O
tion in India and how new media were used by more expansive participation in India’s political
L
the political parties, the third section reviews the processes (Prasad, 2009).
aspects of eengagement with the profile of new Grönlund (2001) explained that it had been
voters and new media technologies used during clear from the onset that electronic media play
G
the elections, the fourth section covers the initia a significant role in opinion building and voting
I
tives by major national corporations for engaging among the electorate by influencing the process
the electorate and the impact of the campaigns, of political opinionformation of an individual.
G
and the fifth section discusses the edemocracy Social Networking Sites (SNS) are a particularly
I
strategies and concludes the chapter with future intriguing category of Internet use because they
directions for research on new media technologies are designed to emphasize social ties and have
and elections in India. enormous prevalence in younger age cohorts. It
was reported that nearly 60% of 1422 year olds
use some social networking sites (Pasek, eian
BACKGROUND more and Romer, 2009). Though the Internet is
extensively providing users with political informa
Theoretical Framework tion to encourage civic engagement, it is not clear
whether it is resulting in online social networking
The extensive use of new media technologies and political knowledge. In the 2008 US Election
(NMTs) in election communication are influencing Day, the taskbar on Facebook reminded individu
the political socialization of voters, encouraging als to vote and similar strategies are being used to
online debates, political cyber communities and involve and remind people to be part of the elec
337
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
toral process. This chapter explores how political the Internet user base in India is from nonurban
actors in India used NMTs in political discourse. areas, mobile phones are making fast inroads
Since India is no stranger to the fact that she has into rural India. It was not long before political
become one of the strongest emerging economies parties were extensively using these technologies
in the world, where some of the new technologies for election campaigning.
F
are created and tested by its more tech savvy and The Indian parliament comprises of the Rajya
younger population, it didn’t come as a surprise Sabha (Upper House) and the Lok Sabha (House
O
that NMTs would figure quite significantly in the of the People). Parliamentary elections are held
political discourse in the country. every five years. The problem in Indian democ
racy has been the low voter turnouts over the
O
India: The Largest years, with as low as 40% in some states. There
Democracy in the World is a general lack of interest, misconceptions, and
R
presumed inefficiency of the governments that has
This section presents a brief background of the set in indifference to the political system among
P
politics in India, its electoral process, and its the citizens. The strength of the emerging Indian
foray into new media technologies in election economy in the global scenario has aroused the
L
campaigns. India is the seventh largest country in need for political stability and good governance,
the world, with over a billion people, accounting and this realization has evolved not only from the
A
for 17% of the world’s population. In the 2009 government, but also from the private sector and
elections approximately 714 million Indians were citizens themselves.
B
eligible to vote in the fifteenth general elections. Historically since independence, Indians have
Located in South Asia, the country is divided into been revolutionary in creating mass movements
28 states and seven Union territories. There is a that were evident in the struggle for independence,
O
vast urbanrural divide with about 60% of the when leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal
L
people living in rural India. The country presents Nehru and Lokmanya Tilak among others raised
a picture of unity in diversity, which is evident in a collective voice in strategically creating mass
its multiracial, multilingual and multireligious awareness among the people to join the freedom
G
society. The constitution of India recognizes 19 struggle resulting in independence from the Brit
I
languages and there are over 200 dialects. Hindi ish. A similar integrated strategy is being adopted
is spoken by about 40% of the population and in India even today, with efforts being made to
G
English is widely used for communication. Though ‘arouse the Indians’ particularly the youth to raise
I
the literacy rate has increased to 64% (75% male their consciousness as citizens, to introspect into
and 54% women) in the last decade, it is still low, their present and future, to make India a better
and the government is making concerted efforts place to live, and be the catalysts of change through
to substantially increase the literacy levels. participation in the democratic process. The media
Indian media system has undergone several of communication is changing, particularly for
changes in the last decade with a steady increase the youth, from interpersonal to mass media and
in the readership of newspapers and viewership to the new media technologies.
of television. Most newspapers have online edi Gupta, P. Internet Usage in India on the Rise,
tions, while radio and TV reach almost 95% of News April 10,2010) report which was conducted
the population, with some channels providing by Google, India is considered to the country which
online access. The reach of the Internet is still is taking the second position in terms of mobile
low at 15%, while some 325 million people are Internet consumption. The first place holds the
mobile phone users. While only about 20% of USA. More than billion web pages were viewed
338
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
on screens of cell phones in February, as for India At present the urban and the rural folks in the
the figure amounted to 5.9 percent of the share. country are benefiting from several egovernment
services that are providing them information
EGovernance in India services of water, land, weather, bill payments,
registrations, exam memos, market information
F
One of the fastest growing Internet economies as well as matrimonial services. The seeds of
of the world, India has the fourth largest Internet development in infrastructure are in place and e
O
market, accounting for approximately 15% of government services are already having the impact
all new traffic online. In a latest report, the total in increasing transparency and accountability as
Internet users are estimated at 52 million active well as increasing citizens levels of satisfaction,
O
users and are expected to grow to over 200 million women’s empowerment, greater social conscious
over the next four years (Sarkar, 2008). At present ness, reduced corruption, exploitation and igno
R
8.5% of the population is connected to the Internet rance as evidenced by studies done by researchers.
according to the Internet World Stats (2010). At (Chand, 2006; Chatterjee, 2003; Ghosh & Arora,
P
the same time India is taking the second position 2005, Gupta & Jana 2003; Karan & Mathur, 2010;
in mobile Internet consumption next to US with Monga, 2008; Saibaba, 2006; Saith, et all, 2008).
L
people accessing the Internet from mobile phones
(Gupta, 2010). These technologies are being used
A
in egovernance and other business and social POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN
activities. The concept of egovernance in India be INDIA: OLD AND NEW CHANNELS
B
gan with the National Informatics Centers’ (NICs)
efforts to connect all district headquarters through India has had a rich and diversified political
computers in 1980’s, which included connectivity, experience since gaining independence in 1947.
O
networking, selective delivery systems and an ar Amid “intense political activity” characterized
L
ray of software solutions. The creation of Centre by failures and downturns involving 14 elections
for eGovernance to disseminate the best practices after independence, India has remained steadfast
in the areas of e governance for the Central and with its democratic ideals (Karan, 2009, p. 191).
G
State Governments has met with success and acts Furthermore, political strategies remain dynamic
I
as a nodal center to provide general information as voter demographics in the country changed,
on egovernance (Sharma, 2006; Sachdeva & along with the increase in the number of political
G
Mathur, 2005; Ghosh, 2003; Kaushik, 2004; Karan parties and the infusion of technologies (Manor,
I
& Mathur, 2010; Rahul & Sen, 2004). Some of 1988 as cited in Suri, 2002; Karan, 2009).
the over 70 successful projects include; Sampark As in most other media systems, political
and egovernment technique in the Union territory news coverage dominates Indian mass media.
of Chandigarh has resulted in a responsive and During elections, newspapers, radio and televi
effective administration to ensure better quality sion increase coverage through special reports and
services to the citizens. In the Sustainable Ac special supplements to cover the campaigns and
cess in Rural India (SARI) project in the State of electoral trends (Karan, 2006; Kumar, 1991;Vi
Tamil Nadu, the use of ICTs has enabled improved jaypur & Balasubramanya, 2003). The use of new
agricultural practices for the farming community. technologies is not new to the Indian electorate;
The Project Smart Government in the State of political parties have long experimented with us
Andhra Pradesh endeavored to provide simple, ing audio and videocassettes and are now using
moral, accountable, responsive and transparent the Internet and mobile technologies. The new
(SMART) governance to its people. media technologies are being interlinked with
339
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
interpersonal, doorto door, public meetings and misconceptions of political processes and are
folk forms to support the online and offline ac motivating citizens to fight corruption, raising the
tivities in reaching the urban and rural audiences standards of political leaders, stop complaining
(Ahuja & Paul, 1992; Karan, 1994, 2010; Kumar, and take charge of themselves as citizens of the
1991; Manuel, 1993, Prasad, 2008) country and vote during the elections. What is
F
At the same time private sector organizations, interesting is the smooth convergence of the online
NGOs and civil society organizations are rais and offline tactics in reaching the electorate and
O
ing civic consciousness and calling upon people the perceived and actual impact of these strategies
to participate in the political process. The most on the scope of edemocracy in the future. In the
popular campaigns were the “Jaago re” (awaken following section, we study the strategic changes
O
India,(Jaago re, 2009), Lead India, and My Idea in the electorate and the ways in which they were
campaigns that are engaging the citizens (Dina, engaged through the mass and new media.
R
2009; Mohnot, 2009;). These NMTs are changing
the ways in which the Indians, particularly the
P
Indian youth, are being engaged in the political EENGAGEMENT: THE PROFILE
process, which was not the case until the 2004 OF THE NEW VOTER, NEW MEDIA
L
elections. Hachigian (2003) explained that the TECHNOLOGIES INTERNET
treatment of ICTs in the country: AND MOBILE MARKETING
A
..technology has not played an influential role
in India’s politics. Many of the large political The new Techno Savvy Voter
B
parties do have websites, and some of them are
updated frequently. But parties are not using the Technological advancements are impacting the
Internet or other advanced technology to mobi electoral system, but the most important change is
O
lize citizens or to gather input from them in part the demographic profile of India’s electoral base.
L
because IT penetration is quite low among the More than half of India’s 1150 million people are
general population (p. 70). younger than 25 years, about 42 million new voters
However, the 2009 elections were a landmark added since 2004. The electorate comprises of 30%
G
when the Election Commission of India (EC), of youth aged between 1830 years. However, cam
I
political parties and corporations used NMTs for paigns stated that only 16% of youth voted in the
political communications as never before. The elections, and there is no better way than to engage
G
campaigning involved a host of audio and video them through the use of new media. The need for
I
tools, online initiatives (Web sites, blogs, online new media technologies for engagement is even
chats and social networking sites) and mobile more, given that young people today are engaged
phone campaigns and even public opinion polls in their own international dialogue through the
sponsored by print and electronic media (Karan, most current forms of technology (Pelosi, 2007).
2009). Online reports suggested that the parties The Indian Market Research Bureau conducted a
used the Obama style of campaigning (Gaurav survey across 31 cities among 19,000 households
Mishra, 2009). In analyzing recent political e and 68,000 individuals to map the growth and the
initiatives in India, Gowda (2007) noted that these characteristics of Internet usage in India. There is
activities were initiated by young, educated Indians an increase in the personal computer users from
who wanted to break the monotony of old politics 72 million to 87 million on 2009 as there has been
by reaching out to people of the same demograph an increase in the penetration in towns and rural
ics through online campaigning. These strategies areas. The most used services are email, general
have helped to increase voter registrations, clear information search, educational information and
340
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
Table 1. Internet use by youth in India
21.6 million active Internet users in 31 cities in India

There is 24%Internet penetration
37% of the people access the Internet from Cyber cafes
F
About 4% access Internet from Mobile phones (2009)
14% of School going Kids (817 years) access the Internet
30% of College going students (1825 years)
O
28% of Young men in the age group of 2135 years who are not school or college going access the Internet
Users were spending 9.3 hours per week in 2008 and it increased to15.7hrs in 2009 Hours per week
O
65% were accessing information for educational purposes
Source: IMRB (2010). ICube 200910. Net Marketers guiding light since 1998. Retrieved from http://www.iamai.in/Upload/Research/
R
icube_new_curve_lowres_39.pdf
P
music and video downloads. As seen in Table Verification and cross verification. They are also
1, youth continue to drive the surge in Internet linked to elections results (http://electionss.nic.in.
L
use among the total users and the primary use During the elections, the General Elections
of Internet is for information and entertainment. System (GENESYS) software was used for cap
A
These young voters were witnessing a range of turing the data from the Chief Electoral Officers
digital initiatives from political parties, the EC, from all the district centers across the country.
B
national private sector undertakings, civil society The use of electronic voting machines, Internet
organizations and media groups. and mobile electronic devices has increased the
efficient functioning of the EC in the conduct of
O
Election Commission of India (EC) the elections. The monitoring system allowed
L
and New Media Technologies daily monitoring and updating of complaints re
ceived on electoral rolls (Surana, 2010). A major
G
The EC regulates the conduct of elections given function of EC has been to run voter awareness
the mammoth exercise of voting by an electorate campaigns to educate voters for the conduct of free
I
of over half a billion in two to five phases across and fair polls. As Indian elections were marked
the country. The use of NMTs in successive elec by voters being influenced by incentives of cash
G
tions has increased the efforts of EC in conduct and kind or by violence, every election the EC
I
ing of free and fair elections. The EC has one of runs awareness campaigns to educate voters on
the most comprehensive websites in the country the poll logistics, as well as persuades them to
with several indigenous programs that provide vote and vote freely without being influenced by
several links to various services across the states. such incentives or threats.
Launched through the National Informatics Center Unlike most democracies, a campaign run by
(NIC), it connects to states and district centers to the government for creating political awareness
provide electoral services. The central website was unique to India (Karan, 1994). These voter
provides comprehensive data on electoral rolls and education campaigns, through newspapers, radio,
affidavits of contesting candidates. Some of the television and posters, and more recently through
services include; hosting of State Chief Electoral the use of NMTs create awareness of the political
Officers Websites on NIC web, Internet access process, increase voter participation and induce
through dial up connectivity (ISP) services, Data people to vote without fear (Indian elections can
341
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
be violent). In the run up to the 2009 general web reporting system to upload media clippings
elections, national corporations like the Tatas and and enable officers to easily report any violations
Birlas partnered with EC with nonpartisan cam of the voting code.
paigns in engaging the voters, for increasing voter
registration and political participation. Some of Voter Awareness
F
these campaigns are discussed later in the chapter. Campaigns by the EC
O
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) EC leads the mass voter awareness campaigns to
educate on poll logistics and encourages citizens
The use of EVMs has had a marked impact in the to vote without being influenced by incentives of
O
voting system in a large democracy like India. cash or kind, or by caste or religion. The Tatas
Though the EVMs were introduced in 1995, it with the Jaago Re (awaken now) campaign, Aditya
R
was only in 2004 and 2009 elections that they Birla Group’s, Ideas Celluar’s ‘Change begins
were deployed in a big way across the country. with an Idea’ and the Times of India ‘Lead India‘
P
Over a million (1.36) EVMs across India were campaign were engaging the voters through the
deployed in 2009 elections in over 800,000 poll mass media, Internet and mobile technologies.
L
ing booths for the conduct of the Electronic Par The impact of these campaigns was reported to
liamentary Elections making the 2009 elections be good as it increased the voter registrations and
A
one of the largest digital elections in India. These voter turnout. As a result of the campaigns, there
batteryoperated EVMs not only met the different was an increase in the voter registrations and voter
B
infrastructure requirements in the remote parts turnout from 510% across the country.
of the country, but also restricted malpractices
like bogus voting, rigging, booth capturing and Association for Democratic Report
O
mass voting. The votes were cast by pressing the (ADR) (http://wee.adrindia.org)
L
button next to the name and party symbol of the
desired candidate and recorded in the machine. ADR founded in 1999 is a nonprofit organiza
As an EVM is programmed to record only five tion that runs two major programs on electoral
G
votes in a minute, a maximum of 3840 votes can reforms and political process reforms. The com
I
be cast in a single EVM. The use of such machines prehensive website hosted the National Election
not only eased the system of yards long ballot Watch (NEW) and the myneta.com. NEW is a
G
papers, but also increased the speed of voting and nationwide campaign for supporting electoral
I
for building up the database for varied analyses reforms, improving democracy and governance in
required by the government. Counting of votes India. Using the Right to Information Act (2006),
is very fast and the results can be declared within the website Nationalelectionwatch.org tracks the
two to three hours, when compared to 30–40 hours political parties with details of each candidate’s
on an average, under the ballotpaper system. It financial, criminal and educational backgrounds.
was also a source of reassurance to the voters in This exercise has restricted candidates with
terms of the security of voting. criminal records and defaulters from contesting
GPS Mobile handsets: To control any offences the elections. About 1200 NonGovernment Or
during polling, GPSenabled mobile handsets ganizations (NGOs) and citizens collect the data
were distributed to sector officers to communicate from affidavits filed by the candidates.
and mobilize them quickly to rush to sensitive Political failures and corruption are often re
polling stations where electoral malpractices or ported in many Asian countries, but innovations
voting violations occurred. The EC also built a in India has been another website Myneta.info
342
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
(My neta.com /my leader.com) is a comprehen & Gimeno, 2010). These, hyperlinks can bring
sive website providing not only the candidate’s about “a set of new and important communicative
demographic data, but also details their educational functions” that would help propel the candidates’
and professional experience, their monetary assets, presence and make them more accessible to
total movable and immovable assets, liabilities and people (Ackland & Gibson, 2006 cited in Karan,
F
also their criminal record. The information from et al., 2009). Hyperlinking would most certainly
the candidate’s includes party affiliation, criminal figure prominently as one of new technology’s
O
cases, education, age and gender. According to the contributions to current political communication.
data, 222 candidates or 16% of 1425 candidates An analysis of the websites found that most of
running the elections in the first phase of elections the websites had information on the parties, but
O
had criminal records (Prasad, 2009). The site also were not interactive or provided hyperlinks to
has Face book page with around 7186 members. other sites, if viewers needed to seek more infor
R
These and other similar online channels, blogs mation or voice their opinions/feedback (Karan
and forums will give a better choice to the citizens & Gimeno, 2010).
P
connecting to the Internet to make informed deci
sions, increase transparency and voting. Social Networking Sites in
L
Political Campaigning: You
Political Websites, Hyperlinking, Tube, Facebook, and Orkut
A
and Interactivity
An increased use of technology in politics is the
B
Political Web sites first launched in the late 1990s experimentation with social media by political
have now become commonplace as most parties parties, and their candidate’s presences across the
and candidates have a web presence. The Websites world on Face book and Orkut, fairly active blogs,
O
of major parties provide extensive details about and Twitter feeds, similar to the Obama campaigns
L
the party organization, ideology, history, networks, (Turkhiemer, 2007; Williams & Gulati, 2007).
electoral performance and call for membership. YouTube and Friendster are very popular among
During elections these websites are active with young Internet users in India. It was only logical
G
regular postings of campaign schedules, news for the political parties to turn to these sites to
I
reports, video clips of campaigns/meetings/rallies expand their networks and establish their presence
of party leaders and advertisements to mobilize among Indian voters. Twitter has become a rage
G
voters during elections. with many political leaders who were twittering
I
Hyperlinking is said to have a twoway perspec away with their fans.
tive when a Web site can be connected to another As broadband Internet has spread throughout
by linking (outlinks) and when others link back India, online videos have become popular with
(inlinks) (Park et al, 2000 cited in Karan, et al., politicians and citizens uploading videos on You
2009;Williams et al, 2005). These are important Tube. Indian National Congress (INC) and the BJP
in political discourse, where hyperlinks serve as had a series of videos circulating on the YouTube,
an important feature of political communication. while other parties and candidates also had a few
Most of the Indian political websites, particularly party and personal videos. Other popular videos
those of the Indian National Congress (INC) and were of the young and popular Indian celebrities
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were interactive from film and television industry directing youth,
and linked to the many related stories of the elec sometimes forcefully to register and vote, all of
tions, the news stories, advertisements, coverage which were a step in the right direction to motivate
in newspapers, public meetings and rallies (Karan the young voters. Although social networking sites
343
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
are increasingly being used in political campaigns, NARRATIVE ANALYSIS:

it has not yet been fully established that they can EENGAGING THE
directly affect election results; but there is already ELECTORATECORPORATE
a trend of positive contributions from these sites AND CITIZENSHIP INITIATIVES
that led to voter decision in favor of a political DURING THE ELECTIONS
F
candidate Obama (Conners, 2005).
The SNS campaigning in India would likely Corporate social responsibility and elections is
O
generate a buzz in coming elections as more us one of the new developments in the Indian history.
ers from India are taking to the SNS. According It was the first time that major industrial houses,
to December 2009, data from Facebook, India civil society groups and other voluntary groups
O
ranked 17th in the top 30 countries with the most used the NMTs for increasing the voter awareness,
number of users at almost 5.5 million (Burcher, registration and transparency in the campaigns.
R
December 2009). This is negligible when com The three most interesting initiatives in the 2009
pared to the number of Internet users in the country Indian general elections were; Jaago Re by Tata
P
estimated at 81 million (Internet World Stats, 2009, Tea, My Idea from Idea Cellular by Aditya Birla
September 30). However, Facebook also reports Group and Lead India, Let the vote count by The
L
that the growth rate of users from India increased Times of India group, and the leading newspaper
by 400% in 2009 (Burcher, December 2009). In conglomerate. At the same time Internet has been
A
future Indian political parties are likely to exploit used by Non Profit organizations such as Associa
this medium to the maximum. Social networking tion for Democratic reforms (ADR), Janaagraha
B
sites have become a forum for political discussions, Center for Citizenship and Democracy and Public
debates and postings of news, information, views, Interest foundation. These organizations used
accusations, persuasions and behavioral changes. the Web, along with traditional media with radio
O
Blogs: Blogs are a source of personal inter and television to launch public campaigns geared
L
action among the leaders, analysts and citizens. toward raising awareness among the electorate.
Initiated by the BJP leader, L. K. Advani, it was The following section gives an overview of the
not long before other politicians and parties created campaigns.
G
blogs to directly communicate with the electorate
I
(http://blog.lkadvani.in/). Interestingly, during Innovations in Voter Registration
elections political analysts and social groups who
G
were continuously monitoring and updating the The major problem in India was not only low voter
I
political developments in the country also set up turnouts, but also the problems of voter registra
blogs. (Gauravonomics, 2009). These discussion tions. The cumbersome process of registration in
blogs kept the people interested in the campaigns, the municipal offices of hometowns and lack of
voicing their opinions, and keeping the dialogue voting information further distanced people from
going during the election period. The analysis and participating in the elections. It was found that only
comments on Blogs will provide many opportuni 16% of the youth voted, and election days were
ties to understand citizens’ opinions and can be treated as holidays to indulge in recreational activi
used to make changes in the policies, programs ties (Jaago Re,2010). Past campaigns and efforts
and elections issues. had little impact, until integrated efforts from the
EC, industrial houses, civil society organizations,
celebrities from film and television world pitched
in, literally creating a social movement in arous
ing, motivating and directing them through several
344
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
Figure 1. The Jaago re campaign website
O F
R O
ads to register, and vote. This was an excellent
marketing and advertising technique of reaching
consumers/youth in spaces where they were and P
agents for a positive change in the democracy.
L
The interactive website jaagore.com provides
information on election issues, allows people to
A
the ways that they could be reached was through interact and also express their apprehensions or
the new media of Internet and mobile technologies. problems related to the election process. For the
B
More importantly the messages were directed by first time in India the website, www.jaagore.com
youth, their peers, rather than lectured or advised hosted an online voter registration engine to allow
O
by the older generation. The following paragraphs citizens across the country to register as voters,
details these campaign initiatives. a process that could be completed within five
L
minutes. A number of interesting ads in the mass
C//'$+!" (Wake up/Awaken media directed them to the websites to register
G
India) One Billion Votes and reminded them to vote.
Campaign by Tata Tea The registration drive that was started in col
I
leges in 35 cities spread throughout the country.
A series of Jaago Re campaigns were launched by Voters had to go to an interactive application to
G
Tata Tea (The Tata Group is one of the largest in identify their constituency, prepare a readytoprint
I
dustrial conglomerates in India) and Janaagraha, voter registration form, and find the nearest
a leading organization that is advocating citizen voter registration center. They were updated via
participation in governance. Jaago re is a series a SMS when their names were added to the voting
of corporate responsibility campaigns started by list. This estrategy persuaded several large col
the Tata group since 2007 to build social con leges and companies to enroll voters and also
sciousness and arouse people on various issues convinced the EC to allow bulk submission of
like electoral indifference, corruption, women’s registration forms. Large Industrial corporations
issues among others. The second campaign Jaago and software giants like WIPRPO and INFOSYS
Re One! Billion Votes during the elections was also pitched in to participate in the Jaago re
most popular in advocating people to register campaign. Leaders, industrial heads, celebrities
and participate in the elections. The campaign and common men alike were engaging the citizens
advertisements were initiated by youth to be key in the Jaago re social movement with inspiring
345
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
speeches and advertising campaigns. One of the campaign seeks to highlight the key message that
major innovations of new media was the online there would be no bribes taken, if no one was to
registration of voters; such tactics if connected to offer them. Overall, it is a highly responsible and
the voting patterns will significantly decrease the development oriented association that companies
number of nonvoters. Another innovative strat like the Tata Group, one of the largest industrial
F
egy of making India a successful democracy and conglomerates in the Indian corporate sector to
increase participation was to motivate young have taken up toward strengthening and support
O
persons to volunteer to pass on the messages. A ing the Indian democratic system. Though the
customized toolkit was available online where overall numbers connecting to the Internet is low
one could download posters, fliers, emails, FAQqs, in the country, this continued effort can encourage
O
videos and banners to pass on to friends and fam eengagement through, einformation, einterest,
ily in creating awareness. einteraction and eparticipation.
R
The coordinated effort of Tata Tea and Ja
naagraha brought in comprehensive knowledge Idea Campaign by Idea Cellular
P
on electoral processes, and citizen participation.
The fourpronged strategy allowed people to act The second popular eengaging movement to
L
(people can use their spare time to act, participate raise consciousness of the political process was
or volunteer), speak up (saying and motivating the My Idea campaign by Idea Cellular Phone
A
others), learn (get empowered to act) and finally Company of the Aditya Birla Group. In continu
connect (team up to kick start a movement). It was ation of its participatory democracy ad campaign,
B
a perfect example of corporatepublic partnership Idea Cellular launched a website myidea.co.in
aimed at bringing about meaningful change in titled ‘change begins with an Idea’. The website
the society. Jaago re had an active social media allows users to raise issues on socially relevant
O
presence of 160,000 members on Face Book and topics like politics, society, economy, sports and
L
13,000 on Orkut. In continuation of the Jaago Re, entertainment. The strategy behind the campaigns
One Billion Votes campaign, Tata Tea through a was to raise “the idea of Participative Management
new campaign is urging the citizens of the coun for Governance where twoway communication
G
try to awaken and fight against corruption. The
I
Figure 2. The My Idea website by Idea Cellular
G
I
346
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
Figure 3. The Lead India website by The Times of India
O F
R O
was encouraged between government and public.”
(myidea.com.in)
Further, the campaign demonstrates the P
campaign urged the people to stop complaining,
L
realize their responsibilities, be active citizens,
participate in nation building and be a nation of
A
power of new media, where there is a direct in doers to realize their dreams. Supported by the
teraction between the government and public former President, APJ Abdul Kalam, major ce
B
through the mobile phone. For example; a lady lebrities from Amitabh Bachchan, Sharukh Khan,
politician, aided by her techsavvy assistant Ab industrialists like Sunil Mittal and other popular
O
hishek Bachchan (famous Indian film hero), stars and intellectuals came together to join the
gathers the views of the citizens in her constitu movement. The strategy created the required
L
ency using mobile phones on making a decision stimulus and provoked national participation.
based on the responses of the citizens. The purpose During the elections The Lead India 09 cam
G
was to provide a platform for meaningful political paign with the slogan; Lets make this vote count
debate for leaders and people to make right raised political consciousness through a series of
I
choices. The website ‘change begins with an Idea’ ads and urged citizens to participate in the elec
has become a popular theme and the campaign tions. The website provided extensive information
G
has been successful in generating ideas for devel and analysis of issues, party’s candidates and
I
opment, thereby increasing political comment, campaigns and encouraged voters to register and
debate and interest among the citizens. make informed choices. Positioned as the voice
of young India it featured active discussions fo
Lead India by the Times of India rums on various topics and the interactive online
campaign allowed citizens to raise issues, give
The Lead India campaign by the leading newspaper opinions and provide suggestions.
group, The Times of India (TOI) was a movement
that began on Independence Day in 2007 to mark Vote Report India (VRI)
60 years of India’s independence to arouse Indi
ans into leadership positions which included a The 2009 election may go down in the history of
nationwide televised ‘talenthunt’ to search for the cyber communication and Indian election with the
next generation of Indian leaders. The inspiring extensive use for advertising on social network
347
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
ing sites and daily analysis. While the impact of India Votes 2009 provided extensive updates on
these new technologies may take time, it was the Indian elections that allowed national and
an effort well done in creating the awareness, nonresident Indians to participate in the electoral
promoting healthy dialogue to engage the people process.
and increase voter interest and participation. The
F
Vote Report India (VRI) needs to be mentioned as Mobile Phones and
one of the most interesting collaborative citizen Political Discourse
O
powered electionmonitoring platforms during
the 2009 elections. The VRI was an innovative Egovernance and edemocracy would not be
and interesting collaborative citizenpowered complete without considering the role of mobile
O
electionmonitoring platform that provided a phones in the political discourse in one of the
complete and objective review and analysis of the most active, diverse, and democratic nations.
R
elections. Managed by eMoksha (http://emokhsa. The intense penetration of the mobile phones has
org) a nonprofit organization, the website aimed increased its capacity as the tool of communica
P
to build stronger democracies through increased tion particularly in developing countries (Ghyasi
citizen awareness and engagement. Linked to & Kushchu, 2004; Noll & Wallsten, 200506).
L
various newspaper articles, political videos and India is on the threshold of a mobile revolution
other information, the interactive site also had According to Pyramid research (2008) by 2012,
A
users contribute their opinions directly through India will be the fourth largest market for mobile
SMSs, email or Twitter. The editors aggregated data with a revenue in excess of USD 14 billion,
B
information with news reports, blog posts, photos, which is huge compared to USD 2.2 billion for all
videos and posted them on an interactive map of 2007 (Pyramid Research, 2008). In India even
(Gauravonomics, 2009). The information from the the most marginalized communities have mobile
O
online report was also covered in the mainstream access and the move is to bridge the digital divide
L
media of newspapers and television news. Such an to digital unite (Chandrashekhar, 2007; Garg &
objective, nonpartisan and comprehensive evalu Garg, 2005; Kalba 2008; Karan & Khoo, 2008;
ation would go a long way in not only increasing Mishra, 2009).
G
political knowledge and help in voting decisions, In the 2004 elections citizens were surprised
I
it would also help in furthering research in the to hear the voice or get a message from the prime
area of political communication. minister himself to vote for the party. An analyses
G
of mobile phone campaigning in the last decade
I
Indian Elections: Search Engines points to this tool as the most utilized by candidates
Google, Yahoo, and Rediffusion to reach segments of the population beyond urban
areas. Most of the contending parties launched an
Digital media was explored and used by most par online and mobile campaign through text mes
ties to grab voter’s attention and interest. Given saging. In 2009, it was estimated that 34 billion
the expanse of the online elections and also the SMSs were sent out by all the political parties along
revenue generated though advertising, big on with multimedia messages, songs and wallpapers.
line giants like Google, Yahoo and Rediffusion These direct marketing strategies, comparatively
pitched in to track the Indian elections to bring less expensive will be extensively used in future,
up to date information and urged people to make to support interpersonal communication and in
informed choices. Google’s (http://www.google. crease the dialogue between the candidates and
co.in/intl/en/landing/loksabha2009/) Yahoo’s site; citizens. It may not be long before the country
http://in.elections.yahoo.com/ and Rediff website may be use of Internet and mobile technologies
348
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
the interactions of which are said to encourage websites dedicated to political leaders like Lal
‘informational democracy’ (Sactell, 1996, p353 Krishna Advani, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and
cited in Jackson and Lilleker, 2010). Manmohan Singh. Even though the findings from
a study conducted by a leading market research
Impact of the Campaigns company, IMRB International, on the impact of
F
the new media and political campaigns on youth
Though there is an extensive level of web activity in India was low, we would still contend that, a
O
by both the political parties and the civil society big and very strong beginning has been made in
organizations, it is yet to accurately measure the arousing the young Indians by the integrated efforts
impact of such newly developed technologies by the various partners; government, the private
O
on the political knowledge and the increase in sector and other nongovernmental organizations
political participations. However, as a result of who have started a solid social movement of
R
the campaigns, there was an increase in the voter building civic consciousness. If carefully steered,
registrations and voter turnout from 510% across with continued integrated efforts as was done
P
the country. According to VRI the campaigns met before and during the elections, similar to other
with success in building a number of important successful egovernance strategies, India will be
L
relationships, with civil society organizations, like rapidly moving towards political transparency
Jaago Re/ One Billion Voters. They were able to and it may not be long before such edemocracy
A
generate a lot of buzz, on blogs, on Twitter, and strategies may make a much wider impact in the
in mainstream media within a very short time. following Indian elections.
B
They have been able to build a vibrant Vote Report
India community that has been active in support
ing them on both the technical and outreach side DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
O
(Vote Report India, 2009).
L
Reviewing the results of a survey conducted The Indian Elections: Interlinking
by a leading research organization; The Indian Campaigning Strategies
Market Research Bureau (IMRB) international,
G
in the first week of May, 2010 on individuals aged Indian elections have gone hitech with the use
I
18 to 29 from respondents in four metropolitan of digital technologies in campaigning and in
cities; Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata the conduct of elections. Edemocracy as a part
G
found that the messaging of the online campaigns of egovernance has firmly established its roots
I
from political parties did not reach nor resonate in the Indian electorate. In the last two decades,
with voter (Dina, 2009). every available new technology has been used
The influence of the social and political aware in Indian elections to reach the diverse Indian
ness campaigns were low on the young urban vot electorate. Though the mainstream media for
ers as only 18 per cent respondents spontaneously advertising continues to be dominant for greater
recalled the Jaago Re campaign and six per cent reach and impact, what has changed now is the use
recalled Lead India. The advertising campaigns of estrategies, the use of the Internet and mobile
of the Congress and BJP had better recall amongst technologies in particularly reaching the technol
the youth, according to the survey. Only about a ogy savvy youth. The interesting aspect has been
third of the respondents knew that the Congress to link the mainstream media, Internet and NMTs
and BJP have their own websites. About a tenth of news reports and television commercials to the
and fourth visited the Congress and BJP websites, party websites or posted on YouTube for greater
respectively. Only about one per cent visited access and popularity. All the offline activities
349
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
like election rallies and doortodoor canvassing, New media technologies indeed provided op
that have traditionally been at the core of elec portunities for direct communication between the
tion campaigning in India are also recorded and parties, civic groups and the electorate. However,
posted on the websites and on SNS. The use of their maximization of use for political campaign
new media technologies are enhancing and sup ing should be viewed, in the context of where these
F
porting traditional campaigning strategies. new technologies operate given the diversities of
The professionally driven election campaigns the country. The elections are a time of intense
O
may also be attributed to the new generation of media activity, but for the first time in years
techno savvy, well educated party leaders who young voters were ‘awakened’ through multiple
are taking over the reigns as campaign managers, and extensive ways of political information, en
O
hiring media and technical experts as advisors and tertainment and voter education. In the run up to
executors of campaigns. The use of such tactics the elections, online conversations in India have
R
for reaching the youth will be more intensive in been charged with this new civic consciousness.
the following elections. Political parties need Innovative campaigns like My Idea and Lead India
P
to maintain their online campaigns for the next No Criminals in Politics Tea’s Jaago Re and the
five years and be in continued conversations for online Vote Report India have caught the atten
L
engaging the voters. Greater interaction of leaders tion of urban India’s websavvy youth. It must
through online media, informing citizens about be noted that the youth oriented campaigns were
A
issues (government projects & policies, economy, a great starting point for the large percentage of
corruption, caste reservations, religious issues 70% of the Indian population who are under 35
B
etc), getting citizens feedback through online polls years and are connecting to the Internet along with
and comments, forming an active online support exposure to other mass media. It is this critical
group, and many more such activities are possible. group of young politically conscious voters may
O
A successful beginning has been made and from over time steer the future political discourse of
L
lessons learned, the parties in future will be better Indian elections.
equipped to interact with multiple means to reach India is in a phase of transition with invest
the electorate. The need is to keep the dialogue ments in infrastructure and training in an effort
G
going during nonelection times for sustaining towards an intensive knowledge based economy.
I
long time support. Spearheaded by defining concrete national policies
The 2009 Indian Elections have changed the for infrastructure development, universal access
G
way political parties, government and business to networks, these policies through ministries and
I
corporations as well as the NGOs are communi departments of technology and information are
cating with the Indian public to create awareness, emphasizing the use of digital technologies and
political interest, gain support and draw votes. information as a resource to increase productivity,
The Indian political parties have maximized the efficiency and competitiveness. Though technol
potentials offered by the Internet and mobile ogy tends to get concentrated in urban areas, the
technologies in political campaigning in targeting use of community ‘single window centers’, e
youth. Almost all parties have set up informa centers and cyber kiosks are bridging the digital
tive and interactive websites, posted videos on divide as evidenced by the successful projects in
YouTube and also used blogs and established a various Indian states. Several case studies have
presence on Facebook and Orkut. SMS and MMS demonstrated that new technologies are playing
in urban areas were extensively used to reach the significant role in India at the grassroots level
young urban voters. with many education and egovernance strategies
reaching remote parts of the country.
350
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
Though studies have demonstrated that new to come, as these new technologies become more
technologies have been playing significant roles in sophisticated at the same time how legislatures
campaigns in the US and a few other countries, the interact within countries.
diffusion of online campaigning in parts of Asia, Given the shifts towards edemocracy in India,
particularly in India the process, is unfolding but at it would not be wrong to propose that a strong
F
a slower pace. Kluver and Banerjee (2005) listed and forceful beginning has been made, and the
three constraints to the impact of the internet in future electoral discourses are likely to increase
O
democratizing politics in Asia: “political culture, greater eparticipation and involvement. Indian
regulatory regimes, and unequal levels of access parties will continue to link the traditional media
to information technology”. These constraints of newspapers and television, with interpersonal
O
play roles in the use of the Internet for political forms that are important for ‘networking’ as ex
campaigning and that access to the Internet is also pressed in the high tech language of corporations.
R
dependent on available infrastructure and skills Political parties are just doing that in establishing
of the citizens. Therefore, it is important to look their networks of support as the sheer diversity of
P
at the Internet as an integral part of a holistic the country as stated earlier in the chapter make
political campaigning strategy, which can comple any uniform communication difficult, leave alone
L
ment the use of traditional media and grassroots any technology itself.
campaigning. What is also important to note the In conclusion, monitoring Indian elections is a
A
digital divide where Internet connectivity is low, massive yet interesting exercise as it reflects the
mobile technologies will compensate for reach extreme diversity of the country, from the very
B
ing the masses in remote areas. Future studies modern to the very traditional, the multiple tech
in this field of political communication would niques to reach multiple audiences with varying
help in understanding how far the applications issues, communicated through multiple modes
O
of the Internet and its contemporaries would go and channels. Indian elections have kept with the
L
in bringing political actors closer to the public, times and have circumspectly used information
and how politics itself would change as these communication technologies to reach the elector
new technologies become more sophisticated as ate. The last two general elections in India have
G
societies around the world evolve. witnessed a surge in their use in campaigning,
I
This chapter addresses some of the transitional but what has been significant is the efforts made
changes that are taking place in India. The rapid by the citizens, civil society organizations and
G
development of infrastructure and the increase in industrial corporations in bringing about politi
I
the number of people using the Internet and mobile cal consciousness, reducing apathy towards the
technologies in the country, the next few years political process, becoming responsible citizens,
In India will bring in major changes in the ways and increasing political participation. These e
by which governments will inform and interact strategies have made an impact, but not in a big
with each other and with citizens. Future studies way, but if continued, India can look forward to a
in this field will reflect on how far the applica more vibrant electoral system, greater accountabil
tions of the Internet and mobile technologies will ity of the political parties and better governance.
support egovernance and mgovernance in the
efficient functioning of the government, improv
ing citizen services and as well as transparency
in the governments. It will also bring the political
actors closer to the public, and also the ways in
which political discourse will change in the years
351
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
REFERENCES Bentivegna, S. (2006). Rethinking politics in the

worldofICTs.EuropeanJournalofCommunication,
Ackland, R., & Gibson, R. (2006). Hyperlinks and 21(3), 331–343. doi:10.1177/0267323106066638
horizontal political communication on the WWW:
The untold stories of parties online. Unpublished Bhatnagar, S. (2004). Egovernment from vision
F
research. Centre for Social Research, Research to implementation. New Delhi, India: Sage.
School of Social Science, National University Bimber, B., & Davis, R. (2003). Campaigning
of Australia.
O
online: The Internet in U.S. elections. New York,
Adamic, L., & Glance, N. (2005). The political NY: Oxford University Press.
O
blogosphere and the 2004 U.S. election: Divided Blumler, J. G. (1987). Election communication
they blog. Proceedings of the 3rd International and the democratic political system . In Paletz,
R
Workshop on Link Discovery. Chicago, IL: ACM D. L. (Ed.), Political communication research
SIGKDD Approaches, studies, assessments. Norwood, NJ:
P
Agarwal, S. (2009, April 25). General elec Ablex Publishing Corporation.
tions 2009 –Steroids for digital media industry. boyd, D. (2006). Social network sites: My defini
L
Retrieved October 20, 2009, from http://www. tion. Retrieved March 2007, from http://many.
watblog.com/2009/04/25/ generalelections cornate.com/archives/ 2006/11/12/ social_net
A
2009steroidsfordigital mediaindustry/ work_sites_my_definition.php.
Ahuja, M. L., & Paul, S. (1992). The 198991 Burcher, N. (2009, December 31). Facebook us
B
general elections in India. New Delhi, India: age statistics by country – December 31st 2009.
Associated. Retrieved March 5, 2010, from http://www.nick
O
Albirini, A. (2006). Cultural perceptions: The burcher.com/ 2009/12/ facebookusagestatistics
bycountry.html
L
missing element in the implementation of ICT
in developing countries. International Journal of Chadwick, A. (2009). The Internet and politics in
Education and Development using ICT, 2(1) 4965.
G
Flux. [Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group UK.].
Andersen, W. K. (1990). Elections in India: The Journal of Information Technology & Politics,
I
dawn of coalition politics. Asian Survey, 30(June), 6(3), 195–196. doi:10.1080/19331680903028743
106–142. Chand, V. K. (2006). Reinventing public service
G
delivery in India: Selected case studies. New
I
Anstead, N., & Chadwick, A. (2007). Parties,
election campaigning and the Internet: Toward a York, NY: Sage.
comparative institutional approach. Politics and Chandrashekar, R. (2007). Mgovernment: The
International Relations working paper. Retrieved new frontier in public service delivery. Paper
February 16, 2008, from http://newpolcom.rhul. presented at the eGovWorld, Mobile Government
ac.uk Consortium International, IISRussia, eGov Moni
Bagga, R. K., Keniston, K., & Mathur, R. R. (Eds.). tor and the Development Gateway, New Delhi.
(2005). The state, IT and development. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
Barney, D. (2004). The network society. Malden,
MA: Polity Press.
352
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
Choudhury, S., Kala, C., Sarwan, J. P., & Kumar, Gauravonomics. (2009, March 22). How Internet
S. (2007). Edemocracy and citizen empowerment and mobile technologies are transforming election
through egovernance and other einitiatives in campaigning in India. Retrieved from http://www.
India, Nepal and Bangladesh: A case study. Re gauravonomics.com/blog/ howinternetand
trieved June 2010 from http://www.iceg.net/2007/ mobiletechnologiesare transformingelection
F
books/1/16 339.pdf campaigninginindia/
Conners, J. (2005). Meetup, blogs, and online Ghosh, A., & Arora, N. (2005). Role of egover
O
involvement: U.S. Senate campaign Web sites of nance frameworks in effective implementation.
2004. Paper presented at the 2005 Annual Meeting Paper presented at the 3rd International Confer
O
of the American Political Association. ence on EGovernance, Lahore.
Davis, A. (2010). New media and fat de Ghosh, N. (2003, January 3). Two Indian states
R
mocracy: The paradox of online participa lead egovt revolution. Straits Times. Re
tion. New Media & Society, 12(5), 745–761. trieved from http://it.asia1.com.sg/newsdaily/
P
doi:10.1177/1461444809341435 news002_20030122.html
Diamond, E., & Bates, S. (1988). The spot: The Ghyasi, A., & Kushchu, I. (2004). Uses of mobile
L
rise of political advertising on television. Cam government in developing countries. mGovLab.
bridge, MA: MIT Press. Retrieved December 7, 2010, from
A
Dina, M. (2009). India elections’09 2.0: Did Gowda, R. (2007). ICTs and political organizing
B
online campaigns & social media work? Indian in India. Paper presented at the Symposium on
Culture, Participatory Media, Social Media blog. Changing politics through digital networks: The
Retrieved from http://dinamehta.com/blog/ cat role of ICTs in the formation of new social and
O
egory/indianculture/ political actors and actions, October 56, 2007,
L
Florence, Italy.
Elebash, C. (1984). The Americanization of British
political communication. Journal of Advertising, Grönlund, K. (2001, April). Do new ICTs demand
G
13(3), 50–58. more responsive governance? Paper presented at
the Joint Sessions of the European Consortium
I
Fountain, J. (2001). Building the virtual state:
for Political Research, Grenoble.
Information Technology and institutional change.
G
Washington, DC: Brookings Institution. Gupta, B., Dasgupta, S., & Gupta, A. (2008).
I
Adoption of ICT in a government organization
Garg, S., Sundar, D. K., & Garg, I. (2005). M
in a developing country: An empirical study. The
governance: A mobile computing framework for
Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 17,
integrated disease surveillance in India [Electron
140–154. doi:10.1016/j.jsis.2007.12.004
ic Version]. Retrieved 10 September, 2008, from
www.mgovernment.org/resurces/ euromgov2005/ Gupta, M. P. (2004). Towards egovernment
PDF/21_R357GS.pdf management challenges. New Delhi, India: Tata
McGrawHill Publishing Company Limited.
Gauravonomics. (2009, April 15). Ringing in the
vote: Mobile phones in the 2009 Indian elections. Gupta, M. P., & Jana, D. (2003). Egovernment
Retrieved October 20, 2009, from http://www. evaluation: A framework and case study. Gov
quickonlinetips.com/archives/ 2009/05/indian ernment Information Quarterly, 20, 365–387.
elections2009/ doi:10.1016/j.giq.2003.08.002
353
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
Hachigian, N. (Ed.). (2003). Political implications Joute, E. L. (2006). Internet waits for vernacular
of the information revolution in Asia. In N. Hachi pilot in India. Retrieved on 13 June, 2010, from
gian & L. Wu (Eds.), The information revolution http://www.financialexpress.com/ fe_full_story.
in Asia (pp. 5591). Pittsburgh, PA: RAND. php?content_id=137180
F
Heeks, R. (2001). Understanding egovernance Kalba, K. (2008). The adoption of mobile phones
for development. Manchester Institute for Devel in emerging markets: Global diffusion and the
opment Policy and Management. University of rural challenge. International Journal of Com
O
Manchester. Retrieved from munication, 2, 631–661.
http://www.internetworldstats.com/ asia/in.htm Karan, K. (1994). Political communication and
O
the 1991 general elections in India. Unpublished
http://www.joaag.com/uploads/ 5_Monga2E
Ph.D. thesis, London School of Economics &
R
Gov3_2_.pdf
political science, University of London.
http://www.mgovernment.org/ resurces/mgov
P
Karan, K. (2004). Cyber communities in rural
lab_afgik.pdf
Asia: A study of seven countries. Singapore:
http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/idpm/research/ Marshall Cavendish.
L
publications/wp/igovernment/igov_wp11.htm
Karan, K. (2006). What’s news in India? In Shoe
A
Internet World Stats. (2007). Internet usage maker, P., & Cohen, A. (Eds.), News around the
statisticsthe big picture: World Internet users and world: Content, practitioners and the public (pp.
B
population stats. Retrieved 6 June, 2007, from 189–213). London, UK: Routledge.
http://www.Internetworldstats.com/ stats.htm
Karan, K. (2009). Political communication in
O
Internet World Stats. (June 30, 2009). Asia Internet India . In Wilnat, L., & Aw, A. (Eds.), Political
usage. Retrieved March 5, 2010, from http://www. communication in Asia (pp. 191–215). New York,
L
internetworldstats.com/ stats3.htm#asia NY: Taylor & Francis.
G
Internet World Stats. (2010). Usage and popula Karan, K., & Gimeno, J. D. M. (2010). Network
tion statistics. Retrieved on April 17, 2010, from ing in India: Interlinking traditional, Internet, and
I
mobile technologies in election campaigns. Paper
Jaago re. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.
presented at the Seventh Annual Conference on
jaagore.com/
G
Citizenship studies ‘Networks’. Center for study
I
Jackson, N. A., & Lillekar, D. (2010). Building of Citizenship, Wayne State University. Detroit,
architecture of participation? Political parties and April, 810,2010
the Web 2.0 in Britain. Journal of Information
Karan, K., Gimeno, J. D. M., & Tandoc, E. C.
Technology and Politics, 6(3). Taylor & Francis
(2009). Internet and social networking sites in
Group.
election campaigns: Gabriela Women’s Party in
Johnson, R., Cartee, K. S., & Copeland, G. A. Philippines wins the 2007 elections. Journal of
(1991). Negative political advertising: Coming Information Technology & Politics, 6(3), 326–339.
of age. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. doi:10.1080/19331680903047420
354
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
Karan, K., & Khoo, C. H. M. (2008). Mobile dif Lee, S. M., Tan, X., & Trimi, S. (2006). M
fusion and development: Issues and challenges of government, from rhetoric to reality: Learning
mgovernment in India. In J. S. Pettersson (Ed.), from leading countries. International Journal of
Proceedings of the 1st International Conference Electronic Government Research, 3(2), 113–126.
on M4D Mobile Communication for Technology doi:10.1504/EG.2006.009213
F
and Development, 1112 December, 2008 Karlstad
MGovernment: The New Frontier in Public
University, Sweden.
Service Delivery. (2007). Paper presented at the
O
Karan, K., & Mathur, R. R. (2010). Women forge eGovWorld, Mobile Government Consortium
ahead in India: Internet and the public forum. International, IISRussia, eGov Monitor and the
O
Journal of Community Informatics, a Global E Development Gateway, New Delhi.
Journal Special Double Issue, 5(3 & 6).
Manuel, P. (1993). Cassette culture: Popular
R
Kaushik, P. D. (2004). Egovernance: Govern music and technology in North India. Chicago,
ment initiatives in India . In Debroy, B. (Ed.), IL: University of Chicago Press.
P
Agenda for improving governance. New Delhi,
Mathison, S. (2003) Digital dividends for the
India: Academic Foundation in Association with
poor: ICT for poverty reduction in Asia. global
L
Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies.
knowledge partnership. Retrieved on 12 July,
Kluver, R. (2007). The Internet and national elec 2010, from http://www.globalknowledgepart
A
tions: A comparative study of Web campaigning. nership.org/gkp/ index.cfm/pageid/259/Home/
New York, India: Routledge. Programme/Publications/
B
Kluver, R., & Banerjee, I. (2005). The In Menon, S. S. (2004). India’s convergence policy
ternet in nine Asian nations. Information within its communication sector: A long road
O
Communication and Society, 8(1), 30–46. ahead. Government Information Quarterly, 21,
L
doi:10.1080/13691180500066847 319–336. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2004.04.006
Kochhar, S., & Dhanjal, D. (2005). Egovernment Mishra, G. (2009, March 22). Updated: How In
G
report card, Yojna, 49. New Delhi. ternet and mobile technologies are transforming
election campaigning in India. Retrieved October
I
Kumar, A. (1991). The tenth round: Story of Indian
22, 2009, from http://www.gauravonomics.com/
elections. Calcutta, India: Press Trust of India.
blog/ howinternetandmobiletechnologiesare
G
Kushchu, I., & Kuscu, M. H. (2004). From egov transformingelectioncampaigninginindia/
I
ernment to mgovernment: Facing the inevitable
Mishra, G. (2009). Jaago Re, My Idea and Lead
[Electronic Version]. Retrieved 10 September,
India: The impact of socially conscious corporate
2008, from http://www.mgovlab.org
campaigns in the 2009 Indian general elections.
Layne, K., & Lee, J. (2001). Developing fully
Mitra, R. K. (2004). Issues and challenges of E
functional Egovernment: A four stage model .
governance in Indian Police: A study. Unpublished
PhD thesis, Indian Institute of Technology. Delhi.
doi:10.1016/S0740624X(01)000661
Mohnot, A. (2009, April 10). Elections 2009:
Lead India. (2009) Retrieved from http://www.
India awakening. Retrieved October 20, 2009,
leadindia2020.org/ kalam_full_speech.html
from http://www.poptech.org/blog/ index.php/
archives/2990
355
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
Monga, A. K. (2008). Egovernment in India: Pyramid Research. (2008). The Philter: India’s
Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Admin mobile data explosion. Retrieved on 21 Septem
istration and Governance, 3(2). Retrieved on 7 ber, 2010, from http://www.lightreading.com/
December, 2010, from blog.asp? blog_sectionid=217&doc_id=164009
F
Nodari, S. (1992). Synthesis of tradition and Rahul, D., & Sen, C. (2004). The complex nature
modern in the evolution of third World societies. of egovernment projects: Case study of Bhoomi,
New York, NY: Greenwood Press. an initiative in Karnataka, India.
O
Noll, R. G., & Wallsten, S. J. (200506). Universal Reinard, J. (2001). Introduction to communication
telecommunications in India. India Policy Forum, research. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
O
200506. National Informatics Centers, “Good
AP Report. (2008, 12 April). Ummo Youth can
Governance through ICT”, NIC New Delhi.
R
didates told: No Blog, no post. The Straits Times.
Retrieved on June 2010 from http://home.nic.in
SPH, Singapore.
P
Park, H. W., Barnett, G. A., & Kim, C. S. (2000).
Riley, T. B., & OkotUma, Rogers, W. O (2001).
Political communication structure in Internet
Electronic governance and electronic democracy:
networks: A Korean case. Sungkok Journalism
L
Living and working in the wired world. Common
Review, 11, 67–89.
wealth Secretariat. Representation of People’s
A
Pasek, J., More, E., & Romer, D. (2009). Re Act. (1951). Retrieved on 31 September, 2008,
alizing the social Internet? Social network from http://lawmin.nic.in/legislative/election/
B
ing meets offline engagement. [Routledge, volume%201/representation%20of%20the%
Taylor and Francis Group.]. Journal of Infor 20people%20act,%201951.pdf
mation Technology & Politics, 6, 197–215.
O
Sachdeva, S., & Mathur, R. R. (2005). Incentives
doi:10.1080/19331680902996403
of good governance . In Bagga, R. K., Keniston,
L
Pelosi, N. (2007). Inaugural address at the con K., & Mathur, R. R. (Eds.), The state, IT and de
ference of ‘EParliament in World eParliament velopment (pp. 76–85). New Delhi, India: Sage.
G
Conference 2009. Retrieved on June 10, 2010,
Saibaba, S. N. S. (2006). Rural esewa: An IT
from http://www.ictparliament.org/wepc2009/
I
project for the masses. Egovernance and ESewa
Pereira, D. (2007, January 29). The Internet elec Project Experiences in Andhra Pradesh, India.
G
tion. The Straits Times. Singapore: Singapore National Informatics. Center, M/O Communica
I
Press Holdings. tions and Information Technology, GOI.
Pitch. (2004). The advertising, marketing and Saith, A., Vijayabaskar, M., & Gayathri, V. (2008).
media review. Monthly magazine published from ICTs and Indian social change: Diffusion, poverty,
Mumbai, India. governance. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Prasad, K. (2004). Political communication: The Sarkar, A. (2008). Digital edge: Indian television.
Indian experience (Vol. 2). New Delhi, India: B.R. Retrieved July 2009 from
Publishing Corporation, India.
Saxena, R. (2010, February). The middle class in
Prasad, S. (2009, April 15). India’s election cam India: Issues and opportunities. Deutsche Bank
paigns get Netsavvy. ZDNet Asia. Retrieved on Research. Retrieved March 5, 2010, from http://
12 August, 2010, from http://www.zdnetasia.com/ www.dbresearch.com/prod/ dbr_internet_en
news/internet/ 0,39044908,62053192,00.htm prod/ prod0000000000253735.pdf
356
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
Sharma, A. B. (2006). All Indian villages to have a Turkheimer, M. (2007). A YouTube moment in
knowledge center by 2007. Online posted on July politics: An analysis of the first three months of the
18, 2005. Retrieved November 2010 from http:// 2008 presidential election. Unpublished research.
www.financialexpress.com/ news/story/140862/ Colorado, USA: Occidental College.
F
Shaw, D. V., Kwak, N., & Holbert, R. L. (2010). UNDP. (2004). Promoting ICT for human devel
Connecting and disconnecting’ with civic life: Pat opment in Asia: Realizing the millennium devel
terns of Internet use and the production of social opment goals. Regional Human Development
O
capital. Political Communication, 18, 141–162. Report. UNDP Elsiever.
Steenson, M. W. (2006). The excitable crowd: Vijaypur, B. S., & Balasubramanya, A. S. (2003).
O
Characterizing social, mobile space. Unpublished Mass media and influence of political news on
Master’s thesis, Yale University, New Haven, young adults. In K. Prasad (Ed.), Political com
R
Connecticut, USA. munication: An Indian experience (vol. 2, pp.
533–559). New Delhi, India: B. R.
P
Suri, K. C. (2002). Democratic process and elec
toral politics in Andhra Pradesh, India. London, Vote Report India. (2009, April 17). India’s first
UK: Overseas Development Institute. digital elections evoke strong reactions online. Re
L
trieved from http://votereport.in/blog/ indiasfirst
Takeshita, T., & Makami, S. (1995). How did
digitalelectionsevokestrongreactionsonline/
A
mass media influence the voters’ choice in the
1993 general election in Japan? A study of agenda Vote Report India (VRI). (2009, May 15). The
B
setting. Keio Communication Review, 17, 27–41. report card on vote report India, version 1.0.
Retrieved October 22, 2009, from http://voter
TATA. (2008, September 18). Jaago Re! One
eport.in/
O
billion votes campaign’ awakens young India!
Warkentin, M. D., Gefen, P., & Rose, G. (2002).
L
Tekwani, S., & Shetty, K. (2007). Two Indias: The
Encouraging citizen adoption of egovernment by
role of the Internet in the 2004 elections . In Kluver,
building trust. Electronic Markets, 12(3), 157–162.
G
R., Jankowski, N., Foot, K., & Schneider, S. (Eds.),
doi:10.1080/101967802320245929
The Internet and national elections: A compara
I
tive study of Web campaign (pp. 150–162). New Welch, E., & Wong, W. (2001). Global information
York, NY: Routledge. technology pressure and government account
G
ability: The mediating effect of domestic context
The World Bank. (2004). Making ICT work for
I
on Website openness. Journal of Public Admin
people. Retrieved on June 20, 2010, from http://
www.digitaldividend. org/ knwldge_bank/ knwl
dge_bank_01_data.htm. Williams, A. P., Trammell, K. D., Postelnicu,
M., Landreville, K. D., & Martin, J. D. (2005).
tp://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/ y2k8/
Blogging and hyperlinking: Use of the Web
june/june243.php
to enhance viability during the 2004 US cam
TRAI Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. paign. Journalism Studies, 6(2), 177–186.
(2008). Indian Telecom Services performance doi:10.1080/14616700500057262
indicators. Retrieved from http://www.trai.gov.
in/trai/upload/ Reports/38/report1jan08.pdf
357
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
Williams, C. B., & Gulati, G. J. (2007). Social Coleman, S. (2004). Connecting parliament
Networks in Political Campaigns: Facebook and to the public via the Internet. Information
the 2006 Midterm Elections. Paper presented at the Communication and Society, 7(1), 1–22.
2007 Annual Meeting of the American Political doi:10.1080/1369118042000208870
Science Association, August 30 – September 2,
F
Dahlberg, L. (2001). The Internet and democratic
2007, Chicago, USA.
discourse: Exploring the prospects of online de
Willnat, L., & Aw, A. (2009). Political communi liberative forums extending the public sphere.
O
cation in Asia. New York, NY: Routledge. Information Communication and Society, 4(4),
615–633. doi:10.1080/13691180110097030
Wimmer, R., & Dominick, J. (2006). Mass media
O
research: An introduction. USA: Wadsworth. Davis, A. (2010). New media and fat de
mocracy: The paradox of online participa
R
Yin, R. (1994). Case study research: Design and
tion. New Media & Society, 12(5), 745–761.
methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
doi:10.1177/1461444809341435
P
Publishing, USA.
Fenton, N. (2010). New media, old news: Jour
nalism and democracy in the digital age. Los
L
Angeles, CA: Sage.
ADDITIONAL READING
A
Geridimos, R. (2008). Mobilizing young citizens in
Behrouzi, M. (2005). Democracy as the political UK: A content analysis of youth and issue websites.
B
empowerment of the citizen: Directdeliberative Information Communication and Society, 11(7),
edemocracy. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. 964–988. doi:10.1080/13691180802109014
O
Bennett, L. W. (2008). Civic life online: learning Gibson, R., Nixon, P., & Ward, S. (2003). Politi
how digital media can engage youth. Cambridge, cal parties and Internet: Net gain?London, UK:
L
MA: MIT Press. Routledge.
Boler, M. (2008). Digital media and democracy:
G
Gibson, R., Rommele, A., & Ward, S. J. (2004).
Tactics in hard times. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Electronic democracy: Mobilisation, organisa
I
Brewer, G. A., Neubauer, B. J., & Geiselhart, K. tion and participation via new ICTs. London,
(2006). Designing and implementing egovernment UK: Routledge.
G
systems: Critical implications for public adminis Gunter, B. (2006). Advances in edemocracy: En
I
tration and democracy. Administration & Society, gaging citizens and electorates online. Bradford,
38(4), 472–499. doi:10.1177/0095399706290638 UK: Emerald Group Publishing.
Cardoso, G., Cunha, C., & Nascimento, S. (2006). Jensen, M. J., Danziger, J. N., & Venkatesh, A.
Bridging the edemocracy gap in Portugal. In (2007). Civil society and cyber society: The role
formation Communication and Society, 9(4), of the Internet in community associations and
452–472. doi:10.1080/13691180600858630 democratic politics. The Information Society,
Chester, J. (2007). Digital destiny: New media 23(1), 39–50. doi:10.1080/01972240601057528
and the future of democracy. New York, NY: Olsson, T., & Dahlgren, P. (2010). Young people,
New Press. ICTs and democracy: Theories, policies, identi
ties and websites. Goteberg, Sweden: Nordicom.
358
:;:%'/'*%'+0%>*/
Parvez, Z., & Ahmed, P. (2006). Towards build where money and physical power is used during
ing an integrated perspective on edemocracy. elections.
Information Communication and Society, 9(5), EDemocracy: Refers to the processes and
612–632. doi:10.1080/13691180600965609 structures that encompass all forms of electronic
interaction between the government (elected) and
F
Reddick, C. G. (2010). Politics, democracy and
the citizen (electorate). Examples include evoting,
egovernment: Participation and service delivery.
econsultation, erepresentatives, online delibera
O
tive polling, epetitions, and ereferendums.
doi:10.4018/9781615209330
ERegistrations: The process by which citi
Rogerson, S., & Beckett, R. (2003). Edemocracy, zens can register online with all their personal
O
rights and privacy in the age of information. In details as voters and will be eligible to vote during
termedia, 31(1), 18–27. the elections.
R
Indian elections: Refer to the parliamentary
Sahu, G. P., Dwivedi, Y. K., & Weerakkody, V.
and legislative elections held every five ears in
P
(2010). Egovernment development and diffusion:
the largest democracy in the world.
inhibitors and facilitators of digital democracy.
Internet and elections: Refers to the use of
L
Internet for disseminating information, campaign
Thomas, J., & Streib, G. (2005). Edemocracy, ing, social networking sites, election coverage,
A
ecommerce & eresearch: Examining the elec blogs etc.
tronic ties between citizens and governments. New Media Technologies (NMTs): Refer
B
Administration & Society, 37(3), 259–280. to the technology assisted devices and systems,
doi:10.1177/0095399704273212 particularly the web enabled Internet and mobile
technologies.
O
Wilhelm, A. G. (2000). Democracy in the digital
Online Campaigns: Political parties using the
age: Challenges to the political life in cyberspace.
L
Internet to campaign for their parties to reach and
New York, NY: Routledge.
seek support from local and overseas citizens to
campaign and vote for them during the elections.
G
Social Networking Sites (SNS): Refer to
I
KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Facebook, You Tube, Twitter, Orkut that are being
used during elections for campaigning.
Criminals in Politics: This term refers to the
G
Youth and Elections: About half of the Indian
I
candidates with criminal records contesting the electorate is young and political parties are target
elections and also the criminalization of politics ing them to participate in the electoral process
and strengthen the democracy.
359
360
Chapter 18
E-Government Policy
Implementation in Brunei:
O F
O
Lessons Learnt from Singapore
Mohammad Habibur Rahman

Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
Patrick Kim Cheng Low
P R
L
A
Mohammad Nabil Almunawar
B
Fadzliwati Mohiddin
O
SikLiong Ang
L
ABSTRACT
I G
Policy reform initiative in eGovernment and other public management areas such as good governance
G
has been momentous and visible in many societies in recent years. However, in many countries, reasonably
I
good policies have made somewhat slow progress at the implementation stage. It has to be appreciated
that policy implementation occurs in several ways, manifesting multiple challenges. Taking a key interest
in Brunei Darussalam and Singapore, this chapter has made an attempt to see how these challenges or
critical factors play a key role in making eGovernment policy a success. The authors have examined
eGovernment strategies in Brunei in the light of policy success in Singapore. Based on their empirical
research in these two small countries in SouthEast Asia, this chapter highlights the salient features and
success factors that have enabled eGovernment policies to be successfully implemented in Singapore.
Learning lessons from Singapore, the authors have proposed potential success ingredients for an effec
tive eGovernment policy implementation in Brunei.
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch018
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
INTRODUCTION with and learning lessons from the successful

operational models (e.g. Singapore).
With the advent of the Web and its related tech The conceptual focus of this chapter is to ex
nologies in the 1990s, the governments across amine the implementation challenges and critical
the World, especially in the developed countries, success factors in eGovernment policy operation.
F
started adopting ‘Internet’ in their daily businesses Based on a survey and consultation with key
to improve service quality in terms of reaching stakeholders of eGovernment, this chapter also
O
out to people and communicating with key stake takes a closer look at Singapore’s eGovernment
holders including business, media, professional policy implementation model to observe the key
groups and other civil society players. This public success factors that Brunei can learn to make its
O
policy move has been somewhat revolutionary eGovernment strategy successful.
in speed that gradually gave birth to the concept
R
of ‘eGovernment’. The Internet and the Web
have indubitably become the main medium of BACKGROUND
P
eGovernment. They offer nonlinear, twoway
and nonhierarchical and 24/7 delivery systems Information and Communication Technologies
L
which have the capability to significantly improve (ICTs) including computers, satellite, Web and
government services, if utilized effectively. How the Internet are now able to work together and
A
ever, eGovernment is not merely a government combine to form the ‘networked world’ which
website on the Internet for service delivery, it is a reaches into every corner of the globe – allowing
B
new way to improve government responsiveness remote communities to become integrated into
and public outreach (West, 2004). As the 1990s mainstream development and decisionmaking
also witnessed a global interest in achieving good processes. There is virtually no limit to the reach
O
governance to curve corruption, to improve public of ICT. That is why it brings people closer and
L
management and to democratise policy making, helps in reaching the unreached. It treats people
eGovernment has evolved into an eGovernance alike irrespective of social and economic status,
process in some societies to achieve good gov sex, religion and caste of creed (UNDP, 2001;
G
ernance elements such as accountability and Harris, 2004). ICT is a combination of two con
I
transparency by connecting state with citizens. cepts – information and technology. Access to
Thus the Internet and the Web has become a tool information is power. In the case of good gover
G
of transformation in the way government does nance, information is acquired and used strategi
I
business and citizens interact with government. cally for public good purposes. And in the case
In the past few years, many countries of the of bad governance, the same information is used
world paid enormous attention to developing poli for private gains and for suppression of citizens.
cies and strategies around the emerging concept Access to information forms the basis for decision
of eGovernment. In terms of implementation making and if the community is empowered by
and action, some countries have made quicker providing information and knowledge then this
progress than others and potentially succeeded is the most critical factor in breaking the cycle of
in producing desired results. Those who failed poverty (ADB, 2003).
at the implementation stage could not take the In a narrow sense eGovernment can be defined
eGovernment agenda much forward. However, as the use of information and communication
some countries in the latter group (e.g. United technology, especially the Internet and the Web
Arab Emirates), through continuous efforts and technology in running government activities in
best practice research, are sharing experiences relation with government stakeholders. These
361
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
activities include, information dissemination, (0.7363), for example, has made significant strides
acquiring and delivering products and services in the two years since the previous survey, mov
and other electronic transactions. In a broad sense ing up in the rankings to 13th place in 2010 from
eGovernment is perceived as “the continuous 42nd place in 2008. Bahrain’s recent emphasis on
optimization of service delivery, constituency citizen engagement and the electronic provision
F
participation and governance by transforming of government services has propelled the country
internal and external relationships through tech into the top 15 in eGovernment development,
O
nology, the Internet and new media.” (Baum and somewhat closer to Singapore (0.7476) which is
Di Maio, 2000). among the global leaders in provision of electronic
EGovernment has started gathering momen and mobile public services. With 0.4796, Brunei
O
tum as a policy agenda in the 1990s as the quest occupies the 3rd rank in SouthEast Asia after
for good governance also accelerated across Malaysia (United Nations, 2010).
R
the globe. The United Nations EGovernment The drive for eGovernance stems from the
Survey 2010 saw an unprecedented interest and broader global consensus among scholars and
P
success with eGovernment at this time of global practitioners that good governance implies ac
economic crisis. countability and transparency and is about look
L
ing to the total welfare of the people and that the
people themselves should become empowered to
A
GLOBAL AND REGIONAL SCENARIO make sure that their interests and concerns are ad
dressed. This implies that it does not involve only
B
The United Nations EGovernment Survey 2010 the processes and institutions of State; but also
finds that citizens are benefiting from more ad the empowerment of people. By empowerment it
vanced eservice delivery better access to infor means that the development whereby people (a)
O
mation, more efficient government management come to realize their own dignity and value; (b)
L
and improved interactions with governments, realize that they are all committed to common
primarily as a result of increasing use by the shared values; (c) are able to have a voice in
public sector of information and communica expressing their opinions and making decisions
G
tions technology. Most countries have published which affect their lives; (d) can claim their rights
I
a tremendous amount of information online, many as citizens and see themselves as having a part to
going beyond basic websites to provide national play in society; and (e) realize that, when they act
G
portals that serve as a major starting point for us in solidarity (among themselves and with other
I
ers to connect to government services in different groups) they have socioeconomic and political
ministries. Republic of Korea received the highest bargaining power and can press for change and
score (0.8785), followed by the United States reform. It is this empowerment that in turn should
(0.8510), Canada (0.8448), the United Kingdom lead to participation. (Casimira, 2003, cited in
(0.8147) and the Netherlands (0.8097) (United Rahman and Naz, 2006).
Nations, 2010). The discussion involving eGovernment and
At the same time, many developing countries good governance connect well with each other
need to devote additional energy to transactional because both concepts share the same objec
services as well as the electronic means of engag tives, even though their respective focus may be
ing citizens in public consultation and decision different. Administrative efficiency, the quality
making. It is encouraging that some developing of public services and democratic participation
countries have begun to catch up with higher are the core principles of both. EGovernment,
income countries despite these challenges. Bahrain however, offers the chance to overcome a certain
362
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
particularistic focus prevailing in many good capacitybuilding. Most reform packages look
governance initiatives in favor of a more integral good on plan documents and strategic papers but
understanding of state reform. The reason for e lack implementation in terms of capacity build
Government being introduced as a vehicle for the ing, resource mobilisation, championing reform,
promotion of good governance lies in its dualistic constituency building and so on.
F
approach to state modernization: it combines an
internal focus on administrative reform with an
O
external focus on statecitizen (or statecustomer) CRITICAL FACTORS FOR
relations. In the context of rapidly changing roles GOOD EGOVERNMENT
for public and private actors in the development POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
O
process, eGovernment is seen as an instrument
to simultaneously (i) increase the efficiency of The role of good eGovernment or eGovernance
R
public administration, (ii) improve public service can be of four folds: Firstly, improving quality
delivery, and (iii) strengthen the openness and of governance products/services being currently
P
transparency of political processes (Haldenwang, provided; Secondly, provides a new governance
2004, quoted in Almunawar, et.al. 2010). for services and products; Thirdly enhance par
L
EGovernance is using ICTs to bring about ticipation of people in choice and provision of
good governance. It uses ICTs as a catalyzing governance products and services and lastly, the
A
tool to promote more efficient and cost effective most crucial factor is bringing new sections of
government, facilitate more suitable government society under the governance sphere (including
B
services, permit greater public access to informa those who are more likely to remain excluded –
tion and make government more answerable to namely the poor, the illiterate, the differently able,
citizens. Using ICT results in SMART Govern indigenous people, the migrants and displaced
O
ment (Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsible, people) (UNDP, 2001)
L
and Transparent). The focus of EGovernance Therefore, core values and national culture
has to be on the rural community, the poor, the are the two important critical factors that shape
disadvantaged/marginalized sections of society. a good eGovernment structure to promote
G
EGovernance opens up possibilities for access. economic growth by streamlining government
I
It ensures that citizens can participate in, and in processes, providing better access to information
fluence decision making processes which affect and promoting a suitable enterprise environment
G
them closely. Citizens no longer remain passive to further facilitate greater business growth. Of
I
recipients of governance services provided to critical importance too, the political will must
them, but can proactively decide the types and be present; this is to ensure that goals and aims
standards of governance services they want and the of eGovernment is being implemented and well
governance structures that can best deliver them. carried out. There are a number of other policy
From public management reform perspec implementation issues that need to be addressed
tive, eGovernment has become a panacea for to make eGovernment reform a workable one.
many countries of the world. Regrettably in some Rahman and Naz summarise these in the follow
societies, it has not served more than a policy ing diagram:
rhetoric. EGovernment is now one of the most First and of utmost important factor in imple
popular global sociocultural movements without menting public policies is the role of leadership.
much substance in many transitional countries. Leaders are important because they focus their
Reformers, in these societies, took a bandwagon attention on three areas: (a) spearheading par
approach rather than substantive reform towards ticipatory development of a vision for public
363
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
Figure 1. Policy implementation success factors
O F
R O
L P
A
sector reform; (b) motivating and bringing out is resource mobilization. Ames (1987) says that
the best in staff; and (c) encouraging more direct resource accumulation means securing both initial
B
involvement of stakeholders in the implementation funding and assuring the policy a place in the
of reform and thereby promoting greater respon governments’ budget allocation process. To imple
O
siveness and accountability of public servants to ment a new policy, human, technical, material
the needs and concerns of citizens and clients in and financial resources are needed (Grindle and
L
society. The second challenge in policy imple Thomas, 1991). The fifth challenge is organiza
mentation has to do with policy legitimization. tional design and modification. Significant policy
G
According to Brinkerhoff and Crosby (2002), it changes affect an agency in terms of its internal
is necessary to have a political champion who arrangements and of its relations with its operat
I
must assert that the proposed policy reform is ing environment. This may call for new structures
necessary and vital. The authors highlight that and procedures. This issue of organizational design
G
policy legitimization should be done early in the poses several problems. The most crucial is to do
I
implementation process so that there is some with inertia of the bureaucracy (Brinkerhoff and
degree of ownership for change. The Third chal Crosby, 2002). The sixth challenge is the monitor
lenge is constituency building. Brinkerhoff and ing progress and the impact of policy change. As
Crosby (2002) view that any policy needs to be many policy reforms are long term, monitoring
marketed and promoted and an adequate con in the form of process indicators is important.
stituency for the policy be developed. Constitu Monitoring policy change requires mechanisms
ency is defined by Brinkerhoff and Crosby (2002, both for periodic review and evaluation and for
pg.26) as “those who will benefit by the change… tracking policies across multiple agencies.
They maybe consumers of the service provided, Amongst the most common problems in the
providers of inputs, or officials within the imple policy implementation process is setting targets
menting agency who find their position or status or timeframe for achieving certain policy outcomes
enhanced by the change”. The fourth challenge (Brinkerhoff and Crosby, 2002). Participation/
364
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
consultation is another salient challenge that af ernance, trust, connectivity and servicedelivery.
fects legitimization, constituency building, re The priorities are:
source mobilization and allocation and policy
monitoring. Consultation brings key stakeholders A. Developing capabilities and capacity;
together for policy dialogue and problem solving B. Enhancing governance;
F
and increases the sustainability of policy. The last C. Strengthening security and trust;
challenge comes in coordinating policies (Rahman D. Integrating the government; and
O
and Naz, 2006) E. Delivering integrated, accessible and con
venient eServices (Government of Brunei
Darussalam, 2009).
O
EGOVERNMENT
INITIATIVES IN BRUNEI Brunei has climbed up 19 places in the e
R
Government Development ranking to 68th posi
Brunei Darussalam is a small country with less tion in 2010 from 87th spot in 2008, according to
P
than 400,000 people. Wanting to be less depen the 2010 United Nations eGovernment Survey
dent on petrol and gas, the Brunei Government is (United Nations, 2010)1. The considerable leap in
L
looking at ways to diversify its economy. It has Brunei’s ranking reflects the good pace of progress
been laying the necessary infrastructure such as in the Brunei’s eGovernment initiatives to build
A
the building of highways, flyovers and more roads ICT infrastructure, deliver electronic services and
and improving the ports to facilitate business and developing human resource capacities and capa
B
economic growth. Bandar’s size will also be ex bilities within the country. Organizationally, the
panded (Ibrahim, 2007). The Sultanate’s efficiency Prime Minister’s Office has been given the overall
and administrative effectiveness can be enhanced responsibility of coordinating the efforts of a num
O
and, like Singapore, ‘make compact’ through the ber of implementing agencies. The eGovernment
L
eGovernment process, with its people attuned to National Centre (EGNC) and the eGovernment
eGovernment acceptance and practices. Technical Authority Body (EGTAB) have also
Impressively, 46.2% Bruneians use internet, been constituted to strengthen the eGovernment
G
compared to 0.3% Bangladeshis, 0.5% Cambo initiative and to promote eGovernance culture
I
dians, 5.2% Indians, 19% Chinese and 23.4% in the society.
Vietnamese (Internet World Stats: http://www.
G
internetworldstats.com/stats3.htm) Education
I
and investments on skills growth, training and BRUNEI’S E–GOVERNMENT
development can bring the nation to the threshold NATIONAL CENTRE (EGNC)
of economic prosperity and social development.
The progress of eGovernment initiatives in In April 2008, EGovernment National Centre
Brunei continued throughout the current decade. (EGNC) was formed under the Prime Ministers’
The EGovernment Strategic Plan 20092014 Office. EGNC was formed as part of the continu
was launched in May 2009 with “CitizenCentric ous effort by His Majesty’s Government towards
Services” as its guiding principle. The strategic achieving the eGovernment initiatives.
document has set out the country’s eGovernment The Prime Minister Office highlights four key
mission as “Electronic Governance and Services drivers for eGovernment initiatives:
to Best Serve the Nation”. It set out five key
strategic priorities in the areas of capacity, gov P+ To modernize the civil service to further
develop the government machinery into an
365
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
"-&#*"%1B+ "--"#1*>"B+ *%%$>/1*>"B+ #$.="1* SUPPORTIVE CORE

tive, productive and proactive as well as VALUES IN BRUNEI
customer focused and friendly.
P+ To build a more transparent and account Noticeably, there are a number of core values
able government, as it enables better par stemming from the Bruneian national culture that
F
ticipation from citizens and community. are supportive to the EGovernment Strategic
P+ To meet challenges of globalization. Plan 20092014.
O
P+ To better prepare ourselves for future
crises. Faith and Value
O
EGNC is the centralized organization that Stability in Islam is in the faith of following the
concentrates on IT in Civil Service, to oversee the religion, and what is critical and helpful in e
R
development of IT personnel, centralize procure Government is the fact that Islam is not against
ment of IT equipment and to provide common modernisation as long as it is not against it. The
P
Governmentwide applications and shared IT Islamic teachings in Brunei continued to reinforce
Services among all Ministries. religious values in society in every possible ways
L
The centre provides IT Services to all Govern without neglecting the progress and development
ment Departments and Ministries in Brunei Darus of the nation globally (Mohiddin and Low, 2008).
A
salam. EGovernment National Centre (EGNC) The influence of Islam is more visible in the pub
offers secured stateoftheart facilities to house lic sector compared to private; nevertheless the
B
all government servers. The EGNC organization private sectors are continuously trying to adapt
structure is shown below: the Islamic way of life as much as possible. Non
The EGovernment National Centre (EGNC) Muslims are expected to give their due respect.
O
has 3 core services, it is assigned to managed the
L
IT Human Resources, Central IT Procurement Leadership and Political Will
and to provide common Government wide ap
plications and services (Brunei EGovernment Just as in Singapore’s case the strong political
G
National Centre, 2010) will of the government leaders has led to suc
I
cess of Singapore’s eGovernment initiatives and
G
Figure 2. EGNC organization structure
366
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
implementation, Brunei is also blessed with this; Lingua Franca

the Government of Brunei is indeed determined
to have its own “esmart Government in the 21st It is be appropriated that the large majority of
century”. Several government statements reinforce Brunei people speak and write in English – pre
the strong will of government to strengthen e dominant “lingua franca” (language) of ICT,
F
Government (eGovernment Media, 2009, pg. 67). and what at the first level helps and reduces the
challenges in eGovernment is that the use of
O
Collectivist Society the English language is commonly used in both
Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.
The authors here would also argue that yet another
O
important cultural ingredient in Brunei when it
comes to the implementation of eGovernment EGOVERNMENT IN SINGAOPORE
R
is its overall cultural value of peopleorientation.
Bruneians are also said to be feelingoriented, and Singapore is one of the top 20 countries in the
P
according to Mohiddin (2007), this value of people eGovernment Development ranking, occupying
orientation has positive impact on Information the 11th position amongst the 192 UN Member
L
Quality, System Quality, and Service Quality. countries, according to the 2010 United Nations
Bruneians are peopleorientated and hence a eGovernment Survey (United Nations, 2010). A
A
Collectivist society. Bruneians’ strength relies on study visit was conducted by the Rahman and Low
unity in whatever circumstances, and this helps in for a week in late September 2009. Meetings and
B
as a boon when comes to implementing systems consultation were held with key people at various
and eGovernment. In Brunei and in organisa organizations including Singapore eGovernment
tions within the Sultanate, a strong preference for Leadership Centre at the National University
O
group decisions (facetoface meetings are still of Singapore, Ministry of Finance, Infocomm
L
favoured) and consultative management exists, Development Authority of Singapore, and other
and employees act in the interest of their ingroup, organizations in the private sector. Interviews
not necessarily of themselves. with some small business owners were conducted
G
to get a view of the people’s perspective to the
I
Human Relations country’s eGovernance reform and its benefits.
EGovernment in Singapore has its origins
G
Interestingly, in implementing the eGovernment in the Government’s decision to computerise
I
process, it is good to have a combination of high the civil service in 1981. In that year, aiming
tech and hightouch so that the people feel involved to save manpower, to improve operational ef
or engaged so that they own the process. Because ficiency, and to have better information support
of this feelingorientation of Bruneians, generally for decisionmaking with certain pioneer services
speaking, they would ensure or at least take steps for the public, the Civil Service Computerisation
to ensure that the people factors are attended to Programme (CSCP) was launched. It focused on
and/ or at least be sensitive to the people issues automating many traditional work functions as
such as job displacements/ alignments or cuts if well as reducing paperwork. The CSCP is marked
these would occur. The people can be assured, at as the first wave of eGovernment in Singapore.
least, not feeling alienated. In the past three years, the Singapore Government
introduced many eGovernment services that
range from simple information provision to the
conduct of complex business transactions. The
367
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
Government’s initiatives have also encouraged Here, to cater to the citizens’ wideranging
professions such as law and medicine to help needs, the Singapore Government has taken the ap
develop their own networks for the provision of proach of delineating key domains of the ordinary
information and services. citizens’ life and building information and service
In terms of Singapore’s eGovernment strategic clusters for them. The eCitizen Centre (home to
F
overview, the people sector, the private sector and more than 1,700 services of the 2,600 services that
the public sector are generally considered to be can be delivered electronically – Mahizhnan and
O
the three most important constituencies that act Andiappan, 2002) portal (see http://www.ecitizen.
and interact in myriad ways to build and sustain gov.sg/) supplies onestop online information and
a nation. Singapore’s eGovernment strategic services that are intuitively grouped along those
O
framework is centred on three critical relation domains.
ships – Government to Citizens (G2C), Govern In Government to Business (G2B), the two
R
ment to Businesses (G2B) and Government to services are:
Employees (G2E). Based on that framework, an The Business Town (http://www.gov.sg/singov/
P
eGovernment Action Plan was launched in June biz.htm): on the eCitizen Centre which takes a
2000, with five key thrusts: critical step towards a customercentric approach
L
to providing eservices by allowing local and
P+ Reinventing government through continu international businesses to access and use a full
A
ous rethinking of all aspects of governance suite of aggregated and integrated G2B informa
to explore the nature and quality of gov tion and services through an intuitive interface.
B
ernment interactions with its citizens, busi Simplified Business Registration: New local
nesses and employees; companies can now be incorporated electronically
P+ Delivering integrated electronic services with the Registry of Companies and Businesses
O
centred on customers’ needs; (RCB). Companies and businesses can also make
L
P+ Being proactive and responsive by adopt statutory disclosure requirements online. BizFile
ing a ‘sense and respond’ approach; enables filing to be done electronically, without
P+ Using ICT to build new capabilities and the need to come in person to RCB. The public
G
capacities for achieving quantum leaps in will also be able to obtain uptodate and ac
I
service delivery; and curate information pertaining to companies and
P+ Innovating with ICT by embracing enter businesses through eBizCore, round the clock.
G
prise and experimentation (Mahizhnan and Additionally, business people are able to apply
I
Andiappan, 2002). for licenses/permits and other approvals required
through OASIS (Online Application System for
In Government to Citizens (G2C), integration Integrated Services). This seamless online system
of services is basically sought and the “G2C” e will allow applications to be done all at one go,
Government seeks to primarily achieve customer anywhere with an Internet connection. No longer
centricity. Generally, it is often said that politicians will there be a need to perform repeated filing of
and bureaucrats normally end up as civil masters applications or make multiple physical visits to
instead of being civil servants, placing their own be able to start a business.
administrative convenience above citizens’ needs. And in the area of eGovernment for employ
However, the government of Singapore, like ees, it should be noted that civil servants are vital
business world, subscribes to the the concept of to the success of policy implementation and service
citizens as paying customers. execution in the eGovernment. The focus of G2E
is to empower public officers using ICT with new
368
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
skills, to enrich their careers and to keep them ing by the iGov council as the champion body of
relevant in the eeconomy. eGovernment needs governance makes it possible for IDA to smoothly
to be a servicewide initiative, appreciated and implement programmes and monitor progress.
embraced by all public officers. The Infocomm IDA is an effective and efficient government body
Education (IE) programme aims to equip all offi to oversee and ensure good implementation of e
F
cers with the necessary skills to see the possibilities Government within the Republic. Publicprivate
and capitalise on the opportunities for the creation partnership is also another key ingredient of
O
of an eGovernment. IE also aims to ensure that all Singapore’s success. Policy implementation steps
officers are fully equipped to work expertly within are logically and sequentially deployed, and many
an eGovernment (Mahizhnan and Andiappan, steps are cut or reduced as a way of organizational
O
2002). The Government Intranet, perhaps in due adjustment. IDA and other bodies consult citizens
process, the G2E Portal may succeed the as the and are responsive to their feedback and priorities.
R
place to share a range of government resources
and supply ready and convenient access to relevant
P
services within the public service. Public officers BRUNEI AND SINGAPORE:
will be empowered to personalise their workspace COMMON GROUNDS
L
to better manage information and collaborate more
effectively across agencies. Like Singapore, Brunei indeed enjoys much
A
Overall, the Singapore Government’s devel peace and political stability, and this is advanta
opment of eGovernment is very much like sub geous (Mohiddin and Low, 2008) to the growth
B
scribing to the total quality management (TQM) of eGovernment culture. After all, since the
process. It is an ongoing process with no solidstate more stable is the organisation (nation), the more
in sight. It is continuous improvement, perhaps a stable would be the information systems provid
O
neverending journey where destinations are only ing better and effective service to the endusers.
L
transient or temporary stopovers, and moving to In this regard, Mohiddin’s (2007) study supports
the next level with improvement(s) after each level. the point that peace and stability indeed helps in
In Singapore, the somewhat aggressive e eimplementation. There are some other key areas
G
Government strategy has cut administrative costs of commonality between these two neighbour
I
and raised the level of effectiveness and efficiency ing countries in the SouthEast Asia. These are
of the Civil Service. discussed below:
I G
KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
IN SINGAPORE
One critical factor accounting for eGovernment

success in Singapore is leadership. In Singapore
EVISION AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The strong intention to develop a workable e

Government is stated in the eGovernment Stra
tegic Plan 20092014 Brunei Darussalam where
the leadership provided is good and several govern the vision is “an esmart Government in the 21st
ment leaders serve as role models. The Infocomm century”, and the mission is “to establish electronic
Development Authority (IDA) has successfully governance and services to best serve the nation”
implemented the government’s policy agenda with (eGovernment Media, 2009), and its guiding
support from the iGov Council, which is the top principle, providing “Citizencentric services”.
policy Body, headed by the Finance Minister to Reflecting on an actionoriented efficiency and
champion reform. Policy guidance and monitor effectiveness, Singapore’s eGovernment guiding
369
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
principles, where deem fit, may to be adopted by in its smooth implementation. A good Bruneian
Brunei, and they are: example of this has been cited by Low, Almu
nawar and Mohiddin (2008). The introduction of
A. Every service that can be delivered electroni the Hariis system within the Ministry of Health,
cally shall be developed purely by the Human Resource (HR)
F
B. The customer shall supply or update personal specialists of the ministry, the information system
information only once. which provides portal and ICT support for the
O
C. Those without home access shall have access Ministry is greatly accepted and widely used by
to public delivery network. the management and staff of the ministry. This
D. Staff must assist those who need special help reflects a good start, as it moves away from “mere
O
like the elderly. data collection but also a mindset acceptance of the
E. All services shall be “customercentric” and change to come” (input from several Ministry of
R
not “agencycentric”. Health staff). Besides, it also critically serves as a
F. Physical visits shall be kept as low as pos solid action step to move forward in eGovernment
P
sible (Mahizhnan and Andiappan, 2002). implementation.
L
EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SINGAPORE’S STRENGTH AREAS
A
THAT BRUNEI MAY EMULATE IN
The national cultures of both Singapore and STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION
B
Brunei can be said to stress on education (Said
Ya’akub, 2007). In Singapore, the government Professional Development
invests in university education, seeking to make and Capacity Building
O
local universities worldclass and best in the
L
region. The same applies to Brunei Darussalam, For a small country Singapore without natural
with various education schemes – including the resources, continuous improvement, bit by bit
Sultan’s Scholars – being implemented to boost becomes a viable strategic move. What is vital is
G
education among the Bruneians. According to that the Citystate, with the big picture in mind,
I
UNESCO 2007 statistics on education, 94.9 keeps on improving; it becomes a moving target;
percent of adults and 99.6 percent of youths are and it is difficult for the competition to hit a mov
G
literate in Brunei Darussalam (UNESCO 2007 ing target. Strategic maintenance certainly adds to
I
statistics). “Many years ago, Ministry of Educa ‘total marketing’ of the islandrepublic, making it
tion imposed all government and private schools complete or holistic as well as helping to upkeep
to have computing lessons in their curriculum the Singapore brand image and reputation. The
starting with primary classes,” said most school Singapore brand is indeed about being run as a
teachers when interviewed. This is a good policy corporate, cosmopolitan, confident and modern,
to make sure Bruneians are familiar with ICT and and overall, strategic maintenance makes the
to support elifestyle for the younger generation. Singapore brand in place marketing great.
Nonetheless, unlike Singapore, which has a
good IT professional pool, one of Brunei’s key
ITLITERACY AND GOOD EXAMPLES challenges in the progress of eGovernment is that
of lack of human resources skilled in ICT. The
An educated workforce and citizenry, familiar with issue is expected to pose an even greater challenge
ICT can readily accept eGovernment and help in the future when the number of eGovernment
370
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
projects increase (eGovernment Media, 2009). However, in Brunei, more of such an elifestyle
Singapore has various IT training bodies both in has yet to be part and parcel of the prevailing cul
the private and public sectors, and in this regard, ture, and it needs to be encouraged. One Institute
Brunei’s institutions such as Universiti Brunei Technologi Brunei (ITB) survey shows only 31
Darussalam and Institute Technology Brunei percent of Bruneians used ebanking (Hazair,
F
may need to train and produce a pool of IT/ICT 2007). It also reported that “the popularity of
professionals as well as developing the IT/ICT personal computers and the advent of internet
O
capabilities and capacities. banking presented both an opportunity and a chal
lenge for the banking industry”, meaning also to
elifestyle in Brunei. The survey also reported that
O
ADOPTING TO ELIFESTYLE that 14 percent reported that “they still worried
about security in online banking”. Online banking,
R
The success of eGovernment depends to a large somewhat new to Brunei, was first introduced by
extent on the public’s adoption and acceptance of a Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
P
new way of doing things an elifestyle. Singapore (HSBC) in 2000.
has been successful with its elifestyle (Mahizh Nonetheless, a recent newspaper article has
L
nan and Andiappan, 2002). Kifle and Low (2009) indicated a “good response to HSBC online
has affirmed the view that “(strong) leadership is services” (Hosni, 2009: 4). It is said that Internet
A
defined in terms of directing and completing the banking services have made life easier and are
whole implementation of eGovernment, getting gaining its appeal among “highly sophisticated
B
the results as well as winning the people over in people who are always on the move”. It is also
the cause and actions”, and this is tantamount to gaining attraction among bank customers since
building a supporting IT culture. And what was it affords customers “the luxury of saving a lot
O
and is true of Singapore is also relevant to Bru of time and energy by providing a new service
L
nei. There was thus a strong need to build up “a where electricity and water bills can now be paid
national IT culture that involved massive public through Internet banking”.
education campaign. The plan called for the in As such, positively speaking, some evidence
G
volvement of schools, the mass media and other of elifestyle is, more or less, making a toehold,
I
grassroots organizations to create awareness and and that is very encouraging. Besides, the younger
promote IT literacy” (IDA, 2007, commenting on generation of school children is, in fact, pretty
G
the Singapore situation). much exposed to ICT and eways. Based on inter
I
In Singapore, various campaigns were held an views with four hundred and twentythree school
nually to raise public awareness of the elifestyle. teachers and citizens, the feedback was that: “all
These campaigns in Singapore stress on the 4Es youths in Brunei are computer literate and they
– eLearning, eEntertainment, eCommunications are capable in surfing the net.”, “In most ways,
and eTransactions – to provide Singaporeans five our school children are ITsavvy.”; and “they are
strong reasons why they have got to be connected more open and oriented towards new technology.”
to information communication technology. To This means developing elifestyle in Brunei is not
move citizens from awareness to adoption of an a difficult task, however it needs to be carefully
elifestyle, a series of thematic online fairs are planned with a specified time framework aligned
also planned to boost consumer confidence in with the eGovernment Strategic Plan 20092014.
online services such as shopping for groceries,
purchasing travel packages and banking online.
371
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
Changing Mindset tions can also assist to disseminate the information

of eGovernment efforts to its members. In 2009,
During the September 2009 research, several Sin TelBru lowered its espeed/Internet fees, and
gaporeans (six from the Infocomm Development this means taking the Internet and things to the
Authority: IDA and Institute of System Science: people, further making easy the public’s increas
F
ISS and four businesspersons and eGovernment ing eacceptance and growing of the ehabit and
users) indicated how the Singapore eGovernment ways. The eGovernment media’s publications in
O
implementation strategy managed change effec the Sultanate’s major newspapers are also another
tively. They explained that government initiatives positive step that serves to educate the public as
were top down but adequate explanations were well as showing the determination to ensure the
O
made to convince the citizens that these change progress of eGovernment initiatives and imple
would bring benefits to the citizenry. Newspapers mentation in the country.
R
gave key information and highlighted benefits too.
The public buyin was vital to ensure the smooth Policy Coordination
P
implementation, support and acceptance.
In Singapore, the iGov Council is powerful
L
Connecting Citizens and apex Body, chaired by the Finance Minister, to
Communities with Government coordinate key eGovernment policies. As an
A
implementing agency of the government, IDA
Senior citizens who were illiterate or not well develops various programmes and projects within
B
educated found it difficult to cope with technology; the strategic agenda set by the iGov Council.
besides, they grew in a setting where education IDA has been able to connect government with
then was not readily available. And how these people in a transformational fashion. The key to
O
were then overcome in Singapore? In Singapore, Singapore’s eGovernment policy success was
L
the government set up a number of Citizens this catalyst role given to IDA to progress on the
Connect Kiosks in community clubs and these strategies of developing an ITliterate society,
are strategically located in places where there connecting market, bridging talents, promot
G
are high human traffic. There are a total number ing research and development, building public
I
of 27 such kiosks in the island Republic. And trust, and collaborating with the private sector in
these include in places such as the CPF building, popularising eGovernment concept in the society
G
Income Tax building at Novena. The Citizens and providing people with choices. In Brunei,
I
Connect Kiosks are manned by IT ambassadors the Prime Minister’s Office has been given the
who trained IT personnel to assist citizens to use overall responsibility of coordinating the efforts
the IT. A critical factor in managing the change of a number of implementing agencies. More
is that these IT ambassadors lent a hand to up the alignment between these agencies is needed.
hightouch factor that facilitated the change: IT There is also a need to create and empower an
acceptance and eGovernment process and habit. agency within the government such as the IDA
in Singapore to pursue the eGovernment agenda
Public Awareness Campaign of the government in a more coherent approach.
The amount of paperwork in decisions may need
Similarly, in Brunei Darussalam, greater public to be reduced. To tap synergies and generate
awareness on eGovernment and its benefits would faster processing, greater coordination among
be useful; this is indeed much needed and it can ministries is also needed (Kifle and Low, 2009),
bring about more support to the eGovernment and this is vital for the smooth implementation
process and implementation. The youth organiza of eGovernment in Brunei.
372
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
Risk Management the latter, a citizen can submit a change of address

on her driving license, and the change is automati
Anecdotal evidence and talking to several expatri cally registered with the health, elections, and tax
ates and locals appear to suggest that little innova departments, thus avoiding the need for multiple
tion or risk taking exists in Brunei. Although much or duplicate filings. Citizens can also use these
F
paperwork, bureaucracy and red tapes abound, portals to make payments and other transactions,
things are still rather slow, with many regulations, obtain a checklist of things to bring when applying
O
laws and orders to be followed, still the positive for services inperson, find answers to frequently
aspects appear to exist. Bruneians are said to hold asked questions (FAQs) and engage the services
the value of risk innovation. Besides, innovation/ of relevant commercial enterprises.
O
risk taking does have positive impact on System
Quality in Brunei. This might be because organi
R
sations in Brunei have to respond effectively and THE SULTAN’S DISCONTENT
appropriately to present and future needs and
P
challenges (Mohiddin, 2007). Kilfe and Low’s Lately, the leadership of Brunei Darussalam has
(2009: 274) study appears to confirm this when not been comfortable with the somewhat slow
L
they indicate the findings that, “innovation in progress of eGovernment projects in eservices,
Brunei Public Sector (also) comes from the lower eportal, ebusiness, elifestyle and so on. The
A
and middle level. This is a positive indication that Sultan himself expressed his disappointment on
they can be creative and there is strong leadership the use of eGovernment strategy and Informa
B
potential from within (the ministries).” tion Technology (IT) in the Sultanate 10 years
Some countries adopt eGovernment in ways since its implementation with a budget of B$1
that normally reinforce traditional bureaucratic billion. While delivering his speech during the
O
structures, cultures and links from administra 17th Civil Service Day celebration in October
L
tion to citizens and politics; in Singapore case, 2010 the Sultan was rather discontented at the
eGovernment makes its civil bureaucracy more low use of eGovernance programmes in public
responsive. In this aspect, the core values of ef services. He was particularly concerned about
G
ficiency, effectiveness (Low, 2009) and reliability the unsatisfactory delivery compared to the other
I
(Mahizhnan and Andiappan, 2002) of Singapore countries in the region (Borneo Bulletin, 2010).
are an asset when implementing eGovernment
G
strategies.
I
In achievementoriented and proactive Singa CONCLUSION
pore (Low, 2009), eGovernment enables service
integration while this has yet to be developed in Like small Citystate Singapore, Brunei can
Brunei Darussalam. Singapore has jurisdictions also tap its smallness, turning its smallness into
that enable comprehensive systems where a a competitive advantage. Being small, Brunei
webportal or smart card integrates information can easily set up its IT/ICT infrastructure to
and services from various government agencies enable efficient and effective eGovernment.
to help citizens and other stakeholders get seam To sum up, very much like Singapore, Brunei
less service without needing to know about the would be able to continuously improve, and forge
responsible government agency. Thus, users can ahead in eGovernment implementation. True,
obtain services across different geographic levels eGovernment is a challenge to Bruneians yet
of government within the same functional area, opportunities abound. Although at this point in
and across different functions. As an example of time, the Brunei Government’s development of
373
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
eGovernment may just be starting or budding, Grindle, M. S., & Thomas, J. W. (1991). Public
the Sultanate’s national culture and resources have choices and policy change: The political economy
the necessary DNA and template for success, and of reforms in developing countries. Baltimore,
from here, the efforts to eGovernment should be MD: John Hopkins University Press.
an ongoing process with continuous improvement
F
Haldenwang, C. V. (2004). Electronic govern
embracing the Malay saying of “sedikitsedikit
ment (eGovernment) and development. Euro
lamalama menjadi bukit”, translated: bit by bit, it
pean Journal of Development Research, 16(2),
O
eventually becomes a hill. EGovernment will be
417–432. doi:10.1080/0957881042000220886
journey towards change and development, given
the necessary governance reforms and resilient Harris, R. (2004). Information and technologies
O
attitude continue to achieve resultbased strategies for poverty alleviation. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia:
over a period of time. UNDP APDIP.
R
Harriss, J. (2001). Politics and povertyalleviation
P
in India: Further exploration. A report for ESCOR.
REFERENCES
United Kingdom: Department for International
Development.
L
Ames, B. (1987). Political survival. Berkeley,
CA: University of California Press. Hazair, H. P. D. (2007, 20 September). Speed,
A
Baum, C. H., & Di Maio, A. (2000). Gartner’s security stifling online banking growth. The
four phases of eGovernment model. Gartner Brunei Times, p. 1.
B
Group, Research note. Retrieved from http:// Hosni, A. (2009, 27 November). Good response
www.gartner.com to HSBC online services. Borneo Bulletin, p. 4.
O
Borneo Bulletin. (2010, 22 October). eGov Ibrahim, K. (2007, 23 July). Size of BSB to in
L
ernment and IT usage unsatisfactory. Borneo crease 10fold. The Brunei Times, p. 1.
Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.brudirect.
com/index.php/ 2010102131687/FirstStories/e Kifle, H., & Low, K. C. P. (2009). eGovernment
G
Governmentandit usageunsatisfactory.html implementation and leadership – The Brunei case
study. Electronic . Journal of EGovernment, 7,
I
Brinkerhoff, D. W., & Crosby, B. L. (2002). 271–282. Retrieved from www.ejeg.com
Managing policy reform: concepts and tools for
G
decision makers in developing and transition Low, K. C. P., Rahman, M. H., Almunawar, M. N.,
I
countries. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press. Mohiddin, F., & Ang, S.L. (2010). Core values,
egovernment implementation and its progress
Brunei EGovernment National Centre. (2010). in Negara Brunei Darussalam. eleader CASA:
Retrieved October 12, 2010, from http://www. Chinese American Scholars’ Association 4 6
egnc.gov.bn/ Pages/default.aspx website January 2010, Singapore.
EGovernment Media. (2009, November 7). The Mahizhnan, A., & Andiappan, A. (2002). E
progress of egovernment initiatives in Brunei government – The Singapore case study. Tamil
Darussalam. Borneo Bulletin, 67. Internet 2002, California, USA. Retrieved from
Government of Brunei Darussalam. (2009). The http://www.infitt.org/ti2002/ papers/60ARUN.
egovernment strategic plan 20092014 Brunei PDF
Darussalam.
374
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
Mohiddin, F. (2007). Information Systems success United Nations Development Programme

in Brunei: The impact of organisational structure (UNDP). (2001). Creating a development dy
and culture. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Curtin namic. Final report of the digital opportunity
University of Technology. initiative.
F
Mohiddin, F., & Low, K. C. P. (2008). Egov West, D. M. (2004). eGovernment and the
ernment & national culture – The way forward. transformation of service delivery and citizen
Human resources compendium: Current global attitudes. Public Administration Review, 64(1),
O
trends in HR best practices. Civil Service Institute, 15–27. doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2004.00343.x
Brunei, 27 – 28 August 2008.
O
Rahman, M. H., & Naz, R. (2006). Digital divide
within society: An account of poverty, community ADDITIONAL READING
R
and egovernance in Fiji. ELearning, Special Is
sue on Models For Bridging Digital Divide, 3(3). Basu, S. (2004). Egovernment and developing
P
Retrieved from http://www.wwwords.co.uk/elea/ countries: An overview. International Review of
content/pdfs/3/issue3_3.asp Law Computers & Technology, 18(1), 109–132.
L
doi:10.1080/13600860410001674779
Said Ya’akub, I. (2007, 4 December). Be single
minded to succeed. The Brunei Times, p. 1. Bovaird, T. (2003). Egovernment and egover
A
nance: Organisational implications, options and
Singapore, I. D. A. (2007). Singapore scores for dilemmas. Public Policy and Administration,
B
eGovernment effectiveness. iN SG, Sep 2007. 18(2), 37–56. doi:10.1177/095207670301800204
Retrieved September 12, 2008, from http://www.
ida.gov.sg/InSG/ Sep07/egov.html Carlitz, R. D., & Gunn, R. W. (2002). Online
O
rulemaking: A step toward egovernance. Gov
Stewart, J., & Ayres, R. (2001). The public policy
L
ernment Information Quarterly, 19(4), 389–405.
process . In Aulich, C., Halligan, J., & Nutley, S. doi:10.1016/S0740624X(02)001181
(Eds.), Australian handbook of public sector man
G
agement. Crows Nest, Australia: Allen and Urwin. Cho, Y. H., & Choi, B. (2005). Egovernment to
combat corruption: The case of Seoul metropoli
I
UNESCO. (2007). Statistics: Education in tan government. International Journal of Public
Brunei Darussalam. Retrieved November 10, Administration, 27(10), 719–735. doi:10.1081/
G
2009, from http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/ PAD200029114
I
TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId= 121&IF_
Language=eng&BR_Country=960 Ciborra, C., & Navarra, D. D. (2005). Good
governance, development theory, and aid policy:
United Nations. (2010). Global egovernment Risks and challenges of egovernment in Jordan.
development report 2010. New York, NY: United Information Technology for Development, 11(2),
Nations Public Administration Program. Retrieved 141–159. doi:10.1002/itdj.20008
from www.unpan.org/egovkb
Coe, A., Paquet, G., & Roy, J. (2001). E
United Nations (2010). United Nations eGovern governance and smart communities. Social
ment survey 2010: Leveraging eGovernment at Science Computer Review, 19(1), 80–93.
a time of financial and economic crisis. doi:10.1177/089443930101900107
375
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
Evans, D., & Yen, D. C. (2006). Egovernment: Mälkiä, M., Anttiroiko, A., & Savolainen, R.
evolving relationship of citizens and government, (2004). eTransformation in governance: New
domestic, and international development. Gov directions in government and politics. Hershey,
ernment Information Quarterly, 23(2), 207–235. PA: Idea Group Inc (IGI).
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2005.11.004
F
Marche, S., & McNiven, J. D. (2009). Egovern
Garson, G. D. (2006). Public Information Technol ment and egovernance: The future isn’t what it
ogy and egovernance: Managing the virtual state. used to be. Canadian Journal of Administrative
O
Mississauga, Canada: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Sciences / Revue Canadienne des Sciences de
l’Administration, 20(1), 7486.
GilGarcia, J. R., & MartinezMoyano, I. J. (2007).
O
Understanding the evolution of egovernment: Moon, M. J., Welch, E. W., & Wong, W. (2005).
The influence of systems of rules on public sector What drives global egovernance? An exploratory
R
dynamics. Government Information Quarterly, study at a macro level. Hawaii International Con
24(2), 266–290. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.04.005 ference on System Sciences (vol. 5, p. 131). Los
P
Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society.
Heeks, R., & Bailur, S. (2007). Analyzing e
government research: Perspectives, philosophies, MorenoJiménez, J. M., & Polasek, W. (2005).
L
theories, methods, and practice. Government Infor Embedding into our lives: New opportunities
mation Quarterly, 24(2), 243–265. doi:10.1016/j. and challenges of the Internet. London, UK: Jons
A
giq.2006.06.005 and Barlett.
B
Jho, W. (2005). Challenges for egovernance: Peristeras, V., & Tarabanis, K. (2004). Governance
protests from civil society on the protection of enterprise architecture (GEA): Domain models for
privacy in egovernment in Korea. International egovernance. In Proceedings of the 6th Interna
O
Review of Administrative Sciences, 71(1), 151– tional Conference on Electronic Commerce (pp.
L
166. doi:10.1177/0020852305051690 471479). Delft, The Netherlands: ACM.
Justice, J. B., Melitski, J., & Smith, D. L. (2006). Pina, V., Torres, L., & Acerete, B. (2007). Are
G
Egovernment as an instrument of fiscal ac ICTs promoting government accountability? A
countability and responsiveness. American Re comparative analysis of egovernance develop
I
view of Public Administration, 36(3), 301–322. ments in 19 OECD countries. Critical Perspectives
doi:10.1177/0275074005283797 on Accounting, 18(5), 583–602. doi:10.1016/j.
G
cpa.2006.01.012
I
Kolsaker, A., & LeeKelley, L. (2008). Citi
zens’ attitudes towards egovernment and e Rose, R. (2005). A global diffusion model of
governance: A UK study. International Journal egovernance. Journal of Public Policy, 25(1),
of Public Sector Management, 21(7), 723–738. 5–27. doi:10.1017/S0143814X05000279
doi:10.1108/09513550810904532
Saxena, K. (2005). Towards excellence in
Leung, L. W., Fung, A. Y. H., & Lee, P. S. N. (2008). egovernance. International Journal of Pub
Embedding into our lives: New opportunities and lic Sector Management, 18(6), 498–513.
challenges of the Internet. Hong Kong: Chinese doi:10.1108/09513550510616733
University Press.
376
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
Schmid, B., StanoevskaSlabeva, K., & Tsc KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
hammer, V. (2001). Towards the esociety: E
commerce, ebusiness, and egovernment. New Core Values: Blend of morals, ethics and prin
York, NY: Kluwer Academic Pblishers. ciples that shape a national culture. Core values
are also the key beliefs and convictions reflected
F
Schware, R., & Deane, A. (2003). Deploying by a society to achieve its collective goals.
egovernment programs: The strategic im Culture: Shaped by the core values of a society,
portance of “I” before “E . Info, 5(4), 10–19. it is the way a society behaves that determines how
O
doi:10.1108/14636690310495193 things ought to be shared amongst the people. It
Stoltzfus, K. (2005). Motivations for implement is a set of core values held by people.
O
ing egovernment: An investigation of the global eGovernment: It refers to the use of informa
phenomenon. In Proceedings of the 2005 National tion and communication technology, especially
R
Conference on Digital Government Research the Internet and the Web technology in running
(pp. 333338). Atlanta, GA: Digital Government government activities in relation with government
P
Society of North America. stakeholders.
Governance: It implies accountability and
Streib, G., & Navarro, I. (2006). Citizen demand
L
transparency to promote people’s welfare by
for interactive egovernment. American Re empowering and engaging them in development
view of Public Administration, 36(3), 288–300.
A
process.
doi:10.1177/0275074005283371 Implementation: It means developing appro
B
Tolbert, C. J., & Mossberger, K. (2006). The ef priate systems, structures and tactics for putting
fects of egovernment on trust and confidence in strategies into practice
government. Public Administration Review, 66(3), Information and Communication Technolo
O
354–369. doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2006.00594.x gies (ICTs): Tools used to produce, store, process,
L
distribute and exchange information. The modern
Torres, L., Pina, V., & Acerete, B. (2006). E ICTs include computers, satellite, wireless tech
governance developments in European Union nology and the Internet. These different tools are
G
cities: Reshaping government’s relationship with now able to work together and combine to form
citizens. Governance: An International Journal
I
the ‘networked world’ which reaches into every
of Policy, Administration and Institutions, 19(2), corner of the globe – allowing remote communi
277–302. doi:10.1111/j.14680491.2006.00315.x ties to become integrated.
I G
Unette Sealy, W. (2003). Empowering develop Public Policy: A multilayered political
ment through egovernance: creating smart com process involving contestation over the agenda
munities in small island states. The International (or ‘problem formulation’), over procedure, and
Information & Library Review, 35(24), 335–358. resource mobilization and access, and as engaging
doi:10.1016/S10572317(03)000201 a variety of actors (Harriss, 2001).
Welch, E. W., Hinnant, C. C., & Moon, M. J.

(2005). Linking citizen satisfaction with e ENDNOTE
government and trust in government. Journal
of Public Administration: Research and Theory, 1
The main aim of the 2010 UN Global e
15(3), 371–391. doi:10.1093/jopart/mui021 Government Readiness survey is to assess
377
:;<$=")%."%1+,$8*#9+0.A8"."%1/1*$%+*%+F)(%"*
192 UN member states in terms of their use countries out of 192 UN member states in
of information and communication tech the 2010 eGovernment Development Index
nologies to serve and interact with citizens. are Republic of Korea, USA, Canada, UK
The overall index includes a web measure and Northern Ireland, Netherlands, Norway,
index, a telecommunication infrastructure Denmark, Australia, Spain and France.
F
index and a human capital index. The top 10
O O
P R
A L
OB
G L
G I
I
378
379
Chapter 19
Elucidating Online Structure
for Democratic Legitimacy:
O F
O
Case of Local Government Online
Structure in Java-Indonesia
Djoko Sigit Sayogo
P
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA R
L
Taewoo Nam
A
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA
B
ABSTRACT
This study explores the impact of online communicative structures in local government Web disclosure
O
on democratic legitimacy, after the implementation of egovernment in Java, Indonesia, as a result of
L
recent bureaucratic decentralization. Being at a very early stage in the egovernment initiative, the
analysis of 78 local government websites in Indonesia reveals that local government online structures
G
present certain aspects of democratic and interactive appearance. However, the levels of democratized
N132*123'=2).832)'<#=81'.132*8G3.&1,'8*2'*2,3*.G32)I'(<2,2'*2,3*.G3.&1,'*2J2G3'3<2'2*8).G83.&1'&5',21,.3.+2'
I
information, a low level of responses to citizens’ solicitations, and disclosure of selective information in
local government websites. This chapter suggests that restriction on local government online structure
G
.,')#2'3&'3<2'B&+2*1=213S,'58+&*'&5'=&*2'G&13*&772)'=2).8'.132*8G3.&1'.1J#21G2)'64'3<2'2=62))2)'8#
I
thoritarian political culture due to many years of institutionalization. In a sense, websites merely function
as a symbol of government legitimacy and power over citizens through media technology, which could
suggest local government manipulation of democratization processes.
INTRODUCTION from the actorstructure approach, in which the

relationship is reciprocal. In other words, actors
The process of democratization and the struggle affect the structure, and structures may also af
for democracy have been longstanding issues in fect the actors (Uhlin, 1995). The creation of
Indonesian politics. Uhlin (1995) asserts that the structure can restrict or support actions between
study of the democratic process can be approached actors involved in the promoting or demoting of
democracy between the government and citizens.
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch019 The influence of structure on democracy is evi
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
dent in Indonesia’s process of democratization, legitimacy. One important aspect of democratic

from the authoritarian and antidemocratic style legitimacy is the deliberation mechanism among
of Suharto’s New Order, to the recent transitional actors of democracy that requires the linkage of
period of reformation political decisions to citizens’ preferences (citizens
In the New Order era, the Indonesian govern participation) on the input side and the ability to
F
ment imposed their political order and legitimacy produce an effective outcome (accountability) on
by structuring and controlling society’s commu the output side (Barnard, 2003).
O
nication process. During Suharto’s 32 years of Nevertheless, several caveats might inhibit the
sovereignty, his regime always maintained strict development of democratic legitimacy in Indone
media censorship by controlling the flow of infor sia, regardless of the introduction of egovernment.
O
mation to citizens (Sen & Hill, 2000). In addition, First, the embedded patrimonial culture and social
a centralized government structure has resulted norms might favor authoritarian styles. The patri
R
in fewer challenges to the state rules and political monial culture in Indonesia dated far back in the
order in Indonesia. The structure has nurtured an historical existence of Indonesia. Until recently,
P
embedded system that restricts and discourages authoritarianism has also manifested in the norms
the citizens’ involvement in governance, thus practiced in Indonesian social interaction. For
L
delimiting the democratic process. instance, Indonesian youth must respect, obey,
The occurrence of major breakthroughs in the and never question their elders. During the 1950s
A
form of disruption of government communication until ca. 1957, Indonesia experienced a period of
controls, during the transitional period of political parliamentary democracy, which proved to be a
B
reformation, and with the reintroduction of the negative experience. This period was characterized
Internet in the 1990’s, are regarded as major deter by conflicts, instability, and chaos (Uhlin, 1995).
minants in the overthrowing of Suharto’s regime Hence, it is essential to examine the magnitude of
O
in 1998 (Hachigian and Wu, 2003). The collapse egovernment’s impact on asserting democratic
L
of the authoritarian style of governance was also legitimacy.
reinforced by the adoption of a decentralization Therefore, this study aims to explore the extent
of government structure in 2001. The liberaliza of the online structure of the local government’s
G
tion of communication patterns in Indonesia was web disclosure practices in Indonesia, and the
I
further strengthened through the enactment of the impact on democratic legitimacy of local govern
egovernment Development Framework enacted ments. The online structure is a configuration that
G
by Presidential decree No. 3 of 20031. The primary facilitates social, personal, religious, and political
I
goal of this decree was to enhance government action. It is comprised of a set of online features
transparency through interaction and communi such as links, participation features, html pages
cation and to assure government accountability and texts that enable users to interact and act (Ji
through information sharing and dissemination. ang & Xu, 2009; Schneider & Foot, 2002, 2004).
The introduction of egovernment has altered It has been argued that the use of Internet could
the relationship between the actors of democ democratize politics by obtaining a greater number
racy, particularly regarding communication. of citizen participants (Schneider & Foot, 2002).
The proponents of egovernment assert that its The questions to be answered in this study are: to
implementation would improve information what extent would egovernment implementation
sharing and citizen participation. Frequent in change the communication structure between lo
teraction between citizens and their government cal government and the citizens of Indonesia? Are
would positively affect the citizen’s level of trust, citizens able to generate opinions and attitudes that
which is an essential component for democratic will affirm or challenge the affairs of state? Is the
380
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
local government able to promote democratic le BACKGROUND INFORMATION

gitimacy in Indonesia through the design, control,
and filter of their online structure? Internet Potential in Indonesia
In the context that egovernment is a very
recent initiative of government reform and the Indonesia was first introduced to the Internet in
F
fact that authoritarian and patrimonial culture has the 1980’s though it was limited to prestigious
been embedded for years of institutionalization universities only. However, due to a lack of com
O
in Indonesia, this study’s primary contribution is munication infrastructure, the development was
to project the possibility for government to retain forestalled (Hill, 2003; Lim, 2003; Sen & Hill,
social control by manipulating the online structure 2000). Indonesia was reconnected to the global
O
of their website. It supports the argument that internet in the 1990’s (Hill, 2003; Minges, 2001).
the embedded political and cultural environment According to Internet World Stats, the growth
R
affects the participatory nature and potential use of Internet permeation rate in Indonesia has not
of technology. Thus technology, per se, is not the increased very rapidly, from 1.0% in 2000 up to
P
major determinant in restructuring governance; 10.5% in 2008.
it is conditional to the existing cultural, organi This slow permeation rate does not mean
L
zational, and political context that characterizes that the number of Internet users in Indonesia is
the nation. small. It is difficult to measure the actual number
A
The findings from the analysis suggest that of Internet users in Indonesia (Hachigian & Wu,
being at the early stage of egovernment initiative, 2003; Hill, 2003) because although Internet per
B
local government online structure is restricted meation is low, users usually share their passwords
on promoting democratic legitimacy due to the and accounts. Thus, one account can be used by
government’s favor to more controlled media multiple users (Hachigian & Wu, 2003). In ad
O
interaction influenced by the authoritarian politi dition, the emergence of Internet kiosks (usually
L
cal culture. The high percentage of information called as Warnet) as new business ventures has
disclosed on the website and the availability of increased public access to the Internet (Hachigian
several online features and tools available to solicit & Wu, 2003; Hill, 2003; Minges, 2001; Sen &
G
citizens’ opinions, personal views, and input on Hill, 2000). In fact, accessing the Internet through
I
the local government website signify an effort to Internet kiosks is considered a direct form of
promote local government democratic legitimacy. social contact because the users usually share a
G
On the other hand, several factors have emerged booth. Internet kiosks not only become a place
I
which suggest restrictions on the democratic to access Internet, but also provide a chance to
legitimacy of local government and the influ interact with other Internet kiosk users or hang
ence of authoritarian tendencies. First, there is a out with friends (Lim, 2003).
disproportionate amount of nonsensitive informa As for infrastructure, lowcost access to in
tion disclosure, such as news, economic growth, formation technology is rapidly developing and
and other macroeconomic reports, compared to spreading by way of Internet kiosks, village CTCs
the amount of sensitive financial information (community technology centers), and mobile
related to budget and balance sheets. Second, the phones. Internet Kiosks have become especially
discourses of citizen complaints mark their reluc popular and in an effort to connect villages, they
tance to openly express disagreement for fear of have been implemented, in a very short time, in
repercussions. Third, low levels of response and several areas. 43% of internet users access the
feedback from government signify exclusion of web from Internet kiosks (Minges, 2001). For
citizens from local political processes. only twenty cents USD per hour, Internet kiosks
381
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
have become a most costeffective means to ac Indonesia at that time), which was comprised of
cess the Internet. Recently, the government has government institutions, academia, and private
also established free Information Access Cafes sectors. The NTCT served as a coordination team
to reduce the disparity of information access to analyze and anticipate the impact of information
(Astuti, 2009). According to BRTI (Indonesian and communication technology in Indonesia. This
F
Telecommunication Regulation Agency), in 2007, decree was later renewed with presidential decree
the number of mobile phone users and owners in no. 50 of 2000 (RoesSetiyadi, 2004; Salahuddin
O
Indonesia was approximately 80 million, which & Rusli, 2005).
was around 34% of the total population that year. The progressive development of information
Moreover, efforts have been made by the and communication technology further prompted
O
government, private sectors and NGOs (non the government to establish the Ministry of In
governmental organizations) to connect villages formation and Communication in 2001. Subse
R
to the Internet. By 2009, the government planned quently, in April of the same year, the President
to connect 31,000 villages to the Internet and in enacted Presidential decree no. 6 of 2001. This
P
2010, another 46,000 villages in Indonesia are decree contains a fiveyear National Information
projected to be connected (Adi, 2009). Internet and Communication Technology Action Plan for
L
has also become accessible even in rural villages Indonesia. Hence, this is the first milestone of the
through CTC. CTC is a cooperative program introduction of egovernment in Indonesia and the
A
consisting of the private sector’s corporate so first formalized plan of information and commu
cial responsibility, philanthropists, and NGOs nication technology development in Indonesia.
B
to provide information technology, community This action plan was further strengthened with
development, and Internet access to people living the ratification of egovernment Development
in rural areas (Formasi, 2007). Framework through Presidential decree No. 3/
O
2003, which served as an umbrella for the whole
L
eGovernment Development detailed technical policy regarding egovernment
in Indonesia in Indonesia. The important objectives of Presi
dential Decree No. 3 of 2003 are: 1) the accom
G
Information and communication technology sup plishment of government institution transparency
I
port for government operation in Indonesia began through interaction and communication; 2) the
at the national level with the declaration of Nus assurance of government accountability achieve
G
antara21 in 1998. Nusantara21 is the Indonesian ment through output and product dissemination;
I
government’s information superhighway project and 3) the attainment of citizens involvement in
that will develop a technology infrastructure and sharing information with the government institu
telecommunications network throughout the 27 tion (Presidential decree No. 3/ 2003).
Indonesian provincial capitals and 4,000 sub After the enactment of Presidential decree No.
districts (Rahmaniar, 1998). 3 of 2003, the adoption of egovernment by local
Following the declaration, the elected president governments in Indonesia has soared. In 2003,
in 1999 enacted presidential decree No. 22. This almost 75% of local government websites were
political decision anticipated the information established. There are 325 websites out of 438 local
and communication technology convergence governments (province/regencies/municipalities)
phenomena and its impact on Indonesia. Presi in Indonesia. However, it appears that this situa
dential decree No. 22 legalized the formation tion was affected mostly by peer pressure. None
of the National Telematics Coordination Team of the local governments want to be regarded as
(egovernment was referred to as ‘telematics’ in unsophisticated and lagging behind other local
382
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
governments. This is evidenced with various & Wu, 2003; L. Wong, 2002). As in the case of
ineptness, such as incorrect domain names and Indonesia, the mission to overthrow an authori
websites that are underconstruction (Insa, 2003). tative regime progresses with students’ ability to
In 2004, the Information and Communica distribute and disseminate sensitive information
tion Agency under the Ministry of Information about government abuses of human rights.
F
and Communication conducted a survey of local The Internet provides the opportunity to
government websites. After previous hype, the speak and create a distinct identity (Hill & Sen,
O
percentage of local government websites was 2005) which facilitates political discussion and
declining. In 2004 only around 48%, 224 out of discourse. The ability to construct a set of distinct
the existing 470, local governments in Indonesia identities or even anonymity provides means
O
owned a website. Of this number, roughly 90% for avoiding repercussion. The function of the
(201 websites) were working, while around 10% Internet in providing a space to express critique,
R
(23 websites) were underconstruction2. Neverthe expectation, grief, and frustration on politics and
less, following the 2004 survey, fewer or limited government administrations is achieved through
P
investigations have been conducted regarding the the mediation of mailing lists, blogs, virtual social
development of local government websites. Only a networks, and hacking (Hill, 2002).
L
very limited number of outdated articles examine There are several benefits for political parties
the implementation of egovernment in Indonesia. to use the Internet. Since political parties can dis
A
close a larger quantity of information in a more
Internet and Politics in Indonesia cost efficient manner (Gomez, 2004), the Internet
B
has provided the means for creating awareness,
The case of Indonesian political reformation in providing insight, and changing their political
1997 is used to illustrate the importance of the public image, as is evidenced in the Golkar case
O
Internet as information sources that affect the in the 2004 election (Tomsa, 2007). Thus, it is
L
political dynamics of a nation. With the intro the perfect media for a political party to use as
duction of the Internet, the students and activists part of their campaign. Finally, since the Internet
found new sources of information. There are induces higher information transparency, it could
G
four characteristics that make Internet a perfect subsequently encourage greater accountability
I
and essential media tool to nurture democracy (Kudo, 2008; la Porte, Demchak, & de Jong,
in Indonesia during 1997. These characteristics 2002; Pina, Torres, & Acerete, 2007; West, 2004;
G
are: 1) Internet is free from censorship from the W. Wong & Welch, 2004). For example, citizen
I
authoritarian government (Hill & Sen, 2005; Lim, and political abuses are easily reported and cir
2003; Winters, 2002), 2) Internet has a larger global culated which causes the government to be more
reach, 3) Internet operates in timely manner, and 4) prudent in their actions. Within hours of the 1994
Internet provides local details (Sen & Hill, 2000). murder of female labor activists being posted to a
The Internet has also proved to be a suitable mailing list, protests and complaints flooded the
tool for coordination, particularly in a geographi Indonesian government (Hachigian & Wu, 2003;
cally spreadout country such as Indonesia. The L. Wong, 2002).
ability of students and activists to integrate and
coordinate with their counterparts in other areas
of the country is highly facilitated and mediated
by the Internet (Winters, 2002). The Internet has
made the distribution of criticism, protest and
dissent easier and farther reaching (Hachigian
383
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
LITERATURE REVIEW right to regulate Internet use and appearance.

Early efforts by the Chinese Communist Party
Online Structure, Democracy, sanctioned a systematic regulation of the Internet
and Legitimacy to limit the possibility of challenges to political
and social control by means of the Internet (Zhou,
F
Online structure is a compilation of online fea 2004). Various features provided on the govern
tures such as links, image, participation features, ment website have the potential to facilitate and
O
and html pages and texts that enable users to act also inhibit communication and subsequently,
and interact (Jiang & Xu, 2009), and which has democratic legitimacy.
potential to facilitate social and political action However, it is also argued that the ability
O
(Schneider & Foot, 2004). According to Resnick, of government to manage their online structure
in the early initiation of the net, the cyberspace evolved along with time and experience of govern
R
using textbased technology provided space for ment technology use and it is affected by several
individualistic, unstructured, freeflowing politics institutional factors. Typical reform in govern
P
and discussion (Resnick, 1998). The institution of ment policies do not occur through revolutionary
the World Wide Web has transformed cyberspace transformation but rather, evolve gradually (West,
L
by providing structures that facilitate social, spiri 2004). As such, the government’s ability to provide
tual, personal, and political action (Schneider & interactivity and promote democratic legitimacy is
A
Foot, 2004), and creating greater opportunities for also affected by time and government experience
sophisticated and politically skilled individuals of egovernment. The adoption of a more sophis
B
(Resnick, 1998). Given cyberspace is organized in ticated design that could reflect egovernment’s
a formal web presentation structure equipped with potential to promote democracy develops gradu
various web features. It promotes and mediates ally as the government gains more experience (Ho,
O
the ability to express personal views and facilitate 2002). The study of egovernment development in
L
extensive discourse (Foot, 2006). The political United States cities and municipalities found that
experience on the web is no longer arranged in a egovernment developed through different stages,
freeflowing and unstructured political discussion; and that participatory features of egovernment are
G
rather, it has been replaced by formally arranged developed in the later stages (Moon, 2002; West,
I
web structure (Resnick, 1998). 2004). Yet, West (2004) also argued that govern
This online structure creates dual impacts. On ment web sites do not necessarily go through these
G
the one hand, the various facilities and features stages sequentially; he asserts that sequencing is
I
that form the arrangement of the web are able to evidenced in the scope of the United States study.
facilitate different forms of communication and In the framework of the study conducted in the
political participation, such as forums, online U.S., the most advanced stages of egovernment
discussions, and complaint boxes (Jiang & Xu, development are the edemocracy or participa
2009), hence enhancing democratic legitimacy. tory stages. In his 2004 study, West asserts that
Contrastingly, this structure and format could also government agencies are more concerned with
limit the degree of political freedom and move service delivery, and progress toward features
ment (Resnick, 1998). Online communication can that enhance democracy lag behind (West, 2004).
be constrained by the design of web presentation Welch and Fulla argued that “interactivity is a
(Noveck, 2003). The restriction due to the design dynamic process that affects communicators’
of online representation might affect the quality perceptions and behaviors over time” (Welch and
and outcome of citizen participation (Jiang & Fulla, 2005). There are various institutional factors
Xu, 2009). In addition, the government has the that might affect egovernment development and
384
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
the ability to promote democratization through communication process will facilitate creation of a
increased interactivity. One of the most important representative citizen environment favorable to the
factors identified in the U.S. study is the promi acceptance of state’s political order as legitimate
nent influence of financial constraint (Ho, 2002; (Lynch, 1999). Moreover, the deliberation between
West, 2004, Moon & Norris, 2005), complexity of the participants (governmentstakeholders) that is
F
environment, such as size of cities (Moon, 2002), able to balance between citizen participation and
citizens demand (Moon & Norris, 2005), racial performance will signify that the government is
O
diversity and immigrants (Tolbert, Mossberger, & democratically legitimate (Barnard, 2003). Vari
McNeal, 2008), and technical and organizational ous features that construct the government web
capabilities (Moon & Norris, 2005). In addition, structure provide additional tools for the gov
O
the operationalization of eparticipation, such ernment in creating the online environment and
as processing citizens’ responses, requires an conditions for political action that are beneficial
R
increased level of resources, expertise, and effort to maintaining democratic legitimacy. Online
(Welch & Fulla, 2005). structure provides an opportunity for the gov
P
In addition to the above mentioned institutional ernment to create an appropriate communication
factors, and the influence of time and experience, platform that could balance the need for citizens’
L
the development of democratic legitimacy is also participation and government accountability. The
dependent on the embedded values, political government will have discretion in creating an
A
system, and culture. Legitimacy is subjective to online structure that could depict and demonstrate
acceptance by the actors in that it is a matter of conditions that are beneficial for the maintenance
B
the participants’ belief in the guaranteed stabil of their democratic legitimacy. These conditions
ity of a social relationship (Pakulski, 1986), and are attainable through the disclosure of govern
maintenance of the idea that the ruling political ment accountability and provisions for features
O
institution is the right and proper institution to to enable citizens’ participation.
L
govern (Lipset, 1959). Thus, the subjective ac
ceptance of actors and the social relationship
between them is closely related to the embedded RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
G
value system and culture. The compatibility of the
I
political institution’s values and primary values This research only examines websites of regen
held by citizens will determine the legitimate or cies and municipalities in Indonesia. In the case
G
illegitimate status of a political institution (Lipset, of Indonesia, the municipal websites are created
I
1959). For instance, in Javanese culture, legitimacy for the purpose of serving municipal affairs in
is associated with a relationship model of social which each agency does not own an individual
interaction between individuals. It is depicted website or pages in the municipal websites or
through symbols, ceremonies, and regalia to links that connect to the agency page. The sample
demonstrate accumulation of power (Andersen, of this research is 78 regencies and municipali
1990). Hence, legitimacy is sustained by political ties’ websites out of 82 total local governments
responsiveness, democratic arrangement, and gov in East, Central, and West Java provinces of
ernment performance and accountability (Peters Indonesia. Four local governments are excluded
& Pierre, 2006; Weatherford, 1992). because their websites were still under construc
Likewise, sustaining legitimacy depends on tion during the time of this study. This research
government responsiveness, which means making will analyze the main page, the menu items on the
public participation an accessible option (Weather main page, and the link on the second level web
ford, 1992). The government’s ability to control the page. The local governments’ websites analyzed
385
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
in this research only have one link per web page. The provision of tools for consultation refers to the
This selection of local government in Java is availability of tools used to solicit citizen opinions,
based on the justification that Java is by far the personal views, and input, such as online polls,
most advanced province in Indonesia in terms chat rooms, instant messaging, email, forum, and
of telecommunication infrastructure. According other interactive tools. The decision relates to the
F
to PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, tbk., which is willingness of government to take the input and
the largest network provider in Indonesia, in De opinions into consideration. This decision refers
O
cember 2008 the number of fixedline networks to the availability of government feedback and
in Java was 20,634,937, representing 70.32% of decisions related to the petition lodge by citizens.
total networks in Indonesia3. Researchers col
O
lected domain names of local governments from
the directory of the Directorate General of Fiscal RESULT AND DISCUSSION
R
Balance, with additional help from search engines
such as: Google or Yahoo. Search engines are used The Interactivity of Local
P
because local governments change their domain Government’s Online
names and the links in the Directorate General of Disclosure Structure
L
Fiscal Balance are not regularly updated.
The instrument for evaluating democratic The majority of local governments in Indonesia
A
implication of local government online structure use their web presence as oneway communica
is developed and adapted from the UN ePartici tion/messaging. Local governments focus more
B
pation framework4 and previous research in web on influencing public opinion rather than enabling
disclosure (Pina et al., 2007; Schneider & Foot, public deliberation. The most prevalent structure
2002; Torres, Pina, & Acerete, 2005; UNPAN, initiated by local government in Indonesia is fa
O
2008). This instrument consists of two compo cilitating information gathering for information
L
nents, namely eInformation and eConsultation seekers/citizens. All of the local governments used
& Decision. The coding for this instrument uses their website principally as an online brochure.
dichotomous measures to identify the existence or The majority of local government websites are
G
nonexistence of particular information and fea disclosing nonsensitive information (refer to
I
tures. ‘0’ value is assigned if particular information Figure 1), such as the disclosure of government
and/or features is absent from the web interface. activities and achievement (95%), news and press
G
EInformation refers to the disclosure of releases (86%), development of macroeconomic
I
information related to the biographical informa conditions (86%), laws and regulations (70%),
tion of elected officials (Mayor & Vicemayor), and structure and agency job specifications (73%).
government structure, policies and programs, Despite the increase in transparency, other
contact information, budget, law and regulations, crucial and essential information regarding finan
and other public interest information. Citizens cial issues is not widely apparent. Disclosure of
seeking information is the first step in political financial information on the local government
action. Therefore, the ability of the government to website is less than 40%, such as budget and its
provide means for information gathering through comparison with realization (27%), classification
the disclosure on the website is the first indication of expenditure based on objects (25%), and clas
of political action. sification of revenue based on objects (33%)
EConsultation & Decision is the provision (Figure 2). Classification of objects refers to the
of tools for consultation and the indication of classification of cost for a particular objective,
government commitment to citizen participation. such as health, education, etc. In addition, none
386
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
Figure 1. Disclosure on government achievement
O F
R O
Figure 2. Financial statement disclosure
L P
B A
LO
I G
I
sheet).
G
of the local governments disclosed information
related to the statement of wide activities (balance
The website has been established to create a

sures serve to create a symbolic message that the
government is working and they are successfully
accomplishing tasks. This structure is used to
augment government success and power. Uhlin
representative environment necessary to augment (1995) argues that the exhibition of success and
the government’s legitimacy. There is high dis performance is one justification for holding
closure regarding program development (95%) power (Uhlin, 1995). The exhibition of accumu
and macroeconomic target achievement through lated power is a major determinant of legitimacy
news and press releases (85%). The high disclo in Indonesian patrimonial culture (Andersen,
sure on achievement suggests that online disclo 1990).
387
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
Figure 3. Citizens’ participation disclosure
O F
R O
The most important feature for citizen partici
L P
which represent 0.08% of the Blitar city popula
A
pation provided on local government websites are tion and 0.0001% of the total population in East
the officials’ email addresses and other contact Java (www.blitar.go.id).
B
information. 84% of local governments disclose In addition to online polls, 77% of local gov
personal contact information online, such as an ernments in Indonesia also provide web forums
O
email address (refer toFigure 3). Nevertheless, (refer to Figure 3). Unlike online polls, the forum
it is uncertain whether these officials will reply topics are less controlled, and the forum format
L
and respond to the inquiry. In this onetomany allows users to post new topics and comment on
communication structure, the level of receiver each other postings. Depending on the topic, some
G
(citizens) control is relatively low. It depends on forums could attract more than one thousand posts,
the willingness and availability of government while others no more than 5 posts. For instance,
I
officials to provide a response. in the regency of Madiun, the topic that attracts
Other popular features apparent on the local most participants is ‘cangkrukan’ (http://diskusi.
G
government websites are online opinion polls. madiunkota.info/). The word ‘cangkrukan’ means
I
73% of local governments use online polls on a informal, easy, and loose conversation about
regular basis and display the results on the websites various interests, including everything from
(refer to Figure 3). The topics are diverse, from daytoday life to politics. Very few (13%) pro
the website’s ease of use to some level of citizen vide online discussions regarding policy issues;
involvement in government activity. Some of the among them is forum on the quality of health care
online polls acquire hundreds of participants while service Mojokerto presented by the Regency of
other attract none. The attraction level on local Mojokerto in October of 2008 (refer to Figure
government websites is quite low. To illustrate, 3). In spite of the open nature of online forums,
the online poll conducted by the regency of Blitar some local governments control its accessibility
in East Java attracted 1,360 people during a 37 by requiring strict registration, full user identifi
month period from October 2006 to August 2009. cation, or rules to control opinions posted in the
Thus, on average it attracted 37 people each month, forum. The requirement of full identification for
388
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
participation is argued to be the main determinant commerce and does not regulate the freedom of
for low involvement. People in Indonesia are still opinion or citizen solicitations. As result, some
concerned with government repercussions due to local governments enact their own policies and
years of experiencing cruel authoritarian pressure in most of them, input, opinions, suggestions, and
in Suharto’s era. The social and political histories questions submitted are carefully screened, edited,
F
of Indonesia indicate the use of oppressive powers or deleted. Some local governments admit to the
and Suharto rose on the basis of political violence screening procedure (http://www.mojokertokab.
O
and maintained militarist rule by dealing with go.id) and some explicitly express their right to
political opposition in a brutal manner (Heryanto delete or edit any incoming entries (http://www.
& Mandal, 2003). lamongan.go.id), but most others did not provide
O
68% of local governments provide a complaint clear policies.
box or citizen input boxes (refer to Figure 3) which Conclusively, online participatory features
R
encourage openended questions or suggestions of local government are not without restrictions.
from the individual to the government agencies These restrictions manifested in the relatively low
P
or a particular official. This feature is supposed to level of receiver/user control, screening of infor
encourage citizens to express their disputes, criti mation with no policy to support it, and imposed
L
cisms, disagreements, or compliments to the affairs restrictions on accessibility. These restrictions
of the state or officials. In terms of composition, on usercontributed content imposed through the
A
62% provide an archive of the past complaints structure of online government presence might
or input from the citizens. The topics are varied. suggest the lack of commitment to the actual
B
Some citizens post their personal grievances while interactivity. The government provided a variety
others complain about the performance of govern of online interactivity features to represent their
ment agencies. Some local governments require support of democracy, yet the interactive aspects
O
identification (at least email address) and others and benefits of Internet features may not be fully
L
accept anonymity. Other more dynamic structures utilized in order to retain social control.
that encourage more ‘real time’ interactivity are After Suharto stepped down in 1998, the term
chat/instant messaging and text messaging. None “reform” became the most salient catchword for
G
theless, these features are less commonly found Indonesians who demanded change from authori
I
on the government online structures; chat/instant tarian government (Heryanto & Mandal, 2003)
messaging are offered on only 13% of the sites and nobody, especially no one in government,
G
while text messaging is available on only 15% wanted to be associated with the term “authori
I
(refer to Figure 3). tarian”. Thus, providing symbolic representation
Nonetheless, the interactivity of various citizen of democracy appearance can be suggestively
participation features available on local govern considered a local government effort to appeal for
ment websites is not without restriction. These legitimacy. On the other hand, institutionalization
features are mediated by the administrator or of Javanese patrimonial culture as the dominant
webmaster, which is common procedure for user culture in Indonesia (Heryanto, 2008), a negative
mediated content features. However, in the case of experience with democracy and 32 years under
Indonesia, the regulation that controls and directs authoritarian Suharto’s regime create an embedded
the process and handling of electronic informa culture that cannot be easily dismissed and perhaps
tion transactions did not exist until mid 2008 is unintentionally represented in the relationship
with the enactment of UU ITE No. 11 of 2008. between government and citizens. The next sec
Unfortunately, this regulation mainly controls tion will discuss the possible authoritarian nature
proprietary information and security of online of local government apparent in online structure,
389
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
discernible through citizens’ online discourse and As previously mentioned, 68% of local govern
the language used in interactions between govern ments provide complaint boxes or citizens input
ment and citizens. boxes to encourages openended questions or
suggestions from individuals to the government
Citizens’ Online Discourse agencies or a particular official. Citizens are en
F
and Political Deliberation couraged to express their differences of opinion,
criticisms, disagreements, or compliments to the
O
This section will explore citizen discourse posted state or its officials. However, despite the avail
online and the level of citizen involvement in the ability of options for citizen participation featured
government’s decisionmaking. Subsequently, it on the website, feedback provided by local gov
O
is argued in this chapter that in addition to the ernment is minimal. Out of 78 local governments
government capacity in terms of resources to analyzed, only 17 (22%) provided feedback in
R
manage citizens’ online participation, the dis response to the citizens’ input/suggestions/com
course reveals the possibility that authoritarian plaints (refer to Figure 4). Of this, only in 5 of
P
culture is still visible. As shown in the illustra the local governments provided feedback from
tion, citizen discourse from two municipalities, the intended public officials, while for the other
L
namely: Lumajang and Sumenep, will be used 12, the responses were given by the webmaster.
to accentuate the point. Heryanto (2008) argues The frustration concerning the lack of response
A
that Islam and Javanese culture are among the from public officials is also manifested in the
four major forces that shaped popular culture in discourse expressed by citizens online, implicitly
B
Indonesia, and consequently, affect the discourse in or explicitly.
the interaction of Indonesian people. As such, the Implicit dissent:
decision underlying the choice of these two cities
O
is based on the fact that both cities attract a large “Assalamu’alaikum wr.wb. Bapak Bupati yang
L
number of citizen comments on their websites, and terhormat, kami tetap menunggu kebijakan anda
both cities are proud of their strong attachment to selanjutkan tentang aspirasi yang kami utarakan
Islamic principles in their governance. sebelumnya”.
I G
Figure 4. Government response & feedback
I G
390
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
“Greeting, the Honorable Regent, we are still reality of the citizen’s exclusion from the local
waiting for your policy concerning our previous in political processes. Heryanto and Mandal (2003)
spiration”. (translated) / (Lumajang, 08/08/2009). suggested that in order to avoid being regarded
as undemocratic, local governments strive to pro
Explicit dissent: vide a symbolic appearance of being democratic.
F
Trapped in the middle of a paradoxical situation in
“Sepertinya percuma saja mengisi buku tamu which the demand for democracy meets a need for
O
dan forum di pemda Grobogan, Admin (pihak social control, local governments might disregard
pemda) tidak ada sama sekali. Ya minimal kasih citizens’ opinion. Nonetheless, ascertaining this
tanggapan begitu...” notion requires an indepth interview with public
O
officials in the local government, thus opening
“It seems useless to fill out the forum, administra up new venues for future research.
R
tor (government) is not available. At least they It is suggested in this article that a local govern
should provide some responses...” (translated) / ment’s tendency to attain social control and the
P
(Grobogan, 08/27/2009) possibility of persistent influence of authoritarian
ism results from the embedded historical culture
L
The high percentage of interactive features and political system in Indonesia. Years of an
available is contrasted with the low level of institutionalized value system cannot be easily
A
responses from the government. Thus, the con eradicated, particularly during the early stages of
sistency of the local government in responding to adopting egovernment. We are not arguing the
B
the citizens is still questionable. The low level of possible existence of antidemocratic culture in
responses of local government officials suggests Indonesia, but the behavioral patterns that support
two possible explanations. First, the local govern or enable authoritarianism may still exist. In addi
O
ment has limited capacity to respond to all citizen tion to the dominant Javanese values underlying
L
solicitations on the website. As evidenced from the social relations in Indonesia (Heryanto, 2009),
case in the United States, processing responses to during the 30 years of Suharto’s reign, Javanese
citizens requires increasing resources, expertise, values, norms, and traditions have been integrated
G
and effort (Welch & Fulla, 2005). Local govern into the political culture in Indonesia (Andersen,
I
ments might not have the necessary resources 1972; Uhlin, 1995). Suharto and his associates
or administrative capacity to process citizens’ asserted the important values of harmony, unity,
G
opinions. Notwithstanding that this assertion is rejection of opposition, and kinship (kekeluargaan)
I
not within the scope of this research, it opens a to solidify their power. Thus, these values were
new possible venue for future research. Future propagated to other parts of Indonesia, elevated,
research could examine the correlation of local and resulted in submissive behavior and a fear
government’s budget capacity and administrative of a repercussive attitude. This attitude of fear
capacity with citizens’ online participation. and submission is evident in the in the manner of
The second explanation argues that the features discourse posted by citizens on a local government
provided in the government website are meant to website. 57% of 695 of citizen complaints in the
create an appearance of interactivity beneficial to municipality of Lumajang, and 69% of 587 in the
the creation of an image of democratic legitimacy; municipality of Sumenep, begin their complaints/
although, egovernment is not the only source inputs/suggestions with words of apology, positive
of legitimacy and it is too early to assert that words, or complementary words. The majority
increased responses will guarantee democracy. of citizens begin their complaints/suggestions/
However, the lack of response might suggest the inputs with “I am sorry that...”, “I am apologize
391
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
Figure 5. Discourse of citizens’ complaints/inputs
O F
R O
in advance...”, “To the most honorable of...”, or
“Please kindly...”. The word “criticism” or other
L P
The diversity of colonial rule, religious, ethnic
and social composition, and indigenous politi
A
negative words, such as incapable, unsatisfied, cal traditions created a weak national identity in
late, unfinished, are rarely used. Only 15% of 587 Indonesia that has made democratic politics more
B
complaints from January 24, 2005 to August 28, difficult (Putzel, 1997). Despite the long history
2009 in the municipality of Sumenep explicitly use of colonization, Indonesia has remained marked
the word “criticism” or negative words (Figure 5). by tensions based on diverse linguistics and reli
O
gious identities (Putzel, 1997). Efforts to promote
L
Duality of Language in Online national identity were initiated in the 1920s by the
Structure Youth’s Oath in Indonesia, which resulted in the
G
effort to create a single language to unify ethnic
In addition to the manner in which citizens diversity in Indonesia. The Indonesian language
I
construct their discourse, it is argued that use of was elevated to the official language in 1945 during
language in citizen disputes supports the values Independence. The Independence was achieved
G
of harmony, rejection of opposition, and kinship, with little agreement among disjointed component
I
which was infused by Suharto’s authoritarian re of the nation, and was marked by a subsequent
gimes to curb opposition. This assertion is unique revolt (Putzel, 1997). Thus, national language, the
to Indonesia which has more than 500 different Indonesian language, is considered a reflection
local languages, and each language is used in its of a reality that transcends the hopes and fears
own way. Each of these languages employs dif of a ruling class in Indonesia (Anderson, 1990).
ferent means to express an intention (Steinhauser, Andersen (1990) argued that the duality of
1994). As such, Steinhauser (1994) asserts that languages between the national and embedded
interethnic communication in formal situations regional language represents different concepts
may be seriously hampered by unawareness of of communication. The use of the national lan
differences in language use (Steinhauser, 1994). guage as a language of politics represents high
The choice of language affects the connota minded, seriousness, authority, and morality.
tion of political communication in Indonesia. On the other hand, regional language represents
392
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
intimacy and closeness. Informal forums usually ...Madam Regent who created the vision and mis
mix Indonesian and regional languages (bahasa sion statement, should manage to get her staff to
daerah). This mixed language represents a more carry out the vision, but I see that none of [it] has
egalitarian, intimate, and malicious discussion been carried out so far!!! In making the vision
of politics (Andersen, 1990). Deviation from the and mission statement, one should consider the
F
national language in formal relations between the ability of the regency so that the vision is realistic,
government and citizens goes against the vision logical, and achievable…[translated] (xxx signed
O
of bureaucracy in Javanese culture. The ideal of on http://pekalongankab.go.id; Tuesday, 29/07/08
Javanese bureaucracy is based on order, authority, at 02.41pm).
and hierarchy (Putzel, 1997).
O
The majority of local government websites This constituent directly criticizes the Regent
(98%) use the national language to communicate by explicitly suggesting that the Regent is not
R
information on the web. Only two local govern capable of managing the staff or achieving the
ments, the regency of Garut (http://sunda.garutkab. mission. The words that he uses are harsh and he
P
go.id/) and the city of Bogor (www.kotabogor. even uses an exclamation mark to emphasize his
go.id), provide the option of using Sundanese point. The researcher acknowledges his limitation
L
language on their webpage. Only a few regional in capturing the harshness of language use when it
languages appear on the websites and only on is translated into English. Using regional language,
A
open web forums. For instance, the regency of this constituent is posing as equal to the Regent. In
Madiun, http://diskusi.madiunkota.info/ provides a local language setting, this would be an informal
B
a web forum called ‘cangkrukan’, which means conversation, such as one between friends. Hence,
informal conversation about various topics in he assumes that the harshness should be justified
cluding politics. This lack of language variation as it is justifiable to criticize a friend.
O
might signify the hesitation of local governments On the other hand, let us consider the other
L
to deviate from the deeply embedded Javanese constituent posting a personal view about the
authoritarian political culture and norms of Regent’s performance on the same date.
maintaining hierarchical bureaucracy and social
G
control as a means to perfect structured harmony. ... BU BUPATI, tugas berat menunggu IBU,
I
As asserted by Steinhauser (1994), the choice pemimpin bertanggungjawab atas nasib yang
of language and its use signifies differing attitudes. dipimpinnya ... mari ciptakan budaya bersih,
G
Two citizen solicitations using different languages, budaya transparan, budaya tertib, budaya efektif
I
and presumably from two different constituents, and efisien, agar APBD dan PAD benarbenar
are provided to illustrate the differing attitudes tepat sasaran... HIDUP IBU BUPATI
influenced by the use of different language. In
this regard, the researcher cannot ascertain the ...Madam Regent, as the leader responsible for
identity of the constituents since most websites the fate of the citizens, you are facing hard tasks...
acknowledge anonymity. lets create a clear, transparent, organized, effec
tive, and efficient culture, so that the budget is
...Bu Bupati sing duwe visi dan misi, yo mestine used on target and appropriately...Salutation to
nata jajarane kanggo mencapai visi, tapi embuh the Madam Regent [translated] (xxx, signed on
misine akeh siji bae durung katon hasile sing http://pekalongankab.go.id; Tuesday, 29/07/08
temenan!!! yo mestine gawe visi dan misi kudu at 01.38 pm).
nanting daerahe ra, ben realistis, logis dan mampu
dicapai...
393
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
The second constituent uses the national lan tized internetmediated human interactions are
guage. This citizen does not criticize the Regent restricted. This paper suggests that restriction
directly, but instead, he gives a suggestion. The on local government online structure is due
language used suggests that he does not directly to the government’s favor of more controlled
blame the Regent and instead provides his empathy media interaction influenced by the authoritar
F
by emphasizing how hard the tasks are that the ian political culture embedded through years of
Regent is facing. He differentiates himself from institutionalization.
O
the Regent and acknowledges the distinction of The adoption of technology by local govern
their positions by saluting the Regent at the end ments in Indonesia provides additional oppor
of his sentence. tunities for citizen interaction and contribution
O
This illustration demonstrates that by enforcing to politics, to a certain extent. The local govern
the use of the national language, it is easier for lo ments use websites as online brochures, provid
R
cal government to retain social control by curbing ing information regarding government activities
possible criticism and opposition. Enforcing the and accomplishments, and sometimes to make
P
use of the national language aids in the avoidance budget information, albeit a very modest amount
of criticism directed toward local government. of information, available to citizens. However,
L
Less criticism may signify success of the local gov there is a disproportionate amount of disclosure
ernment in accommodating constituents’needs. between sensitive and nonsensitive information
A
Confined within the embedded Javanese value on government websites. Despite increased trans
of harmony and after years under authoritarian parency, disclosures on crucial information related
B
political regimes, local government associates to financial subjects are minimal. This condition
criticism with failure, something they hope to contradicts with the goals of the egovernment
avoid in order to retain legitimacy. Likewise, framework initiated by Presidential decree No. 3
O
establishing the difference in attitudes associated of 2003 which assures government accountability
L
with various t use of language opens up new ven through information dissemination and sharing.
ues for further research. Future researchers could Hence, the imbalanced proportion of disclosure
provide more solid evidence through longitudinal might signify the local government’s focus on
G
evaluation in comparing citizen solicitations in influencing public opinion and retaining social
I
different languages. control. From a local perspective, the websites
were established to create a setting accessible to the
G
public that would validate government authority
I
DISCUSSION and legitimacy through the presentation of local
government performance and achievements.
This research provides preliminary assessment of Contradictory to the study of egovernment de
the democratic aspect of online local government velopment stages which assert that egovernments
structure in Indonesia. In this sense, these current develop gradually through four different phases
research findings create the opportunity for further (Ho, 2002; Moon, 2002; West, 2001), this study
research in this venue to validate and perhaps found various presence of participatory features
develop these findings. Within the context of a (email, forum, input/complain box, and online
very early stage in the egovernment initiative, polls) precedes the service delivery features.
the analysis of 78 local government websites in Suggestively, this finding indicates that the de
Indonesia reveals that local government online velopment of egovernment for Indonesian local
structures present certain aspects of democratic governments does not follow the same pattern
and interactive appearance. However, democra as egovernments in the United States or other
394
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
developed countries, as is evidenced in studies planations for this low level of responses: limited
conducted in those countries. This could be due government resources, and the provision of inter
to the demand for reform and change after the active features with an emphasis on a democratic
collapse of the authoritarian regime in 1998. The image rather than democratic functioning. Low
concept of authoritarianism, and even the word numbers of government responses could signify
F
“authoritarian” became objectionable to the point the limited capacity of local government to admin
that people in government sought out ways to ister participation by citizens. Processing citizens’
O
disassociate and distance themselves from such solicitations on the website requires a certain level
policies. This avoidable No one in government of resources, commitment, and efforts (Welch &
wanted to be associated with the term “authori Fulla, 2005), which might be lacking in Indonesia.
O
tarian” which urged local government to provide In addition, the policy that governs administration
symbolic representation of democratic features in of citizens’ online participation does not exist yet
R
an effort to appeal for legitimacy. in Indonesia. The other explanation might relate
Considering that the New Order culture had to the possibility that interactivity features are
P
been shaping the relationship between govern provided on local government websites for the
ment and Indonesian citizens for 30 years, the sole purpose of creating and image of democratic
L
existence of participatory features for citizens is legitimacy.
a major improvement and proof of a developing This study also found that the embedded values
A
relationship between Indonesian government and of harmony and rejection of opposition continue
citizens. Nonetheless, it would be too hasty to con to influence the manner in which citizens con
B
sider this as a sign of full deliberative democracy struct their discourse and the choice of language
in Indonesia. The interactivity of various citizen used in citizen complaints. These values were
participation features is not without restrictions. instilled by Suharto’s authoritarian regime to
O
These restrictions manifested in the relatively low curb opposition and were also influenced by the
L
level of receiver/user control, screening of infor dominant Javanese culture of perfect harmony
mation with no supporting policy, and imposed and avoidance of chaos.The values of harmony
restrictions on accessibility. These restrictions and rejection to opposition were propagated to
G
on usercontributed content imposed through other parts of Indonesia, elevated, and resulted in
I
the online government structure may suggest a submissive behavior and a fear of repercussions.
lack of commitment to the actual interactivity. This attitude of fear and submission is evident in
G
The interactive aspects and benefits of Internet the in the manner of discourse posted by citizens
I
features might not be fully utilized in order to on a local government website. 57% of 695 citizen
retain social control. A study of the presidential complaints in the municipality of Lumajang, and
candidates’ websites in 1996 and 1998 in the 69% of 587 citizen complaints in the municipality
United States shows that candidates avoided full of Sumenep, begin their complaints/inputs/sug
interactivity due to the concern of losing control gestions with words of apology, positive words,
of the campaign discourse and losing strategic or complementary words.
ambiguity needed in appeals to the mass audience Language choice evokes different connotations
(StomerGalley, 2000). of political communication in Indonesia. Indonesia
This study reveals that the high percentage of is a country with more than 500 different local
interactive features is contrasted with a low level languages and each employ a different connota
of responses from the government, which suggests tion and meaning (Steinhauser, 1994). Interethnic
inconsistency of local governments responding to communication in formal situations might be seri
citizen solicitations. There are two plausible ex ously hampered by unawareness of differences in
395
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
language usage (Steinhauser, 1994). The diver government’s budget and administrative capability
sity of colonial rule, religious, ethnic and social to handle online citizen participation.
composition, and indigenous political traditions Heryanto and Mandal (2003) suggested that
created a weak national identity in Indonesia that in order to avoid being regarded as undemocratic,
made democratic politics more difficult (Putzel, local governments in Indonesia strive for a sym
F
1997). Despite the long history of colonization, bolic appearance of democracy. Trapped between
Indonesia remained marked by tensions based on a demand for democracy and a historical tendency
O
distinct linguistic and religious identities (Putzel, to favor social control, the local government is in
1997). The national language, the Indonesian lan a paradoxical situation in which citizen opinions
guage, is a reflection of an effort to create a single may be discounted. Nonetheless, ascertaining this
O
language to unify the ethnically diverse people of notion requires an indepth interview with public
Indonesia. The national language is considered a officials in the local government.
R
reflection of a reality that transcends the hopes Confined within embedded Javanese values of
of unity and fears of disintegration of the ruling harmony and years under authoritarian political
P
elite in Indonesia (Anderson, 1990). regimes, local governments associate criticism
The majority (98%) of local governments use with failure, which they hope to avoid at all cost
L
the national language and less encourage the use in order to maintain legitimacy. Establishing the
of local language and dialect in their web presence change in attitudes associated with different use
A
(only 2 out of 78 local governments facilitate the of language opens up a new venue for further
use of local language in their web presence). This research. Future researchers could provide more
B
condition might signify the hesitancy of local solid evidence through longitudinal evaluations
government to deviate from using the national comparing citizen solicitations in different lan
language in their communication with citizens. guages.
O
Deviation from the national language in formal This study also has several limitations that
L
relations between the government and citizens may be addressed by future research. First, the
invokes the fear of opposition that is deeply in Internet is dynamic—constantly active and con
grained in a culture that values the Javanese ideal stantly changing—focusing observation only for
G
of perfect harmony accompanied by a hierarchical a subset of time limits the ability to analyze the
I
bureaucracy in official relationships. dynamic change of web content. Further studies
might consider analyzing the content in several
G
subsets of time. Second, a comparative study might
I
FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS provide more insight on how Indonesian practices
differ from other countries and could therefore
As a preliminary assessment of the democratic validate or refute the argument of political and
aspect of local government online structure in cultural influence on online structure.
Indonesia, the findings in this study create the
prospect for validation and developments in
future research. As is evidenced in the United CONCLUSION
States study, processing citizen responses requires
increased resources, expertise, and efforts (Welch This study explores the extent of online com
& Fulla, 2005). Local governments may not have municative structure of local government web
the necessary resources or administrative capacity disclosure practices in Indonesia and its impact
to process all citizen opinions. Future research on democratic legitimacy by analyzing 78 local
could examine the correlation between the local government websites in Java, Indonesia. This
396
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
study found that the democratic elements of lo REFERENCES

cal government online structure are not without
restriction. These restrictions manifested in the Adi, O. N. (2009). Menkominfo: Awal 2010 seluruh
eradication of sensitive information, low numbers desa terjamah internet (Minister of information:
of responses to citizen solicitations, and limited in the beginning of 2010 all of the villages will
F
disclosure of select information, suggesting the be connected to internet translated). Jakarta,
government’s favor of more controlled media Indonesia: Detik.
O
interaction. This disequilibrium of control in Andersen, B. R. O. G. (1972). The idea of power
the online relationship between government and in Javanese culture . In Holt, C., Andersen, B. R.
citizens might limit the degree of political free
O
O. G., & Siegel, J. (Eds.), Culture and politics
dom and movement (Resnick, 1998) and affect in Indonesia (pp. 1–70). Ithaca, NY: Cornell
the quality and outcome of citizen participation
R
University Press.
(Jiang & Xu, 2009).
In the case of Indonesia, arguably the favor for Andersen, B. R. O. G. (1990). Language of In
P
controlled media is influenced by authoritarian donesian politics, language power: Exploring
political culture and the dominant Javanese culture. political cultures in Indonesia. Ithaca, NY: Cornell
L
Hence, these findings support the argument that University Press.
diverse social context has the potential to direct
Astuti, R. S. (2009). 78 Warung masyarakat
A
the use of technology (Orlikowski, 2000) and em
informasi didirikan, sosialisasi kurang (trans.:
bedded political and cultural environments affect
Establishment of 78 information access cafe: lack
B
the participatory nature of technology (Sassen,
of socialization) [Electronic Version]. Kompas.
2005). Thus, technology per se is not the major
Retrieved from http://tekno.kompas.com
determinant in restructuring of governance.
O
Barnard, F. M. (2003). Democratic legitimacy:
L
Plural values and political power. California:
ACKNOWLEDGMENT McGill.
G
Foot, K. (2006). Web sphere analysis and cyber
The authors would like to thank the editors and
cultural studies . In Silver, D., & Massanari, A.
I
reviewers for their suggestions on this article.
(Eds.), Critical cyberculture studies (pp. 146–158).
Their comments helped to make this a better piece
New York, NY: NYU Press.
G
of research. The authors value the discussion on
I
the status and stratification of language in Indo Formasi. (2007). Peluncuran program community
nesia and how it might affect attitudes with Shiho technology center (Community technology center
Sawai, doctoral candidate on Indonesian studies launching transl) [Electronic Version]. FOR
at the Tokyo University of Foreign Study. The MASI News. Retrieved from http://www.formasi
authors thank the assistance of Nikki Settelmeyer indonesia.or.id/ index.php?option=com_content&
in proofreading this article. task=view&id=64&Itemid=
Gomez, J. (2004). Between freedom and censor
ship: Asian political parties in cyberspace. Paper
presented at the Liberal Institute‘s The Fate of
Liberty Human Rights and Civil Liberties in
the Age of Global Crime and Terror conference.
397
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
Hachigian, N., & Wu, L. (2003). The Information la Porte, T. M., Demchak, C. C., & de Jong, M.
revolution in Asia. Santa Monica, CA: RAND. (2002). Democracy and bureaucracy in the age
of the Web: Empirical findings and theoretical
Heryanto, A. (2008). Introduction . In Heriyanto,
speculations. Administration & Society, 34(4),
A. (Ed.), Popular culture in Indonesia: Fluid
411–446. doi:10.1177/0095399702034004004
F
identities in postauthoritarian politics. New
York, NY: Routledge Media. Lim, M. (2003). From real to virtual (and back
again): Civil society, public sphere, and the Internet
O
Heryanto, A., & Mandal, S. K. (2003). Challenging
in Indonesia . In Ho, K. C., Kluver, R., & Yang,
authoritarianism in Southeast Asia: Comparing
K. C. C. (Eds.), Asia.com: Asia encounters the
Indonesia and Malaysia. London, UK: Routledge.
O
Internet. London, UK: Routledge Curzon.
Hill, D. T. (2002). East Timor and the Internet:
Lipset, S. M. (1959). Some social requisites of
R
Global political leverage in/on Indonesia. Indo
democracy: Economic development and politi
nesia, 73, 25–51. doi:10.2307/3351468
cal legitimacy. The American Political Science
P
Hill, D. T. (2003). Plotting public participation on In Review, 53(1), 69–105. doi:10.2307/1951731
donesia’s Internet. South East Asia Research, 11(3),
Lynch, D. C. (1999). After the propaganda state:
L
297–325. doi:10.5367/000000003772657382
Media, politics, and “thought work” in reformed
Hill, D. T., & Sen, K. (2005). The Internet in China. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
A
Indonesia’s new democracy. New York, NY:
Minges, M. (2001). Kretek Internet: Indonesia
Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group.
B
case study. Geneva, Switzerland: International
Ho, A. T. K. (2002). Reinventing local govern Telecommunication Union.
ments and the egovernment initiative. Pub
O
Moon, M. J. (2002). The evolution of egovern
lic Administration Review, 62(4), 434–444.
L
doi:10.1111/00333352.00197
Insa, T. (2003, August). Lebarnya Jurang eGov doi:10.1111/00333352.00196
G
ernment (trans. Wide Disparity of eGovernment).
Moon, M. J., & Norris, D. F. (2005). Does manage
eBizzAsia, 1(10). Retrieved from http://www.
I
rial orientation matter? The adoption of reinvent
ebizzasia.com
ing government and egovernment at the municipal
G
Jiang, M., & Xu, H. (2009). Exploring online level. Information Systems Journal, 15(1), 43–60.
I
structure on Chinese government portals: Citizen doi:10.1111/j.13652575.2005.00185.x
political participation and government legitima
Noveck, B. S. (2003). Designing deliberative
tion. Social Science Computer Review, 27(2),
democracy in cyberspace: The role of the cyber
174–195. doi:10.1177/0894439308327313
lawyer. Boston University Journal of Science and
Kudo, H. (2008). Does Egovernment guarantee Technology Law, 9(1).
accountability in public sector? Experiences in
Orlikowski, W. J. (2000). Using technology
Italy and Japan. Public Administration Quarterly,
and constituting structures: A practice lens for
32(1), 93–120.
studying technology in organizations. Organi
zation Science, 11(3), 404–428. doi:10.1287/
orsc.11.4.404.14600
398
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
Pakulski, J. (1986). Legitimacy and mass compli Sassen, S. (2005). Electronic markets and activist
ance: Reflections on Max Weber and Soviettype networks: The weight of social logics in digital
societies. British Journal of Political Science, formations . In Latham, R., & Sassen, S. (Eds.),
16(1), 35–56. doi:10.1017/S0007123400003793 Digital formations: IT and new architecture in
the global realm (pp. 54–88). Princeton, NJ:
F
Peters, G. B., & Pierre, J. (2006). Governance,
University Press.
accountability, and democratic legitimacy . In
Benz, A., & Papadopoulus, Y. (Eds.), Governance Schneider, S. M., & Foot, K. (2002). Online
O
& democracy: Comparing national, European, structure for political action: exploring presiden
and international experiences: Routledge: Taylor tial campaign websites from the 2000 American
O
& Francis Co. election. The Public, 9, 1–17.
Pina, V., Torres, L., & Acerete, B. (2007). Are Schneider, S. M., & Foot, K. (2004). Online
R
ICTs promoting government accountability? A structure for civic engagement in the September
comparative analysis of egovernance develop 11 Web sphere. The Electronic Journal of Com
P
ments in 19 OECD countries. Critical Perspectives munication, 14(3).
on Accounting, 18(5), 583–602. doi:10.1016/j.
Sen, K., & Hill, D. T. (2000). Media, culture and
L
cpa.2006.01.012
politics in Indonesia. Oxford University Press.
Putzel, J. (1997). Why has democratization been
A
Steinhauer, H. (Ed.). (1994). The Indonesian
a weaker impulse in Indonesia and Malaysia than
language situation and linguistics: Prospects and
in the Philippines? In Potter, D., Goldblatt, D.,
B
possibilities (vol. 4). Leiden.
Kiloh, M., & Lewis, P. (Eds.), Democratization.
Malden, MA: Blackwell. StomerGalley, J. (2000). Online interac
O
tion and why candidates avoid it. The Jour
Rahmaniar, A. (2009). US$40B Nusantara21
nal of Communication, (Autumn): 111–132.
L
superhighway to be ready in 2006. Nikkei Electron
doi:10.1111/j.14602466.2000.tb02865.x
ics Asia, 7. Retrieved from http://www.nikkeibp.
G
com/neasia/ Tolbert, C. J., Mossberger, K., & McNeal, R.
(2008). Institutions, policy innovation, and egov
Resnick, D. (1998). Politics on the Internet: The
I
ernment in the American states. Public Administra
normalization of cyberspace . In Toulouse, C.,
tion Review, 68(3), 549–563. doi:10.1111/j.1540
& Luke, T. W. (Eds.), The politics of cyberspace
G
6210.2008.00890.x
(pp. 48–68). London, UK: Routledge.
I
Tomsa, D. (2007). Party politics and the media
RoesSetiyadi, M. W. (2004). Evaluasi kebijakan
in Indonesia: Creating a new dual identity for
dan proyeksi strategi pembangunan sektor teleko
Golkar. Contemporary Southeast Asia, 29(1),
munikasi, teknologi, informasi, dan penyiaran
77–96. doi:10.1355/CS291D
(telematika). [Web log post]. Retrieved from
http://maswig.blogspot.com/2004/12/ evaluasi Torres, L., Pina, V. T., & Acerete, B. (2005). E
kebijakandanproyeksi.html government developments on delivering public
services among EU cities. Government Infor
Salahuddin, M., & Rusli, A. (2005). Information
mation Quarterly, 22, 217–238. doi:10.1016/j.
Systems planning for egovernment in Indonesia.
giq.2005.02.004
Paper presented at The Second International Con
ference on Innovations in Information Technology
(IIT’05), Dubai, UAE.
399
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
Uhlin, A. (1995). The struggle for democracy in ADDITIONAL READING

Indonesia: An Actorstructure approach. Scan
dinavian Political Studies, 18(3), 133–158. Ahn, M. J. (2010). Adoption of Ecommunication
doi:10.1111/j.14679477.1995.tb00159.x applications in US municipalities: The role of
political environment, bureaucratic structure,
F
UNPAN. (2008). UN egovernment survey 2008: and the nature of applications. American Re
From egovernment to connected governance. view of Public Administration, 41(4). doi:d
New York, NY: United Nations. oi:10.1177/0275074010377654
O
Weatherford, S. M. (1992). Measuring politi Brown, M. M. (2007). Understanding egovernment
cal legitimacy. The American Political Science
O
benefits. American Review of Public Administra
Review, 86(1), 149–166. doi:10.2307/1964021 tion, 37(2), 178. doi:10.1177/0275074006291635
R
Welch, E., & Fulla, S. (2005). Virtual interactivity Carrizales, T. (2008). Critical factors in an elec
between government and citizens: The Chicago Po tronic democracy: A study of municipal managers.
P
lice Department’s citizen ICAM application dem Electronic . Journal of EGovernment, 6(1), 2–30.
onstration case. Political Communication, 22(2),
215–236. doi:10.1080/10584600590933205 Chadwick, A. (2003). Bringing edemocracy back
L
in. Social Science Computer Review, 21(4), 443.
West, D. M. (2004). Egovernment and the trans doi:10.1177/0894439303256372
A
Public Administration Review, 64(1), 15–27. Chadwick, A., & May, C. (2003). Interaction be
B
doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2004.00343.x tween states and citizens in the age of the internet:
“Egovernment” in the United States, Britain,
Winters, J. A. (2002). The political impact of new and the European Union. Governance: An Inter
O
information sources and technologies in Indonesia. national Journal of Policy, Administration and
Gazette, 64(2), 109–119. doi:10.1177/17480485
L
Institutions, 16(2), 271–300. doi:10.1111/1468
020640020201 0491.00216
G
Wong, L. (2002). The Internet, politics and the Chen, Y. C., & Gant, J. (2001). Transforming
digital divide in Asia. Paper presented at the local egovernment services: The use of applica
I
International Conference on the Digital Divide: tion service providers. Government Information
Technology & Politics in the Information Age. Quarterly, 18(4), 343–355. doi:10.1016/S0740
G
Wong, W., & Welch, E. (2004). Does egovernment 624X(01)000909
I
promote accountability? A comparative analysis of Dahlberg, L. (2001a). Democracy via cy
website openness and government accountability. berspace. New Media & Society, 3(2), 157.
Governance: An International Journal of Policy, doi:10.1177/14614440122226038
Administration and Institutions, 17(2), 275–297.
doi:10.1111/j.14680491.2004.00246.x Dahlberg, L. (2001b). The Internet and democratic
discourse: Exploring the prospects of online de
Zhou, X. (2004). Egovernment in China: A liberative forums extending the public sphere.
content analysis of national and provincial web Information Communication and Society, 4(4),
sites. Journal of ComputerMediated Communi 615–633. doi:10.1080/13691180110097030
cation, 9.
400
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
Dawes, S. S. (2008). The evolution and continuing Huang, Z. (2007). A comprehensive analysis of
challenges of egovernance. Public Administra US counties’ eGovernment portals: Development
tion Review, 68, S86–S102. doi:10.1111/j.1540 status and functionalities. European Journal of In
6210.2008.00981.x formation Systems, 16(2), 149–164. doi:10.1057/
palgrave.ejis.3000675
F
Deakins, E., Dillon, S., Al Namani, H., &
Zhang, C. K. (2010). Local egovernment im Jiang, M. (2007). Citizen interactions with Chinese
pact in China, New Zealand, Oman, and the government networks: Information technology,
O
United Kingdom. International Journal of institutions, and agency. ETD Collection for
Public Sector Management, 23(6), 520–534. Purdue University.
O
doi:10.1108/09513551011069004
Jiang, M. (2010). Authoritarian informational
EvansCowley, J., & Hollander, J. (2010). The ism: China’s approach to Internet sovereignty.
R
new generation of public participation: Internet SAIS Review.
based participation tools. Planning Practice and
P
Kang, S., & Gearhart, S. (2010). Egovernment
Research, 25(3), 397–408. doi:10.1080/026974
and civic engagement: How is citizens’ use of
59.2010.503432
city websites related with civic involvement and
L
Grönlund, A. (2003). eDemocracy: In search political behaviors? Journal of Broadcasting &
of tools and methods for effective participation. Electronic Media, 54(3), 443–462. doi:10.1080/
A
Journal of MultiCriteria Decision Analysis, 12(2 08838151.2010.498847
3), 93–100. doi:10.1002/mcda.349
B
La Porte, T. M., Demchak, C. C., & De Jong, M.
Hale, M., Musso, J., & Weare, C. (1999). Develop (2002). Democracy and bureaucracy in the age
ing digital democracy: Evidence from Californian of the Web. Administration & Society, 34(4), 411.
O
municipal Web pages . In Hague, B., & Loader, B. doi:10.1177/0095399702034004004
L
(Eds.), Digital democracy: Discourse and decision
Mahrer, H., & Krimmer, R. (2005). Towards the
making in the information age (pp. 96–115). New
enhancement of edemocracy: Identifying the
G
York, NY: Routledge.
notion of the ‘middleman paradox’. Information
Hardy, B. W., & Scheufele, D. A. (2005). Examin Systems Journal, 15(1), 27–42. doi:10.1111/
I
ing differential gains from Internet use: Comparing j.13652575.2005.00184.x
the moderating role of talk and online interactions.
G
Margolis, M., & Resnick, D. (2000). Politics as
The Journal of Communication, 55(1), 71–84.
I
usual. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
doi:10.1111/j.14602466.2005.tb02659.x
McCullagh, K. (2003). Edemocracy: Potential
Holzer, M., & Hu, L. T. (2004). Digital government
for political revolution? International Journal
and citizen participation in the United States . In
of Law and Information Technology, 11(2), 149.
Pavlichev, A., & Garson, G. D. (Eds.), Digital gov
doi:10.1093/ijlit/11.2.149
ernment: Principles and best practices. Hershey,
PA: Idea Group. doi:10.4018/9781591401223. Musso, J., Weare, C., & Hale, M. (2000). De
ch020 signing Web technologies for local governance
reform: Good management or good democ
racy? Political Communication, 17(1), 1–19.
doi:10.1080/105846000198486
401
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
Norris, D. F., & Moon, M. J. (2005). Advancing Weare, C. (2002). The Internet and democracy:
egovernment at the grassroots: Tortoise or hare. The causal links between technology and politics.
Public Administration Review, 65(1), 64–75. International Journal of Public Administration,
doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2005.00431.x 25(5), 659–691. doi:10.1081/PAD120003294
F
Robbin, A., Courtright, C., & Davis, L. (2004). Weare, C., Musso, J. A., & Hale, M. L. (1999).
ICTs and political life. Annual Review of Infor Electronic democracy and the diffusion of munici
mation Science & Technology, 38(1), 410–482. pal Web pages in California. Administration & So
O
doi:10.1002/aris.1440380110 ciety, 31(1), 3. doi:10.1177/009539999400935475
Scott, J. K. (2005). Assessing the qual Xenos, M., & Moy, P. (2007). Direct and differen
O
ity of municipal government web sites. State tial effects of the Internet on political and civic en
& Local Government Review, 37(2), 151–165. gagement. The Journal of Communication, 57(4),
R
doi:10.1177/0160323X0503700206 704–718. doi:10.1111/j.14602466.2007.00364.x
P
Scott, J. K. (2006). E” the people: Do US municipal
government web sites support public involvement?
Public Administration Review, 66(3), 341–353. KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
L
doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2006.00593.x
Authoritarian Political Culture: Culture
A
Shi, Y. (2007). The accessibility of Chinese local that is politically inhibited in regard to individual
government web sites: An exploratory study. Gov freedom, especially, in terms of this study, freedom
B
ernment Information Quarterly, 24(2), 377–403. of written and spoken expression. The purpose of
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.05.004 an authoritarian political culture is to maintain
O
Thomas, J. C., & Streib, G. (2003). The new unilateral conformity within the goals of the state.
face of government: Citizeninitiated contacts Citizen’s eParticipation: Participative and
L
in the era of egovernment. Journal of Public interactive deliberation of citizens toward gov
Administration: Research and Theory, 13(1), 83. ernment, mediated by digital technologies and
G
doi:10.1093/jpart/mug010 internet.
Deliberative Democracy: Governing system
I
Tolbert, C. J., & Mossberger, K. (2006). The ef based on consultation through public deliberation
fects of egovernment on trust and confidence in and discursive interaction between government
G
government. Public Administration Review, 66(3), and citizens.
I
354–369. doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2006.00594.x Democratic Legitimacy: Legitimacy of gov
Tolbert, C. J., Mossberger, K., & McNeal, R. ernment obtained from the popular perception
(2008). Institutions, policy innovation, and of constituents that government abides by the
egovernment in the American States. Pub principles of democracy in governing.
lic Administration Review, 68(3), 549–563. Internet Mediated Human Interaction:
doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2008.00890.x Communicative interaction between individu
als or groups of individuals mediated by digital
Van der Graft, P., & Svensson, J. (2006). Explain technologies and internet.
ing eDemocracy development: A quantitative em Online Structure: The structure of web
pirical study. Information Polity, 11(2), 123–134. presentations derived from the composition of
various internet features.
402
:8(#*>/1*%'+H%8*%"+N1)(#1()"+-$)+R".$#)/1*#+2"'*1*./#9
Social Control: Attainment of conformity and ENDNOTES

compliance of individuals and/or groups through
political and societal processes and mechanisms
1
http://pih.depkominfo.go.id/
that usually manifest in government policies,
2
For more information refers to www.dep
conduct, and regulations, and/or through social kominfo.go.id
F
norms and values.
3
http://www.telkom.co.id
Web Disclosure: The level of information
4
for more information seehttp://unpan1.
un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/
O
disclosed on a particular web site.
un/unpan028607.pdf
R O
L P
B A
LO
I G
I G
403
404
Chapter 20
Citizen Participation through
Municipal Websites:
O F
O
A Global Scorecard
Alicia Schatteman
Northern Illinois University, USA
Deborah MohammedSpigner
P R
L
NJ Common Cause, USA
A
George Poluse
Kent State University, USA
ABSTRACT
OB
This study is based on a global survey of municipal websites conducted by the EGovernance Institute
L
at Rutgers University New Jersey and the Global EPolicy EGovernment Institute at Sungkyunkwan
01.+2*,.34/'9&#3<'[&*28I'(<2',#*+24'2+87#832)'=#1.G.$87'F26,.32,'.1'C+2').,3.1G3'2EB&+2*181G2'G832B&*.2,\'
G
(1) security and privacy, (2) usability, (3) content, (4) services, and (5) citizen participation. This chapter
examines the area of citizen participation in detail and the analysis found that online citizen participa
I
tion was highly correlated with both the percentage of Internet users and the percentage of mobile users
in a country. In the analysis Seoul, Korea achieved the highest score in this category. Unlike previous
G
*2,28*G<'3<2'$&$#783.&1'&5'8'G&#13*4'F8,'1&3'5&#1)'3&'62',383.,3.G8774',.B1.CG813I']+2*877/'3<.,'*2,28*G<'
I
indicates a strong relationship Internet users and education have with online citizen participation. As
the percentage rate of Internet users increases across the globe, along with the rising literacy rates,
more countries will progress towards adopting and implementing edemocracy strategies.
INTRODUCTION nized for how effectively they use the Internet to

provide services to citizens. Initially, traditional
A growing phenomenon around the globe is citizen participation involved limited to faceto
how online citizen participation influences the face interactions and telephone communications,
relationship citizens’ have with their government. however, the evolution of technology has given
Democratic governments are increasingly scruti citizens more opportunities for participation with
improvements in communication, and accessibil
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch020
D*1*O"%+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+15)$('5+E(%*#*A/8+G"7@*1"@
ity. This chapter examines different variables that bypassing such middlemen as advocacy groups
might explain why countries provide online citizen and organizations. Online engagement can also
participation opportunities. The analysis is based empower groups and organizations; they can
on the global study of municipal websites that generate their discussion forum and create news
was conducted by Rutgers University and Sung updates without going through traditional media
F
kyunkwan University. This chapter focuses on two channels. “Methods of public engagement can be
primary questions related to citizen participation: described as deliberative when they encourage
O
citizens to scrutinize, discuss and weigh up com
1. What opportunities for online participation peting values and policy options” (Coleman and
are available in the world’s most populous Gotze, 2001, p. 6). The Organisation for Economic
O
cities? Cooperation and Development (OECD) outlined
2. What factors best explain the development three ways to engage the public – 1) information
R
of online citizen participation on municipal sharing: oneway communication in which the
websites? government produces and delivers information
P
to its citizens; 2) consultation: twoway commu
The results from this study will not only con nication in which citizens can provide feedback
L
tribute to our understanding of best practices, to the government; and 3) active participation: a
but also help establish municipal egovernment partnership between the public and government
A
benchmarks. in which the citizens are directly involved in the
decision and policymaking process.
B
There are possible problems with an increase
BACKGROUND in public engagement. Coleman and Gotze (2001)
suggest a possible objection, “online public en
O
Egovernment enables citizens to participate more gagement might compromise a threat to effective
L
actively in the democratic process and the gover policy making and good governance” (p. 15). As
nance of their communities (OECD 2003a). The citizens become more knowledgeable and actively
use of information and communication technology express their concern over an issue, they can be
G
(ICT) promises a participatory democracy (Clift, come less representative of the general populace.
I
2004). Both political support from the top officials This can lead to minority rule over the majority,
and demand from its citizens are necessary to and the exclusion of others, forming small elitist
G
facilitate a shift towards egovernment. Johnson groups that have a great deal of control over policy
I
and Kaye (1998) argue that within the argument decisions via online means. If governments offer
that the Internet can reinvigorate democracy is the online consultation they “should not offer [it] as a
implicit “notion that Web users trust the govern gimmick; they must be committed to integrating
ment and want to participate” (p. 123). evidence gathered into the policy process and being
The Internet can reinvigorate civic engage responsive” (Coleman & Gotze, 2001, p. 20). On
ment, which is defined as “the activities by which line communication networks have the potential
people participate in civic, community and politi to create a strong sense of community and social
cal life and by doing so express their commitment ownership, which are high in social capital (Foth,
to community” (Smith, Kearns and Fine, 2005, 2003). An online community can be a geographic
p. 6). Online civic engagement is different than place or group of people that come together for a
traditional engagement; with online capabilities specific issue, transcending a physical place. The
many individuals can be mobilized quickly at little Internet has great potential to tie together people
or no cost. Individuals can get involved directly, based on their interests and concerns because
405
D*1*O"%+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+15)$('5+E(%*#*A/8+G"7@*1"@
consultation and discussion are not limited to a within the broader context of a general public
physical location. Individuals can become more belief in the impotence and futility of political
connected to each other, which can increase social participation (Rowntree, 1996). ICTs however
capital and civic engagement. KoracKakabadse have opened up new pathways for government
and KoracKakabadse (1999) explain that infor information and services. ICTS might be able to
F
mation communication technology provides the facilitate the proliferation of democratic values,
opportunity to improve the degree and quality of transparency, accountability, and participation
O
public participation in government. with the government and its citizens. Participation
Coleman and Gotze (2001) suggest that the in government decisionmaking from informed
new media (Internet) possess inherently dialogi citizens in governmental affairs empowers them
O
cal, democratic, and libertarian characteristics, to be legitimate political players. The utilization
which allows political communication to return of citizen input will lead to a more openness in a
R
to the people. This type of communication is government (Irvin & Stansbury, 2004).
structurally unsuited for a centralized agenda or According to Denhardt and Denhardt (2000),
P
content control. The spread of ICT use to citizens’ the concept of the New Public Service (NPS) is
should lead to more participation in the political rooted in three basic theories. One of which is the
L
decisionmaking process. “theory of democratic citizenship,” which advo
A mask of democracy is detectable in the cates the very active and valuable role for citizens
A
discourses surrounding new ICTs, often billed engaged in governance. From this perspective,
as being better able to provide information and administrators should consider the population they
B
opportunities for the public in political discus serve as “citizens” rather than as voters, clients,
sions (Malina, 1999). Malina warns the equality or customers (p. 5520) and share authority, reduce
gap that exists between rich and poor in civil control, and place a high amount of trust in their
O
society will widen dramatically if ICTs are used collaborations with citizens. The goals for citizen
L
in a way that views information as privately participation according to Buss, Redburn and Guo
owned property. This would make information a (2006) “are making democracies more democratic,
precious commodity in a highly commercialized redefining power structures, enhancing credibility
G
and competitive “electronic” public sphere (p. and legitimacy, managing conflict and building
I
28). Malina (1999) also recognizes that there are consensus, eliciting feedback and consultation,
very few ways in which citizens can influence the and promoting accountability and transparency”
G
process of choosing our designed technologies. (p. 9). The authors argue that expanding and
I
Sclove (1995) stated that we should not “adapt deepening citizen participation is the purpose of
compliantly to whatever technologies happen a democratic society that is founded on popular
along,” but commit ourselves to supporting tech sovereignty and selfgovernment. They offer six
nologies that are “compatible” with citizenship possible benefits in increasing the participatory
and democracy (p. 89). power of citizens in government:
Prior to the advancement of ICTs, public
administrators were concerned with the rates of 1. Citizens can provide policymakers with
traditional participation of US citizens in gov information they need to design and de
ernment and politics. The lack of participation liver effective, efficient and quality public
was reflected in low rates of voter turnout and services.
declining membership in traditional organiza 2. Citizens participating in efficacious pro
tions, such as churches and community groups cesses are much more likely to be satisfied
(Putnam, 1995). This cynicism and apathy existed with programs.
406
D*1*O"%+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+15)$('5+E(%*#*A/8+G"7@*1"@
3. Extensive, meaningful involvement of citi 3. Address existing rules and regulations that
zens in all phases of service delivery helps impede participation and collaboration.
validate the entire enterprise.
4. Actively involved citizens can marshal To Lukensmayer and Torres (2006) citizen en
support for programs support for programs, gagement includes a number of democratic reform
F
services and policies. ideas: public participation, public involvement,
5. Citizens not only provide input into pro participatory democracy, deliberative democracy,
O
grams, but when well informed through and collaborative governance The authors argue
participation, they can disseminate informa that when used in relation to the online environ
tion widely to others who are less involved. ment, a new vocabulary is evoked, which includes
O
6. Many people are systematically excluded edemocracy, digital democracy, egovernment,
from opportunities to participate in programs and electronic governance (p. 9).
R
designed for them (Buss & Tribble, 2006,
p. 144).
P
METHOD
Technology has been utilized by governments
L
and nonprofits to engage their citizens in the The methodological steps from the 2007 survey
process of decisionmaking. An example of this is on global municipal websites mirrors previous
A
Americaspeaks, a nonprofit whose mission is to research that was done in 2005 and 2003. Our
reinvigorate American democracy by increasing methodology borrows from the Digital Gov
B
citizen engagement in public decisionmaking. ernance (2005) report based on the 2005 data.
The organization’s goal is to link citizens to poli The 2007 global municipality survey involves
cymakers and create additional dialogue forums the same 98measure from the RutgersSKKU
O
for participation on policy issues. The Champions Survey Index, with some changes in the cities
L
of Participation is a report that is issued from the selected. This data focuses on cities around world
collaboration between Americaspeaks and other by considering their population size and the total
similar organizations as a result of the President’s number of individuals using the Internet. Cities
G
Open Government Directive. This effort includes were identified using data from the International
I
work from 34 managers from 23 different federal Telecommunication Union (ITU), an organization
agencies and experts on citizen engagement. The affiliated with the United Nations (UN). The top
G
project identifies opportunities for participation 100 most wired nations were identified using
I
and collaboration as well as its barriers (Champi information that considers the total number of
ons of Participation, Executive Summary, 2009). online users obtained from the ITUUN.
Nine strategies and recommendations were identi The largest city, by population in each of these
fied and the three most relevant to this study are 100 countries was then selected for the study and
the following: used as a proxy for all cities in a particular country.
The rationale for selecting the largest municipali
1. Establish systems that will support govern ties stems from the egovernance literature, which
mentwide adoption of participation and suggests a direct positive relationship between
collaboration practices. Culture change population and egovernance capacity at the lo
across federal agencies was identified as cal level (Moon, 2002; Moon and deLeon, 2001;
being important in bringing this change. Musso, Weare, & Hale, 2001; Weare, Musso &
2. Ensure that participation and collaboration Hale, 1999). The study evaluated the official web
are adequately funded. sites of each large city in their native language.
407
D*1*O"%+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+15)$('5+E(%*#*A/8+G"7@*1"@
Table 1. Egovernance performance measures
Egovernance Key Concepts Raw Weighted Score Keywords

Category Score
Security/ Privacy 18 25 20 Privacy policies, authentication, encryption, data manage
ment, cookies
F
Usability 20 32 20 Userfriendly design, branding, length of homepage,
targeted audience links or channels, and site search
capabilities
O
Content 20 48 20 Access to current accurate information, public documents,
reports, publications, and multimedia materials
Service 20 59 20 Transactional services purchase or register, interaction
O
between citizens, businesses and government
Citizen Participation 20 55 20 Online civic engagement/ policy deliberation, citizen
R
based performance measurement
Total 98 219 100
Of the 100 cities selected, 86 cities were found

to have an official municipal website; these cities
were evaluated from August 2007 to December P
the five egovernance components our research
L
applies 18 to 20 measures. The nondichotomous
questions measures were coded on a fourpoint
A
2007. From the 2005 survey 81 of the 100 cit ordinal scale (0, 1, 2, 3; see Table 2). The di
ies had official websites, five less than the 2007 chotomous measures for the “service” and “citizen
B
survey. This represents a slight increase in the participation” categories correspond with values
adoption of egovernance among municipalities on our fourpoint scale of “0” or “3”; dichotomous
O
around the world. measures in “privacy” or “usability” correspond
The RutgersSKKU EGovernance Survey to ratings of “0” or “1” on the scale.
L
Instrument is currently the most comprehensive This chapter focuses specifically on the results
index in practice for egovernance research. It from the citizen participation component. The
G
includes 98 measures in five distinct categorical website evaluation for this component considers
areas of egovernance research. The five compo several ways in which the local government in
I
nents are the following: (1) Security and Privacy, volves its citizens. The analysis measures includes
(2) Usability, (3) Content, (4) Services; and (5) whether local governments offer current informa
G
Citizen Participation. Table 1 provides a more tion about municipal governance online, the use
I
detailed summary of the survey. of internetbased polls or surveys, online bulletin
The 2007 survey instrument utilizes 98 mea boards, or other online methods that foster two
sures, of which 43 are dichotomous. For each of way communication and discussion.
Table 2. Egovernance scale
Scale Description
0 Information about a given topic does not exist on the website
1 Information about a given topic exists on the website (including links to other information and email addresses)
2 Downloadable items are available on the website (forms, audio, video, and other oneway transactions, popup boxes)
3 Services, transactions, or interactions can take place completely online (credit card transactions, applications for
permits, searchable databases, use of cookies, digital signatures, restricted access)
408
D*1*O"%+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+15)$('5+E(%*#*A/8+G"7@*1"@
The dependent variable in this study is the ANALYSIS

score received for each municipal website, for
the online participation component. The first Seoul, Korea (50 points), Bangkok, Thailand (32
set of independent variables included the total points), Helsinki, Finland (31 points), Dublin,
number of Internet users in the country, the Ireland (30 points), and Sofia, Bulgaria (28 points)
F
percentage of Internet users in the country, and achieved the highest citizen participation scores
the percentage of mobile phone users (data from out of the possible 55 points. Table 3 highlights
O
the International Telecommunication Union). all the other cities composite scores.
A second set of variables included factors from After calculating the overall scores for each
The World Bank’s Governance Indicators which of the cities studied, we examined the citizen
O
identifies six key dimensions of governance: (1) participation score in relation to the independent
voice and accountability, (2) political stability variables. The correlations are indicated in Table
R
and the absence of violence/terrorism, (3) gov 4.
ernment effectiveness, (4) regulatory quality, (5) Interestingly, the US and Canada ranked only
P
rule of law, and (6) control of corruption. For the 12th and 13th for online citizen participation rates,
purposes of this analysis, chose to include only despite high educational achievement and a high
L
voice and accountability and political stability percentage of online users. These governments
and absence of violence/terrorism as additional seem to be behind from the rest of the globe and
A
independent variables. appear to be missing out on the positive aspects
The third set of variables came from the World of edemocracy.
B
Values Survey, a global network of social scien
tists that collects data on global normative values International Telecommunication
and beliefs. These results are broken down into Union Variables
O
nationallevel scores of (1) traditional/secular
L
rational values and (2) survival/selfexpression Results from the correlation analysis suggest
values. The fourth set of variables was obtained statistically significant findings that pertain to a
from the Freedom in the World Survey, which certain perspective on edemocracy. Among the
G
ranks nations based on their political rights and ITU variables, online citizen participation was
I
civil liberties. The corruption perceptions index highly correlated with the percentage of Internet
developed by Transparency International mea users and the percentage of mobile users in a
G
sures the extent of corruption in nations around country, but not to the actual number of Internet
I
the world and was also included as an independent users. This makes sense, since the number of
variable in the study. One additional variable is Internet users acts as a proxy for population and
the democracy index from the Economist. The can therefore skew the results for large and small
Economist’s democracy index ranks nations populations. The percentage of Internet users
based on the extent of their democratic practices more accurately captures the depiction of citizen
and classifies nations into four types of regimes: population across different populations.
full democracies; flawed democracies; hybrid
regimes; and authoritarian regimes. Finally the World Values Survey Variables
control variables for this study included the edu
cation index, population, GDP per capita in U.S. Among the variables from the World Values
dollars, capital city, and continent. Survey, political stability was found to be sta
tistically significant and highly correlated with
online citizen participation among countries,
409
D*1*O"%+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+15)$('5+E(%*#*A/8+G"7@*1"@
Table 3. Total online participation scores
Rank City Country Total Score

1 Seoul Korea 50
2 Bangkok Thailand 32
F
3 Helsinki Finland 31
4 Dublin Ireland 30
5 Sofia Bulgaria 28
O
6 Sarajevo Bosnia 26
7 Singapore Singapore 26
O
8 Amsterdam Netherlands 24
9 Auckland New Zealand 24
R
10 Vienna Austria 23
11 Rome Italy 23
P
12 New York City USA 23
13 Toronto Canada 22
14 Tokyo Japan 20
L
15 Zurich Switzerland 20
16 Hong Kong Hong Kong 19
A
17 Sydney Australia 18
18 Moscow Russia 18
B
19 Riga Latvia 17
20 Madrid Spain 17
O
21 London UK 17
22 Berlin Germany 16
L
23 Bratislava Slovak Republic 16
24 Paris France 15
G
25 Vilnius Lithuania 15
26 Zagreb Croatia 14
I
27 Cape Town South Africa 14
28 Amman Jordan 13
G
29 Oslo Norway 13
I
30 Kampala Uganda 13
31 Mexico Mexico 12
32 San Jose Costa Rica 11
33 Copenhagen Denmark 11
34 Caracas Venezuela 11
35 Praque Czech Republic 10
36 Kiev Ukraine 10
37 Santiago Chile 9
38 Nicosia Cyprus 9
39 Lisbon Portugal 9
40 Belgrade Serbia 9
41 Dubai UAE 9
410
D*1*O"%+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+15)$('5+E(%*#*A/8+G"7@*1"@
Table 3. Continued
Rank City Country Total Score
42 Sao Paolo Brazil 8
43 Tallinn Estonia 8
44 Hochimnh Vietnam 8
F
45 Bogota Columbia 7
46 Budapest Hungary 7
O
47 Jakarta Indonesia 7
48 Almaty Kazakhstan 7
49 San Juan Puerto Rico 7
O
50 Buenos Aires Argentina 6
51 KL Malaysia 6
R
52 Dhaka Bangladesh 5
P
53 Shanghai China 5
54 Jerusalem Israel 5
55 Ljubljana Slovenia 5
L
56 Istanbul Turkey 5
57 Montevideo Uruguay 5
A
58 Minsk Belarus 4
59 Brussels Belgium 4
B
60 Athens Greece 4
61 Muscat Oman 4
62 Lima Peru 4
O
63 Bucharest Romania 4
L
64 Beirut Lebanon 3
65 Kuwait Kuwait 3
G
66 Luxemburg Luxemburg 3
67 Casablanca Morocco 3
I
68 Stockholm Sweden 3
69 La Paz Bolivia 2
G
70 Guayaquil Ecuador 2
I
71 San Salvador El Salvador 2
72 Lagos Nigeria 2
73 Karachi Pakistan 2
74 Riyadh Saudi Arabia 2
75 Guatemala Guatemala 1
76 Mumbai India 1
77 Tehran Iran 1
78 Chisinau Moldova 1
79 Quezon Philippines 1
80 Warsaw Poland 1
81 Dakar Senegal 1
82 Nairobi Kenya 0
83 Port Louis Mauritius 0
84 Tunis Tunisia 0
85 Tashkent Uzbekistan 0
411
D*1*O"%+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+15)$('5+E(%*#*A/8+G"7@*1"@
Table 4. Independent variables
Source of Data Variable Name Pearson Correlation Significance

(2tailed)
International Telecommunication Union # of Internet users 0.136 0.215
International Telecommunication Union % of Internet users 0.549** 0.000
F
International Telecommunication Union % mobile phone users 0.365** 0.001
World Values Survey SelfExpression value 0.199 0.094
O
World Values Survey Political stability 0.323** 0.006
World Bank: Governance Indicator DI: voice and accountability 0.375** 0.000
O
World Bank: Governance Indicator DI: political stability and absence 0.340** 0.001
of violence
Transparency International Corruption score 0.434** 0.000
R
Freedom House Political Rights score 0.263* 0.017
P
Freedom House Civil Liberties 0.375** 0.001
UN Human Development Report Education Index 0.440** 0.000
Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index 0.414** 0.000
L
Control variables Population .112 0.306
Control variables GDP $US 0.358** 0.001
A
*p<0.10, **p<0.05,***p<0.01
B
while selfexpression was not. Political stability Transparency International Variable
is an important indicator of civic engagement, and
O
therefore it is not surprising that they would be The corruption score was also statistically signifi
L
highly correlated to online civic participation on cant to online citizen participation score. When
municipal websites. If citizens feel they have a corruption was low in an area, citizens would be
voice and feel empowered to express their opinion more likely to participate, and also expect online
G
freely then they will expect online opportunities opportunities in which to engage with government.
I
to participate with their local government.
Freedom House Variables
World Bank Variables
I G
According to the analysis in Table 4, both the
From the two World Bank variables voice and ac political rights and civil liberties scores were
countability, and political stability and absence of negatively correlated with online citizen partici
violence were found to be statistically significant. pation scores. The greater a country’s political
These variables are similar to the World Values rights and civil liberties the lower their citizen
Survey; where governments are stable and citi participation score. This finding is a bit surpris
zens feel part of the governance structure, they ing given past research; the negative correlation
are more likely to seek participation with their might indicate other variables might be at work.
local governments. Governments are then com Additional research needs to be done to determine
pelled to provide online opportunities for citizen the significance of this finding.
participation.
412
D*1*O"%+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+15)$('5+E(%*#*A/8+G"7@*1"@
UN Human Development to their citizens, and including them into in the

Report Variable policymaking process.
This study of municipal websites is extensive
Similar with many egovernment studies and since it examines several global municipalities.
online citizen participation studies, education is It compares countries and offers an explanation
F
highly correlated with online citizen participation of the variables that explain a municipality’s par
scores. Countries with higher education levels are ticipatory level by creating a model that combines
O
more likely to provide opportunities for citizens survey results with other relevant independent
to interact with government. variables. The study isolates these variables to
measure which ones drive a government to engage
O
Economist Intelligence Unit Variable its citizens online. From the analysis part of the
answer lies in accessibility. Countries with the
R
The democracy index variable was found to be highest scores of citizen participation also had
positively correlated with online participation higher percentages of Internet and mobile phone
P
scores. The more democratic the society the more users. Since the advancement in technology
likely citizens will seek an interactive/participa has allowed Internet access to expand to small
L
tory relationship with the government. mobile devices such as tablets and cell phones,
more users have the option to take their govern
A
Control Variables ment wherever they go. Mobility changes how
governments deliver programs and services, as
B
Population of a country was not found to be sta well as how they communicate with their resi
tistically significant, unlike previous research. dents. Citizens’ expectations of access rise and
However, GDP was found to be statistically governments have to adjust to how they provide
O
significant; meaning countries with higher GDP feedback and information in realtime. Not only
L
in US dollars were more likely to receive higher do they have to consider the format in how they
online participation scores. provide features, they have to provide services in
an efficient and effective manner.
G
Based on the findings in this study, future re
I
CONCLUSION search should be directed at closely examining the
relationship between mobility and egovernment.
G
This research indicates two important trends The proliferation of cellphones and smartphones
I
that strengthen the concept of edemocracy as around the globe has altered how people com
an increasing phenomenon. One is that there is a municate with one another and how citizens
strong association between democracy and online communicate with their government. Future
citizen participation. The other trend is that there is studies should consider how mobile government
a strong relationship between internet access and (mgovernment) develops and how it influences
education level with online citizen participation. egovernment development and citizen participa
As the percentage rate of Internet user’s increases tion levels within municipalities.
across the globe and literacy rates also rise, more
countries will progress towards the adoption and
implementation of edemocracy and edemocracy
strategies. Furthermore, this research also lends
support to the argument that the more democratic
a country the better job it does of reaching out
413
D*1*O"%+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+15)$('5+E(%*#*A/8+G"7@*1"@
REFERENCES Holzer, M., & Kim, S. 2008. Digital governance

in municipalities worldwide (2007): A longitudinal
Alliance for Regional Stewardship. (2001). Em assessment of municipal websites throughout the
powering regions: Strategies and tools for com world. Newark, NJ: National Center for Public
munity decision making. Palo Alto, California. Performance.
F
Retrieved from www.regionalstewardship.org
Johnson, T., & Kaye, B. (1998). A vehicle for en
Andersen, K. V., & Henriksen, H. Z. (2006). gagement or a haven for the disaffected? Internet
O
Egovernment maturity models: Extension of use, political alienation, and voter participation . In
the Layne and Lee model . Government Infor Johnson, T., Hays, C., & Hays, S. (Eds.), Engaging
O
mation Quarterly, 23, 236–248. doi:10.1016/j. the public: How government and the media can
giq.2005.11.008 reinvigorate American democracy. New York, NY:
R
Barber, B., Mattson, K., & Peterson, J. (1997). The Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Inc.
state of “electronically enhanced democracy”: A KoracKakabadse, A., & KoracKakabadse, N.
P
survey of the Internet. New Brunswick, NJ: Walt (1999). Information Technology’s impact on the
Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of quality of democracy: Reinventing the ‘democratic
L
Democracy, Rutgers University. vessel . In Heeks, R. (Ed.), Reinventing govern
Buss, T., & Tribble, M. (2006). Broadening citi ment in the information age: International practice
A
zen participation processes in federal programs: in ITenabled public sector reform. London, UK:
HUD’s CDBG programs . In Buss, T., Redburn, Routledge.
B
F. S., & Guo, K. (Eds.), Modernizing democracy: Layne, K., & Lee, J. (2001). Developing fully
Innovations in citizen participation (pp. 138–155). functional egovernment: A four stage model.
O
Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. Government Information Quarterly, 18, 122–136.
doi:10.1016/S0740624X(01)000661
L
Buss, T. F., Redburn, F. S., & Guo, K. (Eds.).
(2006). Modernizing democracy: Innovations in Moon, M. J. (2002). The evolution of egovern
citizen participation. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
G
Clift, S. (2004). Egovernment and democracy: Public Administration Review, 62(4), 424–433.
I
Representation and citizen engagement in the doi:10.1111/00333352.00196
information age. Based on research provided Moon, M. J., & deLeon, P. (2001). Municipal re
G
to the United Nations – UNPAN/DESA for the invention: Municipal values and diffusion among
I
2003 World Public Sector Report. Retrieved from municipalities. Journal of Public Administration:
http://www.unpan.org/ dpepa_worldpareport.asp Research and Theory, 11(3), 327–352.
Coleman, S., & Gotze, J. (2001). Bowling together: Musso, J., Weare, C., & Hale, M. (2001). De
Online public engagement in policy deliberation. signing web technologies for local governance
London, UK: Hansard Society. Retrieved from reform: Good management or good democ
www.hansardsociety.org.uk racy. Political Communication, 17(l), 1–19.
Foth, M. (2003). Connectivity does not ensure doi:10.1080/105846000198486
community: On social capital, networks and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
communities of place. IRiRA 2003 Conference Development (OECD). (2003a). Engaging citizens
Track: Community Informatics. online for better policymaking. OECD Observer,
March. Retrieved from www.oecd.org
414
D*1*O"%+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+15)$('5+E(%*#*A/8+G"7@*1"@
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and ADDITIONAL READING

Development (OECD). (2003b). Promise and
problems of edemocracy: Challenges of online Barber, B. (2001). The uncertainty of digital
citizen engagement. Retrieved from www.oecd. politics: Democracy’s uneasy relationship with
org Information Technology. Harvard International
F
Review, 23, 42–47.
Schelin, S. H. (2003). Egovernment: An over
view. Public information technology: Policy and Browning, G. (2002). Electronic democracy: Us
O
management issues. Hershey, PA: Idea Group ing the internet to transform American politics.
Publishing. Medford, OR: CyberAge Books.
O
Smith, J., Kearns, M., & Fine, A. (2005). Power Center for Technology in Government. (2004).
to the edges: Trends and opportunities in online What citizens want from egovernment: Current
R
civic engagement. PACE Philanthropy for Active practice research. University at Albany, State
Civic Engagement, Denver, Colorado. Retrieved University of New York.
P
from www.pacefunders.org Danziger, J. N., & Andersen, K. (2002). Impacts
UN Human Development Report. (2007). Fighting of Information Technology on public administra
L
climate change: Human solidarity in a divided tion: An analysis of empirical research from the
world. Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/ ‘golden age’ of transformation. International
A
media/ hdr_20072008_en_complete.pdf Journal of Public Administration, 25(5), 591–627.
doi:10.1081/PAD120003292
B
United Nations. (2005). Department of eco
nomic and social affairs (UNDESA): UN global EvansCowley, J. (2006). The accessibility of
egovernment readiness report 2005: From e municipal government websites. Journal of
O
government to einclusion, division for public EGovernment, 2(2), 75–90. doi:10.1300/
L
administration and development management. J399v02n02_05
UNPAN, 2005(14), 2005. Ho, A., & Coates, P. (2002). Citizen participa
G
Weare, C., Musso, J., & Hale, M. (1999). Electronic tion: Legitimizing performance measurement
democracy and the diffusion of municipal web as a decision tool. Government Finance Review,
I
pages in California. Administration & Society, April, 810.
31(1), 3–27. doi:10.1177/009539999400935475 Ho, A. T.K. (2002). Reinventing local govern
I G
Wescott, C. (2001). Egovernment in the Asia ments and the egovernment initiative. Pub
Pacific region. Asian Journal of Political Science, lic Administration Review, 62(4), 434–444.
9(2), 1–24. doi:10.1080/02185370108434189 doi:10.1111/00333352.00197
West, D. (2005). Equity and accessibility in Holden, S. H., Norris, D. F., & Fletcher, P. D. (2003).
egovernment: A policy perspective. Journal Electronic government at the local level. Public
of EGovernment, 1(2), 31–43. doi:10.1300/ Performance & Management Review, 26(4),
J399v01n02_03 325–344. doi:10.1177/1530957603026004002
Larsen, E., & Rainie, L. (2002). The rise of the
ecitizen: How people use government agen
cies’ websites. Washington, DC: Pew Internet
& American Life Project. Retrieved from http://
www.pewinternet.org
415
D*1*O"%+,/)1*#*A/1*$%+15)$('5+E(%*#*A/8+G"7@*1"@
MayerSchonberger, V., & Lazer, D. (2007). Shane, P. (2008). Building democracy through
Governance and Information Technology: From online citizen deliberation: A framework for ac
electronic government to information government. tion. The Center for Interdisciplinary Law and
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Policy Studies, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio
State University.
F
Milward, H. B., & Snyder, L. O. (1996). Elec
tronic government: linking citizens to public Steyaert, J. (2000). Local governments on
organizations through technology. Journal of line and the role of the resident: Govern
O
Public Administration: Research and Theory, ment shop versus electronic community. So
6(2), 261–275. cial Science Computer Review, 18(1), 3–16.
O
doi:10.1177/089443930001800101
Min, S.J. (2007). Online vs. facetoface delib
eration: Effects on civic engagement. Journal of Welch, E., & Hinnant, C. (2003). Internet use,
R
ComputerMediated Communication, 12, 1369– transparency, and interactivity effects on trust
1387. doi:10.1111/j.10836101.2007.00377.x in government. Proceedings of the 36th Hawaii
P
International Conference on System Sciences.
O’Looney, J. (2003). Using technology to increase
citizen participation in government: The use of Yang, K., & Bergrud, E. (Eds.). (2008). Civic
L
models and simulation. IBM Endowment for the engagement in a network society. Charlotte, NC:
Business of Government. Information Age Publishing, Inc.
A
Price, V. (2009). Citizens deliberating online:
B
Theory and some evidence. In T. Davies & Seeta
Peña Gangadharan (Eds.), Online deliberation: KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
Design, research, and practice (pp. 3758). Chi
O
cago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Civic Engagement: The ways in which people
L
participate in their community through community
Reddick, C. (2005). Citizeninitiated contacts and political affairs, various levels and methods
with Ontario local egovernment: Administrators’ of civic engagement.
G
responses to contacts. International Journal of Egovernment: The use of information and
Electronic Government Research, 1(4), 45–62.
I
communication technology to deliver programs
doi:10.4018/jegr.2005100103 and services to citizens by government.
Information and Communication Technol
G
Reddick, C. (2005). Citizen interaction with
I
egovernment: From the streets to the servers? ogy: Various technological tools incorporating the
Government Information Quarterly, 22(1), 38–47. Internet and other modes.
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2004.10.003 Online Civic Engagement: The ways in
which people participate in their community us
Reddick, C. (2007). The perceived impacts of ing information and communication technology,
egovernment on U.S. cities: A survey of Florida various levels of online civic engagement.
and Texas City managers. Government Infor
mation Quarterly, 24, 576–594. doi:10.1016/j.
giq.2006.09.004
416
417
Chapter 21
Stepwise e-Participation:
Good Practice from the
Regional Level in Europe
O F
Francesco Molinari
R O
P
University of Siena, Dipartimento di Studi Aziendali e Sociali, Italy
Mateja Kunstelj
L
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
!"#$%&'(&)&*&+,-.
A
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
ABSTRACT
OB
In this chapter, the authors present and discuss the results of the IDEALEU project, in which three
L
European Regions i.e. Tuscany, Catalonia, and PoitouCharentes have involved citizens (and particu
larly young people) in discussing and deliberating on the priorities of the new climate change agenda
G
of the European Parliament, supported by two distinct ICT instruments: a Social Networking Platform
and a panEuropean Virtual Town Meeting. The authors describe and assess the technical tasks and
I
the concrete initiatives undertaken from project conception to the end of trials. They introduce a par
3.G.$83&*4'F&*-J&F'G&=$&,2)'&5'5&#*'=&)#72,\'^Z'8B21)8',233.1B'81)'$*.&*'81874,.,/'KZ'B233.1B',#$$&*3'
G
81)'3&$.G'*2C12=213/'UZ').,G#,,.&1'81)')27.62*83.&1/'81)'_Z'&*G<2,3*83.&1'81)'2+87#83.&1I'`.18774/'3<2'
I
8#3<&*,'8))*2,,'3<2',#,38.186.7.34'&5'3<2'NabA!Eb0'F&*-J&F'81)'.3,'G&**2,$&1).1B'NQ('.15*8,3*#G3#*2'
in the perspective of future utilization in additional eParticipation experiments.
INTRODUCTION a Consortium composed of six main Partners and

two subcontractors from five European countries.
This Chapter presents the results of a EU funded The aim was to strengthen and improve the tradi
Preparatory Action on eParticipation, entitled tional legislative, regulatory and policymaking
IDEALEU (“Integrating the Drivers of ePar process by adding an eparticipatory dimension
ticipation at Regional Level in Europe”) and that to it, providing the legislator, regulator or policy
was carried out over the years 2007 and 2008 by maker with citizens’ proposals and contributions
arising from the ICT supported trials performed
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch021
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
(initially with reference, but not limited to, the Platform (SNP) that allowed the distribution
field of climate change and energy). In particu of thematic information and realization of
lar, the IDEALEU trials’ implementation and electronic debates, involving Regional citi
operation was meant to develop the quality of zens and stakeholders, on the broad topic of
citizens’ involvement and engagement in public climate change and energy in Europe;
F
decisionmaking in two main directions, one of an B. Organizing on 15th November 2008 an
informative and the other of a deliberative nature. Electronic/Virtual Town Meeting (VTM), in
O
The intention was that of applying modern ICT to the three venues simultaneously (Florence,
enhance both the access to reliable and uptodate Poitiers and Barcelona) to let Regional young
information about policy issues and the ability of people discuss and vote on the most crucial
O
citizens to follow and engage in the various stages issues at stake and on the related recom
of the policy process. mendations to European policy makers, in
R
An overview of recent models and frameworks particular to the Temporary Committee on
for eParticipation (see the beginning of the next Climate Change, chaired by MEP Guido
P
Section) shows that researchers have mainly de Sacconi, to whom the deliberation results
veloped models at two quite distant levels. At a were handed out three days later;
L
highlevel, they have modeled the typical steps C. Laying the foundations of a European
in a policy/decisionmaking cycle. These include: Network of Participatory Regions (http://
A
(1) agenda setting, (2) prior analysis, (3) policy www.demopart.org/), based on the success
creation, (4) implementation, and (5) monitor ful track record of the three Governments
B
ing. At a lower, technological level, research involved in the project, but open to the wider
has focused on developing and applying specific involvement of other Regional authorities ac
technological solutions in specific steps of the tive in the good practices of (e)Participation
O
process and especially on specific design issues. in Europe.
L
Our efforts in the IDEALEU project were focused
on bridging the gap between these two levels of This Chapter is structured as follows: the
abstraction. Our aim was to develop a much more next Section (“Background”) introduces the
G
detailed workflow of the policy adoption process, stateoftheart at the beginning of the IDEAL
I
where we would identify the important phases of EU project. It starts by reviewing participatory
the process, the relevant technologies to be used practices in Europe and in particular the three
G
in each phase, and the data (and document) flows regions involved, and continues by establishing
I
that appear between phases. the background concepts used for the workflow
This Chapter particularly is aiming to pres model that is presented in the following Section
ent the IDEALEU trials execution in the three (“The IDEALEU Workflow Model and Tech
participant Regions Tuscany, Catalonia and nical Architecture”). Reflecting the workflow
PoitouCharentes – in relation to the practical components, the subsequent Section (entitled
implementation of the IDEALEU workflow, one “Implementation”) explains the technical tasks
of the most original achievements of the Project, and concrete initiatives undertaken by the three
based on the five step policy making cycle men participant Regions in order to comply with the
tioned above. workflow provisions during the performance of
The trials were carried out along three main the IDEALEU trials. This paves the way (in the
lines: Section entitled “Evaluation”) towards assessing
sustainability of the IDEALEU workflow and
A. Deploying and disseminating in the three ICT infrastructure – i.e. their suitability to being
Regions an innovative Social Networking replicated in additional experiments over time
418
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
(Molinari 2010b, Luehrs and Molinari 2010). straightforward: even in its bottomup instantia
Some conclusions are presented in the last Section. tions, eParticipation is always encompassed within
some structured, or informal, way of interaction
between Government and Citizens, which can be
BACKGROUND more easily and clearly understood in the context
F
of a process usually, though not always, a public
Early Research on Participatory decisionmaking process.
O
DecisionMaking in Europe However, being more interested in character
izing eParticipation projects per se, the above
The term Electronic Participation (eParticipation) strand of literature does not dedicate a comparable
O
has many different definitions in the literature; effort in locating and modeling the specific Public
most of them agree on the fact that this is a young Administration processes that are affected by
R
research area exploring the ways for “extending them. This leaves largely unattended the question,
and transforming the political processes by the use particularly relevant in a normative perspective
P
of information and communication technology” (see Rose et al., 2007: Sæbø et al., 2008), of
(Sæbø et al., 2007). In other words eParticipation whether the “e” addition has to be seen as a value
L
refers to the use of ICT to enhance people’s activ in itself, a byproduct of the automation of Public
ism and citizens’ involvement in public affairs Administration as a whole, or in which respects
A
with a particular emphasis on legislation and it actually improves the current performance of
policymaking of modern democratic societies. sociopolitical institutions. As Sæbø et al. (2008)
B
Recently, the fastest growth of both ‘topdown’ point out, “the forms, structures and purposes of
(Governmentdriven) and ‘bottomup’ (spontane democratic participation are much discussed in the
ously emerging from the citizenry) eParticipation literature of political science and political philoso
O
experiments in Western Europe and elsewhere, phy. However these understandings are partially
L
has inspired a number of interpretive frameworks, and inconsistently transferred to the eParticipa
which have been developed by several leading tion literature”, which prevents an assessment
scholars such as Anttiroiko (2003), Macintosh of the organisational benefits and/or democratic
G
(2004), Tambouris et al. (2007 a,b), Kalampokis gains related to ICT takeup in redesigning and
I
et al. (2008), Aichholzer and Westholm (2009), restructuring decisionmaking processes for the
Bicking and Wimmer (2009) etc., with the aim of legislative, regulatory and policy domains.
G
scoping, characterizing and evaluating this rela To make progress in that direction, this Chap
I
tively new phenomenon and its reported impact ter takes on the viewpoint of decisionmakers
on civic engagement, as well as on the Public themselves, particularly on the regional level.
Administration’s innovation. This derives from an impact and sustainability
Besides the ritual wish to improve voter evaluation of the IDEALEU project, which has
turnout and stimulate new forms of active citi leveraged on the managerial experience and
zenship through the diffusion of ICT, a common expertise on citizens’ participation of the three
feature of the above frameworks is that they all Regional Governments involved.
focus on Public Administration processes – in
the legislative, administrative or policymaking
domains as the natural ‘loci’ of deployment
and implementation of eParticipation methods
and tools, also compared with more traditional
(‘offline’) participation. The reason is quite
419
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
FORMER PARTICIPATORY by their immediate goals and thematic orienta

PRACTICES IN THE tion. In particular, since 2005, the High Schools’
IDEALEU REGIONS Participatory Budget has been funded with the
amount of 10 millions Euros annually. That was a
An analysis of the most important participatory première in France and in the world, as participa
F
practices in Tuscany, PoitouCharentes and Cata tory budgeting is mainly for municipalities and
lonia, before the performance of the IDEALEU rarely applied at the regional level. Since 2008
O
project trials, shows that there is no single way Participatory Forums and Citizens’ Juries have
of promoting citizens’ participation in public been held to evaluate Regional public policies in all
decisionmaking. fields of action. A dedicated website (http://www.
O
This goal has been a strategy of the Government democratieparticipative.fr/) deals with particular
of Catalonia since 2004, with the establishment aspects of the participatory democracy model
R
of a Directorate General for Citizen Participation implemented and the progress attained each year.
specifically devoted to the promotion and financial For the first time, thanks to the IDEALEU
P
support of public involvement in the formulation project, these three Regions have been jointly
and implementation of the Region’s policies. experimenting the same workflow of activities,
L
In Tuscany, public involvement has been pro combined with common technical solutions and
gressively affirmed as a sort of mandatory requisite their related methodologies for moderated online
A
in programming for socio economic development discourses and deliberations. To explore what
in general. The rationale for the extension of implications such a coordinate adoption and
B
concertation from collective bodies (like NGOs, experimentation may induce in the respective
trade unions and business associations) to ordi decisionmaking processes, we first introduce the
nary citizens relies on a mix of ‘ideological’ and IDEALEU workflow model and its corresponding
O
‘pragmatic’ considerations. An increased scope technical architecture. These are both presented
L
for people’s engagement in key policy decisions in the following Section. To conclude the present
that are directly affecting them might also prevent one, we briefly outline the theoretical foundations
the creation of spontaneous committees that typi our analysis started from.
G
cally induce a sine die postponement of the more
I
controversial determinations. The result of these
efforts has been the first Regional bill in Europe WORKFLOW CONCEPTION
G
(Law No. 69 of 2007) dealing with the involve
I
ment of citizens in the legislative and policy design As described above, existing literature provides a
processes. Prior to its drafting and approval by variety of frameworks and models to characterize
the Regional Council, the Cabinet started a col eParticipation projects. However, their utility is
lective discussion which lasted almost two years limited, since they are not directly applicable to
and made use of both ‘offline’ and ICT tools to the tasks of locating and modeling the specific
identify the core issues and possible guidelines processes in Public Administration. Therefore we
of this legislative effort, committing to receive started to draft the IDEALEU workflow from
any kind of structured input from the numerous scratch, based on its desired characteristics.
participative experiences already on course in There are two main features of a participa
the Region. tory workflow. On the one hand, it must support
In PoitouCharentes, participatory democracy policy design and implementation; hence, it should
has been an approach constantly followed since follow the characteristics of the general policy
2004 with the organization of events, debates and making process. On the other hand, it must have
other opportunities for public discussion, driven an informative and deliberative value for Public
420
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
Administration; hence, it should have the char 4. Policy Implementation: It can involve the
acteristics of social or peopledriven processes, development of legislation, regulation, guid
where collaboration and adhoc interaction are at ance, and a delivery plan.
least as important as highly structured work steps. 5. Policy Monitoring: It typically involves
Based on these requirements, we employed the review of the policy in action, research
F
three existing reference frameworks: evidence and views of users. Here there is
the possibility to loop back to stage one.
O
A. Macintosh’s (2004)standard representation 6. Furthermore, as an original contribution
of the policymaking (or more generally, emerged during the Project’s assessment
public decisionmaking) process; phase, it was decided to add a sixth stage
O
B Winograd and Flores (1987)interaction (Policy evaluation) to Macintosh’s (2004)
model to formalize the actual collabora model.
R
tion taking place among process actors;
C. Freeman’s (1984)stakeholders Another point of reference for the IDEALEU
P
theory to identify all the relevant workflow model drafting was a known business
actors and the respective tasks in process modeling technique named Action Work
L
the process. flow (ActionWorks, 2008), which relies on the
interaction model first introduced by Winograd
A
To describe the decisionmaking process of and Flores (1987). The latter is based on an under
Public Administration, we utilized the model that standing of how knowledge workers interact and
B
was first introduced by Anttiroiko (2003) and collaborate. Hence, its strength lies in the ability
then formalized by Macintosh (2004), which is of modeling social processes (i.e. peopledriven
composed of five highlevel steps: processes) exactly what we needed to design the
O
IDEALEU workflow.
L
1. Agenda Setting: Establishing the need for Action Workflow captures and coordinates the
a policy or a modification of an existing way people having different skills and knowledge
one and defining what is the problem to be collaborate on business decisions. Collaboration
G
addressed. depends on one individual or group (the ‘custom
I
2. Prior Analysis: Defining the challenges ers’) requesting some specific job from another
and opportunities associated with the given individual or group (the ‘performers’). The two
G
agenda item more clearly, in order to produce parties then negotiate an agreement in which the
I
a draft policy document (it can include: performers commit to doing the job, deliver it,
gathering evidence and knowledge from and the customers assess the results to see that it
different sources including citizens and meets the negotiated agreement. This collabora
civil society organizations; understanding tion process can be depicted as a closedloop
the context, including the political context interaction model and represents the atomic unit
for the agenda item or developing a range of work. A business process then becomes a series
of options). of loops, one main loop and several subprocess
3. Policy Creation: Ensuring a good, workable loops, representing the interactions and commit
policy document (this involves a variety ments taking place among collaborating people
of mechanisms which can include: formal involved at different stages of the overall process.
consultation, risk analysis, undertaking pilot Finally, Freeman’s (1984) stakeholder theory
studies, and designing the implementation was employed assisting us to identify individuals,
plan). groups of individuals and organisations taking
421
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
Table 1. Stakeholders of the IDEALEU workflow
Stakeholder Description Major tasks

Owners Representatives of the Regional administration, includ Political management and support of the participatory
ing elected officials and strategic advisors workflow model
Decision makersi EU Parliamentarians and more specifically the mem Integration of the participative workflow in the deci
F
bers of the Committee on Climate Change of the EU sion making proceedings
Parliament
Practitioners Competentii civil servants staff and climate change Agenda setting, preparing materials in support of the
O
and/or participation methodology experts debate, collecting the results and synthesizing the
conclusions
Moderators Moderators and facilitators of the public debates, in Moderation of debates and deliberations collection,
O
vited by the owners, also including volunteer workers including the resolution of any nontechnical problems
and domain experts as above that may arise during workflow execution
R
Participantsiii Interested citizens, businesses, civil society organiza Active participation in the debates and deliberations,
tions, NGOs, political groups: randomly selected, pur including provision of opinions, comments, ideas, etc.
posefully invited or selfinvited (e.g. SNP subscribers)
P
Technical support Information Technology experts (Regional staff) Resolution of any technical problems that may arise
group during workflow execution
L
i Individuals, groups or organisations that are affected by the workflow results. They can either be ‘internal’ or ‘external’ to the Public
Administration ‘owning’ the debates.
ii The notion of competence here is used in its legal meaning.
A
iii Users of the SNP and participants in the VTM.
B
roles or having any other interest in the IDEALEU als who have any kind of interest touched upon,
workflow. According to that theory, we identified and contribute to or are affected by the IDEAL
O
six classes of individuals, groups of individuals and EU workflow.
organisations, as key stakeholders of the IDEAL According to the task descriptions provided in
L
EU workflow. They are presented in Table 1. Table 2, some stakeholders play a supporting role
In general, stakeholders can be defined as (such as moderators and technical staff), while
G
organisations, individuals or groups of individu others (such as Regional decision makers and the
I
Table 2. Decomposition of the IDEALEU workflow
G
Public decisionmaking IDEALEU workflow modules Collaborating Stakeholders IDEALEU
I
process technical components
1. Agenda Setting Agenda setting and analysis P+H"#*<*$%+./3")< none (offline activity)
P+V4%")<
P+,)/#1*1*$%")<
2. Prior Analysis Getting support and topic refinement P+,)/#1*1*$%")< SNP
P+,/)1*#*=/%1<
3. Policy Creation Discussion and Deliberation P+,/)1*#*=/%1< VTM
P+L$;")/1$)<
4. Policy Implementation P+L$;")/1$)<
P+H"#*<*$%+L/3")<
5. Policy Monitoring Orchestration and evaluation: Evalu P+,/)1*#*=/%1< SNP
ation P+L$;")/1$)<
6. Policy Evaluation P+V4%")< none (offline activity)
P+H"#*<*$%+L/3")<
Orchestration and evaluation: Orches P+,)/#1*1*$%")< SNP
tration P+L$;")/1$)< VTM
P+@"#5%*#/8+<(==$)1+')$(=
422
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
Figure 1. The IDEALEU closedloop interaction
O F
R O
P
general public) are essential components of any a main generic loop of the IDEALEU workflow
participatory experiment, giving the rationale for that includes all the activities needed for the ex
L
its preparation, ensuring the quantity and quality ecution of Project trials (Colombo et al. 2009).
of its results, and also showing its usefulness for This is depicted in Figure 1:
A
“traditional” policy or law/regulation making Figure 2 presents a generalization of the
processes. IDEALEU workflow model, taking into account
B
the complexity and multilevel nature of gover
nance. Here, the basic interaction loop is reorga
THE IDEALEU WORKFLOW AND nized into three interconnected loops, identifying
O
TECHNICAL ARCHITECTURE the main ‘loci’ of participatory decisionmaking
L
in Europe, namely:
Description of the Workflow Model
G
P+ The EU institution level (the European
Following the idea of the business interaction Parliament in this case), resulting in actual
I
model defined by Action Workflow, combined policy decisions and initiatives according
with the 5step policymaking cycle, we drafted
I G
Figure 2. The generalized IDEALEU workflow model
423
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
to the IDEALEU sample scenario that re the input for future developments in the legislative,
volved around climate change and energy; regulatory and/or governmental action environ
P+ The Regional institutions level, resulting ments (i.e. what is called policy implementation).
in contributions and working proposals for However, due to a partly unexpected change in the
the EU (or EP) tier; time schedule of Project activities, the IDEAL
F
P+ The actual involvement and empowerment EU Consortium had the opportunity to appreciate
of citizens at the Regional level, by means the SNP’s role at two different stages of public
O
of the IDEALEU technical infrastructure, decisionmaking: firstly, as a complement to
enabling participation of the general public agenda setting and particularly support to topic
in European and Regional policymaking refinement and secondly, as an additional tool for
O
processes. policy monitoring and evaluation (Molinari and
Porquier 2010).
R
Internally, each of these loops still comprises
all four stages of the interaction model shown in
P
Figure 1; however, within each loop on a different DESCRIPTION OF THE
decisionmaking level, using different approaches/ TECHNICAL ARCHITECTURE
L
platforms and focusing on different audiences.
This ensures that a request for action from the Jointly with the previous efforts, we also drafted
A
upper level is properly handled and completed by a technical architecture, which aims to visualize
the lower, with feedback information provided to the technological components supporting the
B
all the parties involved. IDEALEU workflow model implementation and
The three interaction loops are connected in the way they are linked to the various activities
order to emphasize the main data flows between the (mainly showing the data flows between them).
O
various parties involved. The connection arrows The technical architecture also specifies how the
L
are numbered in order to emphasize the normal stakeholders of the IDEALEU workflow interact
order of activities in the workflow. with the specific technological components.
Table 2 presents the relationship between the As should be evident from the previous de
G
four activity modules of the basic IDEALEU scription, the underlying technical platform is an
I
workflow and the six steps of the public decision integral part of the IDEALEU workflow model.
making process introduced in the previous Section. The two basic technological components by which
G
The stakeholders’ roles and tasks are matched with the workflow was implemented are:
I
the more appropriate components of the policy
cycle, according to the collaborative nature of the P+ The Social Networking Platform, allowing
IDEALEU workflow modules. The last column tailored information to be published and
specifies the technical platforms (if any) used to moderated online debates on the selected
support the respective activities. issue (Molinari and Porquier 2010);
In our initial view, the IDEALEU workflow P+ The Electronic/Virtual Town Meeting, en
should end at the policy creation stage, since it abling users to take part in real and remote
was mainly intended to define and prioritize (by sessions of deliberation and formulate pro
means of the SNP and particularly VTM debates) posals for future policy or legislation in a
the key issues at stake, including the formulation structured and controlled way (Molinari
of guidelines for policymakers – in this case, the 2010a).
EP’s Temporary Committee on Climate Change.
Hence, its outputs were expected to represent just
424
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
Figure 3. The IDEALEU technical architecture
O F
R O
L P
A
The IDEALEU technical architecture is out usage for citizen’s empowerment and participation
B
lined in Figure 3. in public decisionmaking. During the Project, the
Following the IDEALEU technical architec main objectives of the workflow implementation
O
ture, a Regional Government in a EU country may can be summarized as follows:
wish to use the SNP first to organize participa
L
tory electronic discussions regarding issues of A. Give evidence on the SNP to the issue of
national and/or European interest. Then it may global climate change and the reduction
G
perform a Town Meeting in order to articulate the of CO2 emissions as a ‘hot topic’ for the
discussion and gather the results into a set of Regional community, also in relation to the
I
welldocumented guidelines for decision makers. ongoing efforts of the European Parliament’s
Finally, the Regional authority may wish to send Temporary Committee on Climate Change;
G
the results to the relevant EU/National Parliament B. Encourage discussion among citizens on
I
committees and/or legislative bodies. Ideally, the these issues by supplementing them with
Parliament addressed would send back a sum all the information available on the subject
mary of the decisionmaking process involved matters involved, including the views of
and the role of the received guidelines within that experts and other relevant documentation
process. provided by the EP and the other Regions
participating in the project;
C. Store the above information on the online
IMPLEMENTATION SNP and use it as a way to attract interest
and a qualified participation in the VTM;
The IDEALEU project has been a good opportu D. Use the VTM to build a coherent set of pro
nity for designing and operationally testing a new posals to be shared with the EU institutions.
and innovative workflow model related to ICT
425
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
In the following Subsections, the technical absent as such from the public debate but none
tasks and the concrete initiatives undertaken across theless very relevant for the generations to come.
the four modules of the participatory workflow The Project consortium also obtained a prior
are overviewed. acceptance from the Committee Chair based on
the “no interference, no commitment” agreement.
F
The key aspects of the SNP configuration were
AGENDA SETTING AND also agreed between the ICT Partner of IDEALEU
O
PRIOR ANALYSIS and the three participant Regions during the first
project months, with the support of visual mock
This first module is of high strategic importance, ups and brainstorming meetings. The SNP, with
O
since it determines the key objectives and topics of its opensource architecture (based on DRUPAL
the participatory experiment and how to establish CMS), is highly and easily replicable at a low cost
R
and/or strengthen the enabling conditions for a on any suitable topic for public debate. Moreover,
successful experience in the target community. this very efficient architecture proved useful to
P
The decision to discuss climate change and develop an adapted version for the website of the
sustainable energy within the IDEALEU project Network of Participatory Regions (http://www.
L
was somehow logical, since a Temporary Commit demopart.org/), potentially allowing to provide
tee on Climate Change (CLIM) was established in the same information in 6 languages on the same
A
2007 in order to coordinate the European Parlia platform.
ment’s position ahead of negotiations on a post The SNP was made available in four languages:
B
2012 climate policy framework and to examine Catalan, French, English and Italian. However,
how the EU could respond to the new “Kyoto as far as content is concerned, the three national
II” challenges. versions were quite independent from each other,
O
In parallel, the Tuscan Government was en while the English one was meant to offer general
L
gaged in several participatory processes, utilizing information as well as access to the main official
VTM and web forums on different topics as well texts of the EU legislation in this domain.
as established public assisted access points to the Content selection for the SNP initialization
G
Internet throughout the region. was made through focus groups and other forms
I
In addition, the three Regional Administrations of direct interaction with the Regional stakehold
that joined the IDEALEU consortium decided to ers interested in climate change as a research or
G
target young people students, young workers, application domain. The materials created in this
I
youth associations etc. – within their respective way and displayed on the SNP were conceived
communities for the first known example of a of as ideas or pieces of information to elicit or
panEuropean eParticipation experiment. ‘provoke’ comments from the participants.
Thus, identification of the Project’s thematic
domain was not driven by an internal process
restructuring nor derived from a political will to GETTING SUPPORT AND
make an existing Regional policy or administra TOPIC REFINEMENT
tive procedure more participative. It was rather
a way to collaborate more actively and visibly This module is aimed at raising awareness of the
with the EP’s CLIM Committee in designing a stakeholders and the general public about the
suitable agenda of international policy priorities objectives and contents of the planned discussions
on a crucial if not controversial issue, which was and deliberations, as well as at convincing them
of the importance of the specific participatory
426
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
experience. Stakeholders may include the ‘exter DISCUSSION AND DELIBERATION

nal’ policy makers to whom the workflow output
is to be submitted, as they do not belong to the The main objective of this module is to enable an
Regional administration(s) involved. They may informed discussion and deliberation on concrete
also include the national and regional communities and relevant legislative or policymaking issues,
F
of practice in the topic area selected. which later on become inputs for further delibera
Individual Regions used different approaches tions or legislative/administrative determinations
O
in getting support for the project. Their communi by the “appointed” decision makers.
cation campaigns addressed different target groups The IDEALEU SNP started its public activity
(e.g. individual youngsters, regional public bodies, in September 2008 and lasted until midNovember
O
universities, NGOs, environmental organisations, 2008 when the VTM took place. Both moderators
private companies, editorial boards, etc.) using and registered users could initiate new threads
R
the most common offline and online forms of and polls on issues related to climate change
information dissemination. and suggest remedies. Reference material was
P
The Project identified five different ways to available for downloading, e.g. scientific and
communicate the SNP launch to the general public: informative documents related to the IDEALEU
L
project and climate change. Didactic materials
P+ By carrying out a traditional communi were also provided to allow informal debates
A
cation campaign (with the distribution of among participants. Members were also able to
7)$#5()"<+/%;+8"/D"1<Rc build Twittertype networks of friends.
B
P+ r9+<"%;*%'+e$-&#*/8f+"A./*8+."<</'"< The SNP was facilitated by professional
T @$+15"+";*1$)*/8+$-&#"<+$-+$%8*%"+F$() moderators, specialists in environmental issues
nals dealing with environmental or and/or citizen participation processes who also
O
(e)Participation issues; provided updated material to the platform. Dur
L
T To the editorial staff of organizations/ ing the debates however, it appeared that first of
associations operating in the environ all, young people were interested in searching
."%1/8+&"8;c the information themselves from their teachers,
G
P+ By reporting the startup of the SNP and of books and the Internet, and second, that it was
I
the IDEALEU project in websites dedicat more important, for a better discussion dynam
ed to news, warnings, reports etc… where ics, to provide synthetic information or links to
G
users supply information on any kind of websites directly inside the threads.
I
initiatives. These websites are organized Experience has shown how powerful this tool
by category and the environment is one of can be in connecting participants that do not know
the most popular ones; each other, but are willing to look for and imme
P+ By taking part in discussion forums/blogs diately find information on a new topic, build and
on environmental issues and presenting the exchange knowledge and share their views with
new platform and its objectives directly to peers. The SNP has also been a very relevant way
the participant audience. for spreading information and recruiting some
P+ By establishing cooperation with different of the participants to the VTM. At the end of the
educational institutions who promoted the trial, 1176 users were registered on the platform
edebates and worked with their students from the three countries.
in order to boost their participation in the In order to replicate the use of such a par
SNP. ticipatory platform, we would advise to set up a
longer term activity, which could lead to increase
427
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
the numbers of participants, particularly within Participants mostly came from regional High
stakeholders, and organize some regular ‘SNP Schools. The majority was between 15 and 18
related’ events in order to create a stronger feeling years old, even if there were a few people up
of membership in the community. to 35 years old. The general debate on climate
The IDEALEU VTM was held on November change was structured around two thematic axes.
F
15th 2008. It took place simultaneously in seven The morning session was common to the three
different venues in the three Regions: Catalonia Regions and dealt with the subject of Climate
O
(Cornellà), Tuscany (Florence, Follonica, Leg Change and Energy in Europe, and approached
horn, Prato, Abbadia San Salvatore), and Poitou the issues of renewable energies, substitution
Charentes (Poitiers). of fuels and reduction of energy consumption.
O
It enabled more than 500 participants to engage There were several discussion rounds, closed by
directly in a deliberative discussion on climate evoting trials.
R
change related issues, supported by highly techno The afternoon session was developed locally
logical tools and, after being thoroughly informed as follows:
P
on the topics to be discussed. At the end of the
discussion, the young people could vote on the P+ In Catalonia, it dealt with waste production,
L
most crucial issues at stake. discussing about reuse and recycling and
The event was organized using two different addressing the energy potential of waste
A
architectures concurrently: and the minimization of its production.
P+ In PoitouCharentes, the chosen subject
B
P+ The ‘on site’ model, with three simultane was personal mobility and public trans
ous events held in different languages and port, involving issues such as car sharing,
locations in each of the partner regions; alternative means of transport, pedestrian
O
P+ The ‘virtual tables’ model, with one or areas in big and small cities, etc.
L
more “virtual rooms” composed of 8 to 12 P+ In Tuscany, the debate addressed wind en
eusers (web connected participants) lo ergy production, particularly the question
cated all over Europe and communicating of whether such structures are aesthetically
G
in English. compatible with country landscapes.
I
The venues were connected through a video A discussion guide was prepared for debate
G
conference and streaming system, which allowed development, which systematized the main topics
I
participants to follow and develop the debate in a under discussion and the policy options available
simultaneous way. The two architectures shared for each of them. It was distributed before starting
the same structure of interaction among the par the Town Meeting, and used before each delibera
ticipants. This allowed for an easy integration of tive round allowing time enough for participants
the results between the different discussion venues. to read it and form an opinion about the specific
The general organization of the working day was issues to be discussed.
coordinated from the central venue located in
Tuscany, where a technical team gave instructions
to develop the whole event, marked the rhythm ORCHESTRATION AND EVALUATION
of the debates and established the moments of
interventions from the political representatives This module is aimed at supervising, monitoring
and domain experts. and assessing the results of a smooth and effec
tive performance of workflow activities, from
428
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
both the technical and nontechnical perspective, Interaction with the remote sites was seen as
throughout the whole duration of the trial. useless, because the young participants could not
Having in mind the number of participants, have any significant exchange of ideas with young
the public interest in the issues dealt with and the people from different countries. This was partly
results obtained, we can highlight as a matter of related with the language problem, as the transla
F
fact that the systematic usage of participatory tools tion of dialogues would have further increased the
calling on citizens to express their opinions in a duration of the whole event.
O
structured way leads to many positive outcomes, As mentioned earlier, the IT Department
also including that of having a public that is more of the Tuscany Region worked to support the
aware of its rights and duties. project teams in all three locations, to control
O
While no quality feedback was requested from the workflow of technical activities implied by
participants in the SNP, it is worth mentioning the correct execution of the project’s tasks and
R
here the results of the questionnaire distributed to act as the ultimate advisory and problem solv
to the Table Facilitators of the Florence, Cornellà ing instance for any critical issue encountered,
P
and Poitiers Town Meetings at the end of the day, both technologically and in terms of content and
to measure their level of satisfaction and gather participation. This hierarchical structure appears
L
suggestions on possible improvements in the particularly appropriate, in light of the novelty of
overall organization. the technical issues raised by the participation of
A
As expected, the questionnaire revealed some the other Administrations in the Project.
positive and other more negative aspects. Accord Finally, the VTM results were collected into
B
ing to the participants’ opinion, the organization an instant report, which was handed out to all the
of the event was excellent; the Regional staff participants at the end of the day and also formally
understood well the complexity of taking care delivered to the European Parliament’s Temporary
O
of all the details. In particular, the use of modern Committee on Climate Change on 18th November
L
technologies (computer, video streaming, and elec 2008. Some participants in the Town Meeting were
tronic voting) was much appreciated by the Tuscan also invited to that ceremony, which took place
participants. The same occurred in Catalonia where at the EP premises in Strasbourg.
G
both participants and facilitators collaborated to
I
achieve a good deliberative atmosphere.
The VTM methodology of discussion in small EVALUATION
G
groups followed by a final synthesis performed
I
by domain experts and the prioritization of issues In order to evaluate the trial results, we focused
by means of electronic voting, left participants on assessing the sustainability of the IDEALEU
with the positive feeling that they could really workflow and infrastructure, i.e. its suitability to
express their own opinions and that these would being replicated in further experiments over time.
be listened to. To this end, we adopted a framework based on five
Two negative aspects emerged from the ques attributes of the sustainability concept (Molinari
tionnaire: the timing of the agenda and interaction 2010b). Their definitions and evaluation results
with the remote sites. At the end of the day the are presented in the following.
participants were very tired and the debate suffered
from long waiting times between and during the Juridical Compliance
sessions. This fatigue was not due to the topics
chosen nor to the way they were presented, but A legislative or policymaking process is said to
is connatural to the Town Meeting organization. be juridically compliant whenever it can be fairly
429
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
Table 3. IDEALEU coverage (juridical compliance)
Juridical Compliance
Regional National EU
legislation legislation legislation
Catalonia N/A N/A Yes
F
PoitouCharentes N/A Yes Yes
Tuscany Yes N/A Yes
acknowledged by a neutral third party (in particu

lar, to the extreme, by administrative Justice), as
within the scope and provisions of existing laws O
parties to a governing majority may find some
O
or all of its decisions as lacking legitimacy, yet
demonstrating that they also break existing norms
R
and regulations in the subject area addressed. A (e.g. a Constitutional principle). Moreover, one
variant of the above definition particularly apt to of the key features of representative democracy
P
Common Law countries, such as the UK – makes is the political legitimization of governments by
reference to compliance with the statutory aims means of periodic (free and transparent) elections.
L
of a public sector organization and/or with the Nonetheless, greater trust and better acceptance
previous rulings of administrative Courts. From of ruling governments in the eyes of citizens are
A
this definition, a first attribute of sustainable often associated with the creation of more and
participation can be derived: A participatory better spaces for involvement in decisionmaking.
B
decisionmaking process (workflow) can be said From this definition, a second attribute of sustain
to be sustainable when it maintains the previous able participation can be derived: A participatory
degree of juridical compliance unaltered. decisionmaking process (workflow) can be said
O
The IDEALEU workflow model and ICT to be sustainable when it increases the level of
L
infrastructure are compliant with existing legisla its political legitimacy over time.
tion. More specifically, the exact position of the Quite understandably, a common trait of the
G
three Regions could be mapped according to the trials in all regions is that legitimacy derives
following dimensions: from trust, and trust is associated with cred
I
What is currently missing, or could be im ibility. For sure, both the IDEALEU workflow
proved, is the formal establishment of the legisla and infrastructure have demonstrated to enhance
G
tive conditions under which (offline and/or online) credibility, trust and legitimacy in the eyes of the
I
participation becomes mandatory for the public involved population, of relevant stakeholders and
sector organisations involved. also (particularly in the French case) of third party
organisations.
However, a known axiom from Game Theory
LEGITIMACY relates with reiteration or replication over time,
a core attribute of process sustainability in our
A legislative or policymaking process is said to be view: whenever a game is replicated, the results
legitimate whenever it is approved by a majority of the previous round affect the propensity and
of the adult population (in particular, by a majority interest of players towards the next round. As the
of the voters in general for national or local elec restitution of results to the trial participants was
tions). Legitimacy has a different meaning with only partial in this Project, due to the particular
respect to juridical compliance. The opposing circumstances of the relationship between the
430
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
Table 4. IDEALEU coverage (legitimacy)
Legitimacy
Population Regional Third Party
as a whole Stakeholders Organisations
Catalonia Yes N/A Yes
F
PoitouCharentes Yes Yes Yes
Tuscany Yes N/A Yes
European Parliament and Regions, the risk remains

high of not taking sufficient care of this delicate
aspect (i.e. the dynamically recurring nature of O
of citizens and stakeholders. From this definition,
O
a third attribute of sustainable participation can be
derived: A participatory decisionmaking process
R
trust building) when and if additional applications (workflow) can be said to be sustainable when it
of the IDEALEU workflow and tools may occur creates more or at least no less social value than
P
the future. the previous (non participatory) instances.
A crucial finding that comes from the trials is
L
that citizens empowerment continues well after
SOCIAL VALUE the end of the participatory process. This makes
A
participatory approaches particularly appropri
The concept of social value is broader than that ate in situations where the long term impact of
B
of social capital, as it also includes subjective as the policy under discussion depends more on
pects of citizens’ wellbeing, such as their ability people’s behavior than the monitoring or legal
to participate in decisions that affect themselves. enforcement of policy measures. Thus, it can
O
Changes in social value may occur over time, be be concluded that the social value of political
L
cause of e.g. changes in the dominant moral vision, participation derives not only from the scope
the evolution of religious beliefs, changes in the and opportunities allowed by the participatory
G
economy, technological innovation, demographic workflow and trials implemented, which have an
shifts, scientific findings, etc. On the other hand, impact on trust and legitimacy more than value
I
it is a known fact that communities able to engage creation as such. Social value rather stems from
their citizens in activities of social relevance are the (re) establishment of a ‘culture of personal
G
also the most successful in reaching sustainable engagement’, which is nourished by a sense of
I
development targets. A legislative or policy awareness (Catalonia), empowerment (Tuscany)
making process is said to create social value if it and commitment (PoitouCharentes).
enhances the collaboration and civic engagement
Table 5. IDEALEU coverage (social value)
Social value
Creation of Citizens Citizens
Awareness Empowerment Commitment
Catalonia Yes N/A N/A
PoitouCharentes Yes Yes Yes
Tuscany Yes Yes N/A
431
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
EFFICIENCY with respect to less technologyintensive partici

pation solutions.
Efficiency can be defined as the ratio between
outputs (or results) of a project/programme and
the inputs (or resources) that were necessary to PRODUCTIVITY
F
support its activities. In short, working with greater
efficiency means doing more with the same or Formally speaking, productivity might appear to
O
the same with less. One of the known difficulties be the same as efficiency, i.e. the ratio between
related to such a concept is that neither the outputs outputs and inputs of a project/programme. Even
nor the inputs of a given project/programme are all still, we adopt a narrower definition that focuses
O
quantitatively measurable by common parameters. on a specific aspect of public administrations: the
This is why we have adopted a narrower definition productivity rate of employees and managers. Fol
R
of efficiency, which is nonetheless particularly lowing this definition, a fifth attribute of sustain
useful in highlighting the importance of achieving able participation can be derived: A participatory
P
cost savings, or at least keeping costs the same, decisionmaking process (workflow) can be said to
by the integration of participation into existing be sustainable when it increases public officials’
L
institutional frameworks. From this definition, a productivity over time.
fourth attribute of sustainable participation can be The trials confirmed, first of all, that productiv
A
derived: A participatory decisionmaking process ity and efficiency can be taken at first sight as two
(workflow) can be said to be sustainable when it sides of the same coin. This particularly emerges
B
increases efficiency with respect to its previous from the comments made in PoitouCharentes (and
(non participatory) processes. partly in Catalonia) regarding the heavy burden
From the trial analysis, there seems to be induced by offline activities in preparation for a
O
no doubt that electronic participation implies successful online participation. Yet a more careful
L
additional costs with respect to nonelectronic, analysis identifies productivity advantages distinct
or nonparticipation cases. But these extra costs from the efficiency gains highlighted above. In
can be partially or totally offset by three factors: particular, the following hypotheses can be for
G
1) reaching more people, 2) getting feedback of mulated: 1) Web 2.0 and “crowdsourcing” tools
I
higher quality, and/or 3) reuse of the ICT infra help policy makers leverage the potential of citizen
structure. participation for the creation of new and better
G
However, as demonstrated by the French and ideas; 2) learning how to manage innovative ICT
I
Italian experiences, reuse of the SNP has a more infrastructures for participation such as the VTM
limited scope and value than that of the VTM, increases the level of knowledge acquisition by
which implies some unavoidable cost increase civil servants; 3) effective participation reduces
Table 6. IDEALEU coverage (efficiency)
Efficiency
Better Quality Infrastructure
Outreach Feedback Reuse
Catalonia Yes N/A Yes
PoitouCharentes Yes Yes N/A
Tuscany Yes Yes Yes
432
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
Table 7. IDEALEU coverage (productivity)
Productivity
“Crowd Knowledge “Time to
sourcing” Acquisition Market”
Catalonia Yes N/A N/A
F
PoitouCharentes Yes Yes N/A
Tuscany Yes N/A Yes
the “time to market” of public policies, or the

time lag between decisions and implementation.
In this scenario, a critical aspect not mentioned O
gional level using two innovative ICT tools, the
O
SNP and the VTM, which have demonstrated their
complementarity in content provision, awareness
R
in any regional report concerns how to best es raising and elicitation of structured discussions
tablish eParticipation methods and tools within a both online and offline. Finally, the IDEALEU
P
public authority aiming to engage in this task workflow implementation has been assessed
systematically and/or permanently. Viable or in terms of sustainability, or the likelihood that
L
ganisational solutions can be manifold, ranging another Legislator, Regulator or Policy Maker
from the creation of a dedicated internal depart may adopt the same approach to strengthen and
A
ment to spreading technical and procedural improve traditional decisionmaking processes by
knowledge more widely across the whole staff. adding a participatory dimension to it.
B
Presumably, the final choice will also depend on Currently, there are no consolidated method
the number and variety of participatory pro ologies, process models or pragmatic approaches
cesses adopted and their frequency. to how to best manage eParticipation in public
O
decisionmaking. Based on the results presented
L
in this Chapter, highlevel guidelines could in
CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK the future also be prepared for any Public Ad
G
ministration wishing to engage in a participatory
This Chapter has analyzed the activities carried process with its constituencies. Taken together, the
I
out by the Regional Partners of the IDEALEU participatory workflow, its documented instances
Project, during the setup, management and evalu and the IDEALEU technical architecture repre
G
ation of the participatory trials foreseen in the sent significant progress – not only conceptual,
I
project workplan. The presentation validates the but also operational towards the introduction of
four components of the ‘IDEALEU workflow’, permanent ways of integrating the ‘citizens’ will’
one of the most important achievements of our into democratic decisionmaking at the Regional
work. For each component of the participatory level in Europe, within and outside the thematic
workflow, a set of technical and non technical domain of climate change and energy.
actions has been introduced and described, at
the Regional level, which can also serve as docu
mented ‘instances’ of the proposed workflow, in ACKNOWLEDGMENT
order to pave the way for further analysis and
experimentation. The goal of the IDEALEU This research was made possible in part through
project has been to design, develop and validate the cofunding by the European Commission of
a prototype of a participative process at the Re the IDEALEU project (http://www.idealeu.net),
433
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
a Preparatory Action in the area of eParticipation, Kalampokis, E., Tambouris, E., & Tarabanis, K.
and the close collaboration with the Temporary (2008). A domain model for eparticipation. In
Committee on Climate Change (CLIM) at the Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference
European Parliament, chaired by MEP Guido on Internet and Web Applications and Services.
Sacconi. The opinions expressed in this paper
F
Luehrs, R., & Molinari, F. (2010). Editorial note.
are solely of the authors and do not involve any
eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government
of the EU institutions.
(JeDEM), Special Issue on Sustainable ePartici
O
pation, September.
REFERENCES Macintosh, A. (2004). Characterizing epar
O
ticipation in policymaking. In Proceedings of
ActionWorks. (2008). ActionWorks, the action the 37th Hawaii International Conference on
R
technologies business process analysis and re System Sciences. Retrieved April 30, 2008 from
design methodology, and the business interaction http://csdl2.computer.org/comp/proceedings/
P
model. Action Technologies Inc. Retrieved June hicss/2004/2056/05/205650117a.pdf
5, 2008, from http://www.actiontech.com
Molinari, F. (2010a). Thrilled by the tools, chilled
L
Aichholzer, G., & Westholm, H. (2009). Evaluat by the figures. How an “E” can really make the
ing eparticipation projects: Practical examples difference in political participation. In Proceed
A
and outline of an evaluation framework. European ings of the IADIS ED2010 Conference, Freiburg,
Journal of ePractice, 7. Retrieved December 14, Germany.
B
2009, from http://www.epractice.eu
Molinari, F. (2010b). On sustainable eparticipa
Anttiroiko, A.V. (2003). Building strong e tion. In E. Tambouris, A. Macintosh & O. Glassey
O
democracy — The role of technology in devel (Eds.), Proceedings of the IFIP ePart2010 Con
L
oping democracy for the information age. ACM ference, (pp. 12639). Lausanne, Switzerland:
Communications, 46(9). Springer.
G
Bicking, M., & Wimmer, M. (2009). Evaluation Molinari, F., & Porquier, E. (2010). Social net
framework to assess eparticipation projects in working on climate change: The IDEALEU
I
Europe. In E. Tambouris & A. Macintosh (Eds.), experience. In Proceedings of the eDEM2010
Proceedings of the DEXA ePart2009 Conference, Conference, Donau University Krems (Austria).
G
(pp. 6775). Linz, Austria: Trauner Verlag.
I
Rose, J., Grönlund, Å., & Andersen, K. V.
Colombo, C., Kunstelj, M., Molinari, F., & Todoro (2007). Introduction. In A. Avdic, K. Hedström,
vski, L. (2009). Workflow modeling for participa J. Rose, & Å. Grönlund (Eds.), Understanding e
tory policy design: Lessons from three European participation. Contemporary PhD eparticipation
regions. In E. Tambouris & A. Macintosh (Eds.), research in Europe. Örebro University Library.
Proceedings of the DEXA ePart2009 Conference, Retrieved December 14, 2009 from http://www.
(pp. 101111). Linz, Austria: Trauner Verlag. demonet.org
Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic management: Sæbø, Ø., Rose, J., & Flak, L. S. (2007). The shape
A stakeholder approach. Boston, MA: Pittman. of eparticipation: Characterizing an emerging
research area. Government Information Quarterly,
25, 400–428. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2007.04.007
434
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
Tambouris, E., Liotas, N., Kaliviotis, D., & BeynonDavies, P., Owens, I., Williams, M. D.,
Tarabanis, K. (2007b). A framework for scoping & Hill, R. (2003). Electronic consultation at the
eparticipation. In Proceedings of the 8th An National Assembly for Wales. In C. U. Ciborra, R.
nual International Digital Government Research Mercurio, M. De Marco, M. Martinez, & A. Carig
Conference. nani (Eds.), Proceedings of the Eleventh European
F
Conference on Information Systems, Naples, Italy,
Tambouris, E., Liotas, N., & Tarabanis, K. (2007a).
(pp. 212226). Retrieved April 30, 2008, from
A framework for assessing eparticipation projects
O
http://is2.lse.ac.uk/asp/aspecis/20030012.pdf
and tools. In Proceedings of the 40th Hawaii
International Conference on System Sciences. Climate Ark. (2008). Climate change and global
O
warming portal. Retrieved March 31, 2008, from
Winograd, T., & Flores, F. (1987). Understanding
http://www.climateark.org/
computers and cognition: A new foundation for
R
design. Boston, MA: AddisonWesley Longman Coglianese, C. (2004). Erulemaking: Information
Publishing Co., Inc. Technology and regulatory policy. New direc
P
tions in digital government research. Harvard
University.
L
ADDITIONAL READING Coleman, S. (2007). From big brother to big
brother: Two faces of interactive engagement .
A
Abramson, J. B. (1993). Democratic designs for In Dahlgren, P. (Ed.), Young citizens and new
electronic town meetings. Conference on Elec media: Learning and democratic engagement.
B
tronic Town Meetings, Queenstown, MD, October New York, NY: Routledge.
2628, 1992. Washington, DC: The Aspen Insti
Coleman, S. (2008). Doing IT for themselves:
O
tute. Retrieved March 6, 2010, from http://www.
eric.ed.gov:80/ERICDocs/ data/ericdocs2sql/ Management versus autonomy in youth ecitizen
L
content_storage_01/ 0000019b/80/15/26/6b.pdf ship . In Bennett, W. L. (Ed.), Civic life online:
Learning how digital media can engage youth
Ahmed, N. (2006). An overview of eparticipation
G
(pp. 189–206). MacArthur Foundation.
models. Division for Public Administration and
Coleman, S., Macintosh, A., & Schneeberger, A.
I
Development Management (DPADM), Depart
ment of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). (2007). Eparticipation research direction based
Retrieved March 31, 2008, from http://unpan1. on barriers, challenges and needs. DEMONet
G
Project Deliverable No. 12.3. Retrieved December
I
un.org/intradoc/groups/ public/documents/UN/
UNPAN023622.pdf 30, 2009, from http://www.demonet.org
Aichholzer, G., Allhutter, D., Freschi, A. C., Council of Europe. (2009). Recommenda
Lippa, B., Macintosh, A., Moss, G., & Westholm, tion on eDemocracy (No. 1 of 2009). Re
H. (2008). Eparticipation evaluation and im trieved March 6, 2010, from http://www.coe.
pact. DEMONet Project Deliverable No. 13.3. int/t/e/integrated_projects/ democracy/02_
Retrieved December 30, 2009, from http://www. activities/002_e%2Ddemocracy/ Recommenda
demonet.org tion%20CM_Rec_2009_1E_FINAL_PDF.pdf
Andersen, K. V. (2006). Eparticipation manage DebateEurope. (2008). Debate Europe website.

ment: Policyinput from DEMONet . In Cun Retrieved March 31, 2008 from http://europa.eu/
ningham, P., & Cunningham, M. (Eds.), Exploiting debateeurope/
the knowledge economy: Issues, applications and
case studies. IOS Press.
435
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
DEMONET. (2009). DEMONET project web Islam, M. S. (2008). Towards a sustainable e

site. Retrieved December 30, 2009, from http:// participation implementation model. European
www.demonet.org Journal of ePractice, 5. Retrieved December 14,
2009 from http://www.epractice.eu
EParticipation. (2008). EParticipation website.
F
Retrieved March 31, 2008 from http://www.e Knaack, I., & Göttsche, H. P. (2004). Work flow
Participation.net/ management systems as the basic technology for
egovernment. In Federal office for information
O
eP (2010). European eparticipation portal.
security egovernment manual. Retrieved June 30,
Retrieved November 30, 2010, from http://islab.
2008, from http://www.egovernmenthandbuch.
uom.gr/eP/
O
de
Ergazakis, K., Metaxiotis, K., & Psarras,
Krimmer, R. (2007). Case studybased develop
R
J. (2004). Towards knowledge cities: Con
ment of an eparticipation process model . In Avdic,
ceptual analysis and success stories. Jour
A., Hedström, K., Rose, J., & Grönlund, Å. (Eds.),
P
nal of Knowledge Management, 8(1), 5–16.
Understanding Eparticipation, Contemporary
doi:10.1108/13673270410558747
PhD eparticipation research in Europe. Örebro
L
Fishkin, J. (1995). The voice of the people. Public University Library.
opinion and democracy. New Haven, CT: Yale
Lukensmeyer, C. J. (2005). A town meeting for
A
University Press.
the twentyfirst century . In Gastil, J., & Levine,
Georgakopoulos, D., Hornick, M., & Sheth, A. P. (Eds.), The deliberative democracy hand
B
(1995). An overview of workflow management: book: Strategies for effective civic engagement
From process modeling to workflow automation in the twentyfirst century. Jossey Bass. Wiley.
O
infrastructure. Distributed and Parallel Data doi:10.1002/ncr.91406
bases, 3, 119–153. doi:10.1007/BF01277643
L
Macintosh, A., & Whyte, A. (2006). Evaluating
Goldberg, M., Pasher, E., & LevinSagi, M. how eparticipation changes local democracy. In
G
(2006). Citizen participation in decision making Proceedings of the eGovernment Workshop ’06
processes: Knowledge sharing in knowledge cit (eGOV06), Brunel University. Retrieved April 30,
I
ies. Journal of Knowledge Management, 10(5), 2008, from http://www.iseing.org/egov/eGOV06/
92–98. doi:10.1108/13673270610691206 Accepted%20Papers/624/CRC/Evaluation%
G
20of%20eParticipationvv2submitted.pdf
GoodPractices. (2008). Eparticipation good
I
practices from the egovernment good practice Momentum. (2010). Momentum project website.
framework. Retrieved March 31, 2008, from Retrieved November 30, 2010, from http://www.
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/ activi epmomentum.eu/
ties/egovernment_research/doc/ eparticipation/
OECD. (2001a). Citizens as partners: Informa
eparticipation_goodpractices.pdf
tion, consultation and public participation in
IDEALEU. (2010). IDEALEU project website. policymaking. Paris, France: OECD Publishing.
Retrieved October 8, 2010, from http://www.
idealeu.net
436
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
OECD. (2001b). Engaging citizens in policy on legislation and policymaking of modern

making: Information, consultation and public democratic societies. It is a distinct concept
participation. OECD Public Management Policy from eVoting, although they are both referring
Brief No. 10. Retrieved March 31, 2008 from to the adoption of electronic means to empower
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/ 24/34/2384040. constituencies and engage them further in the
F
pdf democratic process.
European Network of Participatory Re
OECD. (2003). OECD policy briefs: Engaging
O
gions: Launched by the three Regional Govern
citizens online for better policymaking. In OECD
ments involved in the IDEALEU project, it aims
Observer, March 2003. Public Affairs Division,
to turn the success stories and the experiences
O
Public Affairs and Communications Directorate,
already existing in Europe into practices that can
OECD. Retrieved April 30, 2008, from.http://
be spread out and adapted to any institutional
R
www.oecd.org/dataoecd/ 62/23/2501856.pdf
context. Further information can be retrieved from
Osimo, D. (2008). Web 2.0 in government: Why http://www.demopart.org/.
P
and how?JRC/IPTS Scientific and Technical Social Networking Platform (SNP): Devel
Reports. oped in the IDEALEU project using DRUPAL
L
OSS in four languages – Catalan, English, French
Panopoulou, E., Tambouris, E., & Tarabanis,
and Italian – and still hosted at http://www.ideal
K. (2008). Framework for eparticipation good
A
debate.eu/. It is now available free of charge to all
practice. European eParticipation Study Deliver
members of the European Network of Participa
able D4.1b (2nd version, November). Retrieved
B
tory Regions.
November 30, 2010, from http://islab.uom.gr/eP/
Stakeholders: Are all those organisations,
Partizipation. (2008). Participation and sustain individuals or groups of individuals who have any
O
able development in Europe website. Retrieved kind of interest or are affected by the specific ac
L
March 31, 2008, from http://www.partizipation. tions and/or products or services under discussion.
at/basics.html Sustainability of Participation: Denotes the
ability of a participative process/workflow (with
G
PEPNET. (2010). PanEuropean eparticipation
or without an “e” added) to become ‘embedded’
network. Retrieved November 30, 2010 from
I
in the legal, political, social and organisational
http://pepnet.eu/
contexts of the Public Administration involved,
G
Stone, D. (2001). Policy paradox, the art of thus being suitable to replication in additional
I
political decision making (2nd rev. ed.). WW experiments over time.
Norton & Co. Technical architecture: Presents and de
scribes the technologies or technological com
Wikipedia. (2007). Process modeling. Retrieved
ponents that support the implementation of a
July 19, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
particular process or system and the way they are
Process_modeling
linked, mainly showing the data flows between
components. It also specifies how the stakeholders
of a process or system interact with the techno
KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS logical components.
Virtual Town Meeting (VTM): Evolves
eParticipation: Refers to the use of ICT to from a practice of structured participation in
enhance people’s activism and citizens’ involve local government adopted in the US region of
ment in public affairs with a particular emphasis New England since colonial times, and that has
437
N1"A4*@"+";,/)1*#*A/1*$%
been successfully used for more than a decade operations, declared as work of a person, a group
by the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization of persons, an organization, or one or more simple
AmericaSpeaks. It combines the direct interac or complex mechanisms. Workflow may be seen
tion of multiple smallscale discussions with the as any abstraction of real work, segregated in
advantages of digitally supported communication work sharing, splitting or other types of ordering.
F
and deliberation. In the IDEALEU experience, Typically more than one person is involved in
instead of convening all participants in a single the workflow execution and the order of steps or
O
venue, several physical sites and virtual tables are activities change according to conditions or events.
made available, where citizens can join the debate Workflow Model: Is a description of a work
and provide their contributions ‘as if’ they were flow at a general or type level. The same workflow
O
sitting in a same hall with the others. model can be used repeatedly for the execution of
Workflow: Consists of a series of activities, many workflow instances in real time. A work
R
events, or interactions that need to be done to ac flow model’s role is, therefore, to describe how
complish a specific goal, i.e. create or add value to things must/should/could be done in contrast to
P
its stakeholders. It is a depiction of a sequence of the workflow itself, which is really what happens.
A L
OB
G L
G I
I
438
439
Chapter 22
Open Governance,
Civic Engagement, and
O F
O
New Digital Media
EleniRevekka Staiou
University of Athens, Greece
Dimitris Gouscos
P R
L
University of Athens, Greece
ABSTRACT
B A
O
The objective of this chapter is to highlight and discuss the concepts of egovernance, open governance,
and civic engagement enabled by technologies such as Web 2.0, social media, and usergenerated
L
content. The focus of discussion is placed on common founding premises and adoption factors that are
reproduced at multiple levels, from that of the underlying technology up to end services and interaction
G
patterns. A number of governance initiatives and services are used as working examples, with a view to
providing readers with an improved understanding of technological principles and functional capabili
I
ties that can attract citizen participation and encourage civic engagement.
I G
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we discuss how ICTs (Information

and Communication Technologies) and especially
technologies like Web 2.0, social media, user
Context and Reasons
for this Chapter
One of the main reasons behind the current dis

cussion for democratic deficits at various admin
generated content can be used to promote social istrative levels and political contexts, even in the
collaboration, enable egovernment and open up presence of political will for citizen engagement,
governance and citizen engagement. is what can be termed a “black box” perception
of citizens for political and decisionmaking pro
cesses, which often extends to politics and politi
cians in general. Given the complexity of today’s
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch022 public issues within a globalised agenda, the flux
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
of unrated information and opinions concerning media and governments, in turn, have set out to
these issues, as well as the lack of communication put them into their own use.
with elected representatives, citizens are more of Governments and administrations worldwide
ten than not left with the feeling that all important are striving to open up their discourse, visions,
discussions are being held in the background, thus practices and policymaking lifecycles towards
F
depriving them of the opportunity to intervene more transparency, accountability and citizen
and influence decisionmaking processes which involvement, with a view to gaining operational
O
concern their everyday life. This perception – and effectiveness, political consensus as well as demo
up to a certain extent, reality – coupled with insuf cratic legitimacy. This effort inevitably encounters
ficient accountability mechanisms for political and the premises of social media for peertopeer col
O
administrative officers, as well as with phenomena laboration and crowdsourced contribution, which
of corruption, inevitably leads to loss of trust in emerge as a natural fit for a next generation of
R
political processes. open public services and deliberative processes.
New digital technologies, at the same time, More importantly, however, social media also
P
empower abundant and omnipresent communi give to citizens the same capabilities at the same
cation capabilities, easy to use and available at time, allowing in a more practical and sustainable
L
a more and more affordable cost. Social tech way grassroots movements to be organized and
nologies like blogs, wikis, tweets, networks and discussion agendas to be formulated bottomup.
A
tubes build on these capabilities and the overall At the crossroads of these developments, a
Web 2.0 approach to create new peertopeer number of applications and services emerge in
B
communication and collaboration spaces, where many countries all over the world for opening
users effectively exchange messages, generate up governance and democracy through citizen
content and, above all, collectively construct the engagement, building on social technologies.
O
idea that an entire era of experts, intermediaries Technology, on the other hand, is itself first and
L
and representatives is over. foremost the result of social processes, which
As shown by market research and statistics, brings forward a number of significant nontech
social media have clearly gained an important nical issues that will affect the success of social
G
role in everyday life. People use them to com mediabased egovernance and edemocracy.
I
municate and organize themselves in informal as In this line of thought, it seems quite important
well as formal ways, for pure fun, everyday and to review emerging applications alongside an
G
more serious matters. Their potential to be used analysis of the founding premises of enabling
I
for more than entertainment and informal social technologies, with a view to gaining more insight
networking becomes more and more apparent, into the ideas and ideals that these technologies
which also explains why businesses, mass media carry along in their social constructions. This is the
and, lately, governments, also try to use them for objective of the research reported in this chapter,
their own purposes. It would be interesting to note which aims at providing a more coherent view of
at this point that, in a way much reminiscent of the the paths leading from the origins to the applica
patterns along which WWW and the internet itself tions of digital social media for egovernance and
started to gain popularity and use, social media civic engagement, thus supporting a more critical
have emerged as a privileged technology for the discussion for their potential and use.
nonexpert, nonempowered ordinary consumers,
audiences and citizens. Still, once their potential
has given proof of concept, the market, mass
440
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
Chapter Organization and engagement, based on Web 2.0 and new digital
social media technologies and, most importantly,
In the following section (From EGovernment founded on processes of open social participation.
to EGovernance) a number of aspects of the e
government application domain are summarized
F
and the transition from the concept of egovern FROM EGOVERNMENT
ment to that of egovernance is discussed. The TO EGOVERNANCE
O
egovernance agenda is discussed alongside with
issues of good governance, good citizenship and This section summarizes a number of aspects
community building, which leads to identifying of the egovernment application domain and
O
a set of objectives and critical success factors discusses the transition from the concept of
for egovernance and civic engagement projects. egovernment to that of egovernance. The e
R
Section 2 discusses Web 2.0 services, social governance agenda is discussed alongside with
media and usergenerated content as the outcome issues of good governance, good citizenship and
P
of an interplay between ideas such as peerto community building, which leads to identifying
peer collaboration, the wealth of networks and an enriched set of objectives and critical success
L
the wisdom of crowds, as well as the movements factors for egovernance projects.
for open source and open content. The idea that
A
the founding premises of these technologies also EGovernment Concepts
find their counterparts in concepts underlying
B
egovernance and civic engagement is further EGovernment refers in general to the delivery of
elaborated. information and services to citizens, businesses as
The third section brings together the concepts well as the administrative agencies through the in
O
already discussed, using a number of existing ini ternet and other digital media (Kumar et al, 2007).
L
tiatives as working examples and comparing these Gouscos (2005, p.1), building on the definitions
initiatives in terms of similarities/differences, with proposed by World Bank (2001) and the European
a view to highlighting their potential for increased Commission (2005), describes egovernment as
G
civic engagement. The latter are approached both the application to public administrations of ICTs
I
in terms of the enabling technologies discussed that, combined with appropriate organizational
above (Web 2.0, social media, usergenerated changes and development of new skills, have the
G
content) and their founding premises, as well as potential to transform the relations of government
I
in terms of the factors that can facilitate adoption with citizens, businesses and its different branches
of new digital media. The extent to which these and thus lead to improvement of public services,
founding premises and adoption factors can be public policies as well as democratic processes.
identified at multiple levels (enabling technolo According to Moon (Carrizales, 2008; Moon,
gies, citizenlevel services and communication 2002; Schwester, 2009), egovernment has been
media) is investigated, with a view to discussing introduced as a concept into public administration
how digital mediabased open governance projects in the 1990s and initially envisioned as a means
can enable and, what is more, effectively encour of enhancing communication inside government
age and enact civic engagement. through an intranet system. The development of
Finally, the objective of concluding section 4 egovernment services, however, has given rise
is to discuss the potential, in light of current de to a number of typologies in order to characterize
velopments, of formulating a new egovernance their recipients (GovernmenttoCitizen, Govern
paradigm, that of digital mediabased governance menttoBusiness, GovernmenttoEmployee,
441
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
GovernmenttoGovernment services) as well Other authors highlight additional success

as their sophistication; from generic eservice/e factors of egovernment projects. Kumar et al.
business models such as ICDT (Anghern, 1997; (2007, p.69), argue that designers of egovernment
Leong, 1998) the assessment of egovernment projects have to keep in mind egovernment adop
service sophistication has moved on to maturity tion, customer satisfaction, service quality, website
F
stage models, such as the ones proposed by Layne design and user characteristics. According to
and Lee (2001), Janssen and van Veenstra (2005) Gichoya (2005, p.179), a successful egovernment
O
and AlKhatib (2009) and somewhat standardized project needs to formulate vision and strategy,
around the 5level online sophistication model ad enjoy the support of government, rise citizens
opted by the European Commission (Capgemini, expectations, bring forward technological change,
O
2007). Assessment of service delivery, on the modernization and globalization.
other hand, can be based on dimensions such as Alongside these critical success factors, the
R
the ones proposed by Macueve (2008, p. 366): literature also cites a number of barriers to the
effectiveness and penetration of egovernment
P
P+ Services (speed of delivery, quality of ser projects. Issues related to technological divides,
vices, user independence of time) such as lack of internet or even computer access,
L
P+ Technology (interoperability, security etc.) are obvious obstacles to electronic public service
P+ Sustainability (for example extent and ad delivery (Jaeger & Matteson, 2009). These, how
A
"Y(/#9+ $-+ 1)/*%*%'B+ "#$%$.*#+ 7"%"&1<+ 1$+ ever, are only part of an overall agenda of barriers,
the users in rural areas) the majority of which are essentially unrelated to
B
P+ Cost effectiveness (recovery of capital cost, technology and ereadiness. From older and more
extent of cost reduction to government) recent review work (for instance, Gouscos, 2005;
P+ Replicability (for example, commercial vi Jaeger & Matteson, 2009; Schwester, 2009), bar
O
ability, multiple platform feasibility). riers can be identified at categories as diverse as
L
political factors (lack of support from politicians,
Gouscos (2005), gathers from the relevant unwillingness for economic investments, lack of
literature a list of critical factors that need to be popularity with the public), regulatory factors
G
met in order for egovernment projects to be suc (hard to change legislation, regulatory complex
I
cessful, including ity) organizational factors (incumbent power
structures, staff resistance to change) as well as
G
P+ Existence of effective leadership and sus cultural factors (preference to personal faceto
I
tained commitment face interactions, lack of trust to einteractions).
P+ Integration with broader policy and service An interesting approach to considering egov
delivery goals ernment projects is that of a systemic framework
P+ Challenge of existing ways of working (Gouscos, 2005, p.17). As a general rule, the notion
P+ Improved accessibility and choice in inter of a “system” refers to a set of elements joined
action methods together to make a complex whole, as succinctly
P+ Citizens engagement in the policy process described by Peter Checkland (1997):
P+ Protection of individual privacy
P+ Establishment of accountability arrange “The justification for using the [system] concept
ments; and is that the whole is regarded as having properties
P+ Monitoring and evaluation of potential that make it ‘more than the sum of its parts’. This
7"%"&1<? is the everyday language expression of the idea
of socalled emergent properties, that is to say
442
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
properties which have no meaning in terms of the is that it does not come as a surprise. On the
parts which make up the whole. … The idea of contrary, it is to be understood as a natural step
emergent properties is the single most fundamental forward from the agenda of egovernment criti
systems idea and to use this (and other) systems cal success factors, implementation objectives,
ideas in a conscious organized way is to do some expected benefits and good practices that has
F
‘systems thinking’.” already been developed.
As Macueve (2008, p. 365) summarizes, e
O
As the author argues, egovernment projects government aims to
can and should be considered first and foremost
in systemic terms; a systemic approach of e “Restructure administrative functions and pro
O
government offers not only a defining theory and cesses, monitor government performance, and
some key concepts, but also a valuable “higher improve the relationship between government
R
level of abstraction” (Chapman 2004, p.35) for and the citizens”.
understanding its complex interdependencies with
P
multiple and diverse influencing factors, as well These intended outcomes of egovernment to
as phenomena and risks that arise in the course of make public management more transparent and
L
egovernment project planning, implementation, trustworthy in the eyes of the citizens and thus
delivery and operation. The legitimacy of applying improve their relationship to government are in
A
a systemstheoretic approach to egovernment is direct relation to the objective of rebuilding politi
not only based on the observations on complexity cal trust; but then, as has been discussed above,
B
(Axelrod & Cohen 1999) and emergent behavior of reconstruction of political trust is a critical factor
an egovernment holistic model; in light of this ap for the success of eparticipation. Therefore,
proach, a number of good practices for successful successful egovernment can be considered as
O
egovernment that have stepped out of experience a condition that lays the grounds for successful
L
can be elegantly interpreted as manifestations of eparticipation.
general laws and principles governing the behavior Building on this line of thought, a number of
of open systems, drawing on homomorphisms with authors such as Frauholz and Unnithan (2006)
G
general systems theory concepts and provisions tend to assign to egovernment objectives that
I
(Ashby, 1956; von Bertalanffy, 1976) as well as have traditionally been assigned to eparticipation,
specialized systemtheoretic models such as Liv such as
G
ing Systems Theory (Miller & Miller, 1990) and
I
Viable Systems Model (Beer, 1984). P+ Providing citizens with access to infor
mation and knowledge about the political
From EGovernment to process, the services and choices available;
EGovernance: Opening and
up the Focus P+ Enabling the transition from passive in
formation access to active participation by
The transition from egovernment to egovernance informing the citizens, encouraging them
has often been discussed in the literature (for in to vote, representing them, consulting with
stance Finger & Gaëlle, 2003) with a focus on the 15".+/%;+&%/889+*%>$8>*%'+15".?
transformational, participatory and deliberative
aspects of public service delivery, public policy This reasoning paves the way for the concept of
implementation and public decision making. The egovernance to emerge, in order to accommodate
first thing to note about this transition, however, and rearrange the aspects discussed above in a
443
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
fashion not only more inclusive, in the sense of P+ I--"#1*>"%"<<+/%;+"-&#*"%#9B+45*#5+."/%<+

considering all these aspects, but also more or that all processes and institutions produce
ganic, in the sense of bringing on the foreground results that meet the needs of society;
their interactions and mutual necessities. Indeed, P+ Responsiveness, meaning that institutions
egovernance has to do with must try to serve all stakeholders within a
F
reasonable timeframe;
P+ Citizen deliberation in public decision P+ Accountability, which is a key requirement
O
making, and cannot be enforced without transpar
P+ Citizen engagement in public policy im ency and law
plementation and P+ Consensusorientation, since there are
O
P+ Citizen satisfaction in public service several actors and points of view in the
delivery. society;
R
P+ Equity and inclusiveness, for all the mem
EGovernance, therefore, needs to be consid 7")<+$-+15"+<$#*"19c+/%;+&%/889
P
ered as a concept more holistic than egovernment P+ Rule of law, fair legal frameworks.
and eparticipation. A broad working definition
L
for egovernance, which can certainly be re Good governance, however, necessitates acti
visited and further discussed, could be that of vation and responsibility of citizens, which leads
A
participatory and deliberative online interaction to the notion of good or responsible citizenship.
with transformational sideeffects, that improves This concept is not only a matter of research for
B
administrative functions and democratizes public the political and social sciences but also a matter
decisionmaking. of practical value for civic education and every
day life. Political science research has brought
O
Good Governance, Good Citizenship, forward the subjective nature of this concept,
L
and Community Building especially with regards to political participation,
which is in fact the outcome of conceptualization
Good governance is a central concept to public processes on the part of citizens related to their
G
management which has gained considerable political behavior (TheissMorse, 1993). Still,
I
attention by international organizations and civic education is trying to come up with a com
comparative studies. According to one widely monly acceptable description for this term, as a
G
accepted approach to the concept of good gover common denominator of acceptable civic values
I
nance by OECD (2001), which is also adopted by and norms. According to Westheimer and Kahne
the UNESCO EGovernance Capacity Building (2004), for instance, a good citizen
Initiative (http://www.unesco.org/webworld/e
governance), good governance has eight char P+ Acts responsibly in his/her community;
acteristics: P+ Works and pays taxes;
P+ Volunteers;
P+ Participation of both men and wom P+ Is an active member of the society;
en, which can be direct or through P+ Organizes community efforts for those
representatives; who are in need;
P+ Transparency, in order for decisions to P+ Knows how government agencies work;
be taken according to some rules and and
regulations; P+ Knows strategies for accomplishing col
lective tasks.
444
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
We could add ourselves to this definition that and the like. What is more, these membership
a good citizen would use all the tools provided and governance norms, together with common
in order to participate as much as possible in the causes and interests, form the major cohesion
commons. factors for sustaining current community bonds
As mentioned in this brief reference to good as well as attracting new members. In conclusion,
F
citizenship, an important aspect of civic responsi although community building is certainly not a
bility is community work, and this could take two synonym for good governance and good citizen
O
forms in everyday life: (a) organizing community ship, in practice governance and membership
efforts for those in need; and (b) maintaining ex norms seem to be developed in parallel with the
isting or creating new community bonds. These process of community building, and legitimized
O
two aspects, however, are in fact intertwingled, as on the basis of their power to cohere and develop
existing or new communities are often organized communities. If egovernance, therefore, is to
R
around causes, and helping those in need is always promote good governance and good citizenship,
a valid cause. Community building therefore it needs first and foremost to promote effective
P
seems to be an important, if not integral, aspect community building.
of good citizenship. It should be noted at this point that while e
L
To recapitulate from the above, the objec government and, up to an extent, eparticipation
tives and scope of egovernance can be shown to have in some ways to do with electronically
A
encounter some broader political, civic and social implementing established interaction contracts,
agendas. In the authors’ view community building has more to do with ne
B
gotiating new interaction contracts. As a result,
P+ The political premise of good governance, community building processes are much less
P+ The civic premise of good citizenship, as dependent on given workflows, they are actually
O
well as in quest of any interaction patterns that can meet
L
P+ The social premise of community building their objectives. Their technological needs are
not on the level of hardcoded communication
need to be included not simply in the context, procedures and interaction policies, but rather
G
but in the very objectives of egovernance initia on that of generic communication and interaction
I
tives, as toplevel goals that the egovernance mechanisms that can be used in arbitrary ways.
agenda needs to develop. In other words, community building is much less
G
The theme of community building is in some dependent on ICT and much more relying on
I
way central to this discussion. Indeed, good gov media. In this line of thought, it should not come
ernance as well as good citizenship can only be as a surprise that research groups such as the MIT
conceptualized having in mind a community to Center for Future Civic Media (http://civic.mit.
be governed in appropriate ways, with members edu/) are putting forward the notion of civic media
that need to be responsible towards their fellow (MIT Communications Forum, 2007) as, in the
peers. Inversely, all communities, from strictly words of Henry Jenkins, any use of a medium that
institutional (e.g. states, municipalities, organiza fosters civic engagement [bearing in mind that] it
tions) to much more informal (e.g. open source is important to understand “medium” to mean the
projects, social networks), can and actually do social practices or protocols that define its cultural
define and exercise their own norms of member uses as well as the technologies that enable it.
ship and governance, sometimes presented in Beth Noveck (2009), on the other hand, adopts
more voluntary compliancebased terms such as a more skeptical point of view, arguing that it is
vision statements, manifests, codes of conduct maybe time to “reinvent our conception of the
445
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
Table 1. Critical factors for egovernance initiatives
Political Leadership Factors

P+/)1*#(8/1"+>*<*$%+/%;+<1)/1"'9+/%;+*%1"')/1"+4*15+7)$/;")+=$8*#9+'$/8< Gichoya 2005
P+7)*%'+-$)4/);+.$;")%*C/1*$%B+#5/%'"+/%;+/)*<*%'+#*1*C"%+"E="#1/1*$%<
F
P+"%<()"+=$8*1*#/8+<(==$)1B+"--"#1*>"+8"/;")<5*=+/%;+<(<1/*%";+#$..*1."%1 Jaeger & Matteson 2009; Schwester 2009
P+$>")#$."+$)'/%*C/1*$%/8+7/))*")<
P+$>")#$."+)"'(8/1$)9+7/))*")<+/%;+=)$.$1"+-/*)+8"'/8+-)/."4$)3<
O
Good governance and service delivery factors
P+"Y(*1/78"B+*%#8(<*>"+/%;+#$%<"%<(<A$)*"%1";+"A=/)1*#*=/1*$% OECD 2001
O
P+)"<=$%<*>"%"<<B+1)/%<=/)"%#9+/%;+/##$(%1/7*8*19+$-+<")>*#"+=)$>*<*$%
P+"--"#1*>"%"<<+/%;+"--*#*"%#9+4*15+)"<="#1+1$+"E="#1";+$(1#$."<
R
P+-$#(<+$%+<")>*#"+Y(/8*19+/%;+#*1*C"%+</1*<-/#1*$% Kumar et al 2007
Service Design Factors
P
P+#5/88"%'"+"E*<1*%'+4/9<+$-+4$)3*%' Gouscos 2005
P+=)$1"#1+*%;*>*;(/8+=)*>/#9
L
P+$>")#$."+1"#5%$8$'*#/8+7/))*")< Jaeger & Matteson 2009; Schwester 2009
P+$>")#$."+#(81()/8+7/))*")<
A
P+*.=)$>"+/##"<<*7*8*19+/%;+#5$*#"+*%+*%1")/#1*$%+."15$;< Kumar et al 2007
Citizenship and community support factors
B
P+<(==$)1+/4/)"%"<<+/7$(1+'$>")%."%1+/'"%#*"<+/%;+-(%#1*$%< Westheimer & Kahne 2004
P+<(==$)1+"E")#*<"+$-+)*'51<+/%;+-(8-*88."%1+$-+$78*'/1*$%<
O
P+<(==$)1+)"<=$%<*78"+/%;+/#1*>"+#$..(%*19+.".7")<5*=
P+<(==$)1+>$8(%1"")*%'B+#$88"#1*>"+<1)/1"'*"<+/%;+#$..(%*19+7(*8;*%' MIT Communications Forum 2007
G L
media”. According to Noveck, the deliberative
role of media has failed and participation does not
devoted to discussing the founding premises of
social media as the outcome of interplay between
I
necessarily mean a shift in the balance of power, concepts such as peertopeer collaboration, the
which may account for cases of community activi wealth of networks and the wisdom of crowds,
G
ties that are not scaling. as well as the movements for open source and
I
Table 1 below recapitulates a number of critical open content.
factors for egovernance initiatives, partitioned
into four categories roughly orthogonal to each The Concept of Social Media
other. and Important Features
According to Blossom (2009, p.29), social media

WEB 2.0, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND encompass
USERGENERATED CONTENT
“any highly scalable and accessible communica
The present section introduces the concepts and tions technology or technique that enables any
technologies of social media, Web 2.0 and user individual to influence groups of other individu
generated content and discusses their penetration als easily”.
and state of play. A major part of this section is
446
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
In an attempt to delimit the realm of social A number of different kinds of social media
media based on their properties, Spannerworks can be distinguished, as also described in the rel
(2006, p.5) lists some defining characteristics evant literature (Blossom, 2009, p.32; Lindmark,
that they exhibit: 2009). It should be noted however that in several
cases these media kinds are intermixed and can
F
P+ Participation: Social media encourage con be found in different combinations, comprising
tributions and feedback from everyone in composite social media offerings.
O
terested, blurring the line between media
and audience. P+ Personal publishing tools or blogs come
P+ Openness: Most social media services are &)<1?+ r8$'<+ "%/78"+ $%"+ $)+ .$)"+ *%;*>*;(
O
open to feedback and participation. They als to tell their personal stories to many
encourage voting, comments and sharing people. A blog can include videos, photos,
R
of information. There are rarely any barri hyperlinks and multimedia in general and
ers to accessing and making use of content. in most cases allows readers to comment
P
P+ Conversation: Whereas traditional media as they like. There are many types of blogs,
is about broadcast, content transmitted or like personal blogs (an equivalent of public
L
distributed to an audience, social media are diaries), political blogs, business blogs and
better seen as conversational, twoway in media blogs (Spannerworks, 2006, p. 15).
A
teraction channels. P+ Collaborative publishing tools or wikis
P+ Community: Social media allow commu come second. Wikis allow users to collab
B
nities to be formed quickly and communi orate and create their own web pages with
cate effectively around common interests. the content they like for themselves or for
P+ Connectedness: Most kinds of social me their readers. Wikis are depending on us
O
dia thrive in their connectedness, exploit ers, which simultaneously undertake the
L
ing hyperlinks and combining different roles of readers and writers, for their devel
kinds of media in one place. $=."%1?+@5"9+/)"+$--")*%'+D/1+5*")/)#5*"<+
for content organization, simple systems
G
The particular features of new social media and rules for content update, open access
I
differentiate them from traditional media, whether 1$+">")9$%"+/<+4"88+/<+D"E*78"+<#5";(8*%'+
in print or electronic. According to Lister et al (Ebersbach et al, 2006, p.22).
G
(2002, p.12) new media offer P+ Social networking sites (SNS) that help
I
people built relationships with others come
P+ New textual experiences; third. SNS provide the opportunity to cre
P+ New kinds of textual forms, entertainment /1"+ /+ =)$&8"B+ =")<$%/8*C"+ *1B+ &%;+ ="$=8"+
and pleasure; with the same interests, link to their own
P+ New ways of representing the world; =)$&8"<+/%;+<5/)"+#$%1"%1?+[$#*/8+%"14$)3
P+ New relationships between users, consum ing sites essentially help to present oneself,
ers and technologies; form communities and organize activities
P+ New experiences of the relationship be (Cachia, 2008).
tween embodiment, identity and commu P+ Peertopeer feedback and discussion tools
nity; as well as come in as a fourth kind of social media.
P+ New patterns of organization and Through such mechanisms information
production. and opinions are shared between peers
4*15+/+#$..$%+*%1")"<1+$%+<="#*&#+1$=*#<+
447
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
or items. A typical example are the tools technology are not new. In fact, the rapid penetra
offered by Amazon which enable its cli tion and avalanche effects of the rise of social
ents to write book/product reviews them media can to an important extent be explained
selves; others users can then rate these peer by the fact that they represent the outcome of a
reviews, or even correct them or “delete” synthesis (or, to be more exact, an interplay) of
F
them (in the sense of challenging their va trends that have existed and matured some time
lidity) with their own reviews. now. Some important such trends that are repro
O
P+ 6+ &-15+ 19="+ $-+ <$#*/8+ .";*/+ #$%<*<1<+ duced in the actual landscape of social media are
*%+ /'')"'/1*$%+ /%;+ &81")*%'+ -/#*8*1*"<?+ discussed below.
6'')"'/1*$%B+/<+;"&%";+*%+r8$<<$.+Qdoo]R+
O
is “the process of assembling collections PeertoPeer Collaboration
of content that come from a wide variety
R
of sources”, which can then be shared with Peertopeer (P2P) collaboration for sharing
other people interested on the same topic. existing services and goods can be defined as “a
P
P+ Widgets and web mashups come next, communal shareholding based on participation in
which package content from other sources a common resource” (Bauwens, 2005a, p.48). P2P
L
or even generate new content and can be networks, of which the first historical example is
easily added to any web page on the in the internet itself, are not structured as hierarchies
A
ternet. These tools bring in added value with central points of control; on the contrary, they
to social media, since users are enabled to are designed as flatlevel decentralized structures,
B
provide additional content enhancing their built using distributed intelligence and exhibiting
own. no single points of failure (Bauwens, 2005b) All
P+ Personal markets and social marketing are participant peers of a P2P network are assigned
O
one more kind of social media that can be equal responsibilities and capabilities towards
L
*;"%1*&";?+K*/+<(#5+.";*/+(<")<+/)"+/78"+1$+ one another and they communicate without inter
discover if there is someone online who is mediaries (Loban, 2004). Peertopeer networks
interested in what they have to offer and exhibit complexity and emergent properties (in
G
create a market for their offerings. the systemtheoretic sense of the terms) such as
I
faulttolerance and user satisfaction which can
The Social Media Premise best be explained in an open systems approach.
G
Therefore, it is actually more exact to talk about
I
New capabilities for facilitated editing and diffu P2P systems. Traditional P2P architectures have
sion of digital artifacts are changing group aware mainly focused on sharing thirdparty services
ness and removing restrictions in communicating and resources, as can be seen in filesharing
and sharing information. A new concept of social platforms all the way from Napster to modern
awareness is emerging, defined by authors such torrents. Social media have extended this concept
as Shirky (2008, p.163) as to provide capabilities not only for sharing exist
ing resources but for collaborating to create new
“The ability of many different people and groups shared resources as well. Wikipedia is a very good
to understand a situation, and to understand who example of this advancement.
else has the same understanding”.
The ideas underlying the functional logic as

well as the social construction of social media
448
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
Innovation, Networks, and Crowds The members of a network bring added value
based not only (a) on the assets that they contrib
Peertopeer systems provide much more flex ute but also (b) on their interactions with other
ible norms and simple mechanisms to join and members as well as on their capabilities for (c)
participate, without the need to comply to incum helping other members and (d) further develop
F
bent regulatory and technical norms. This feature ing the network. This implies that the value of a
amounts for their scalability, which is onelevel network is much greater than the sum of the value
O
up compared to the scalability of traditional cen of its parts. Put in another way, the richer approach
tralized or semidistributed architectures, and to organize a number of people is, under certain
consequently for the penetration that they have conditions, that of a network.
O
had, gathering huge numbers of users.
The development and governance of such P+ Crowds are wise (Surowiecki, 2004)
R
large user populations and their interactions and
productions calls for new and much more flexible The members of a network constitute a crowd
P
paradigms. In fact, peertopeer systems cannot but not a mob. While interacting on a massive
have any other form of governance than self scale, they still keep a sort of social and intel
L
governance, and the approaches that have been lectual distance from each other, which does not
formed for development and selfgovernance of favor the grounds for demagogy and amalgama
A
peertopeer networks and projects lie on four tion of individual reactions into some sort of mob
important premises: behavior. The dialogues that take place in online
B
forums, accommodating multiple points of views
P+ Innovation is democratic (von Hippel, and sometimes intense discussions and disagree
2005) ments, are a testimony to this claim. The sheer
O
multiplicity of viewpoints, on the other hand,
L
Innovation primarily has to do with creativ operates at the same time as a source of both rich
ity; productivity, in the sense of the efficiency ness and trust. The trustworthiness of a Wikipedia
needed for further developing an innovative idea lemma is not based on the fact that it has been
G
and turning this into a project, comes afterwards. written by some anonymous people; in fact, this
I
In order for innovation to thrive, a context that is often a source of criticism and mistrust. On the
promotes innovativeness as a value is necessary, contrary, it is based on the fact that a much larger
G
as well as a framework that promotes freedom number of people have read this lemma and felt
I
of thinking (even the socalled unproductive or (or not felt) the need to edit, update and correct
useless thinking) and facilitates rich communi it, so that what we actually read on Wikipedia is
cation. Therefore, innovation necessitates open in fact the product of a collective collaboration in
frameworks for thinking, communication, inter which not only the few writers but also the many
action and exchange, where all participants have readers have participated in an equally active
equal and effective opportunities of articulating fashion. The construction of social content, in
their own ideas and criticizing the ideas of each other words, is based on the premise that enough
other. Innovation, in this respect, is essentially a not so wise people can form a much wiser crowd,
democratic process. which is in fact the premise of democracy itself.
The quality and trustworthiness of social content,
P+ Networks are rich (Benkler, 2006) such as Wikipedia lemmas, is a manifestation of
the validity of this belief in the wisdom of crowds.
449
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
P+ Crowds are willing (Tapscott & Williams, domain for the entire spectrum of information and
2006; Howe 2008; Noveck 2009) communication technologies. Internet and web
technologies in particular, and their advancements
People are more often than not unwilling to into Web 2.0 and social media, offer effective tools
offer to undertake big projects or contribute large and innovative opportunities for egovernance
F
resources, even if they clearly believe in a cause. applications that we are only starting to witness.
Yet, if the threshold of the contributions sought is This section presents a number of such applica
O
substantially diminished, more and more individu tions, starting with an overview of their landscape
als will be willing to respond; pushing this logic to that is complemented by specific cases brought
an extreme, if the contributions sought are trivial, forward as indicative examples.
O
a crowd of volunteers will emerge. Therefore, if
projects can be broken down to an adequately of Applying Web 2.0 and Social Media
R
sufficiently trivial parts that are still organized in a to EGovernance: An Overview
meaningful and effective way, then a third sourcing
P
alternative (other than the traditional insourcing/ Electronic Public Service Delivery
outsourcing discussion) appears for their imple and Government Operations
L
mentation, that of crowdsourcing. This, in fact,
is the underlying common logic for traditional According to Osimo (2008), a number of trends
A
volunteerism, as well as for online applications as can be identified for the application of Web 2.0
diverse as citizen journalism (e.g. the Indymedia technologies to egovernment. The emergence of
B
independent news network), online petitions (e.g. these trends paves the way towards a new concept,
the Care2 petition site, http://www.thepetitionsite. that of eGov 2.0.
com/) and volunteerbased distributed computing
O
projects (e.g. Folding@Home) and infrastructures P+ @5"+ &)<1+ $-+ 15"<"+ 1)"%;<+ *<+ S"7+ d?o+ -$)+
L
(e.g. BOINC, the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for regulation, which provides the grounds for
Network Computing). Crowdsourcing has given more direct and open engagement of citi
rise to new models of collaboration and economics, zens and experts in the decisionmaking
G
for which the term wikinomics has been coined process, as well as the opportunities for
I
(Tapscott & Williams, 2006). Its efficiency becom *%;*>*;(/8+ #*1*C"%<+ 1$+ 7"+ .$)"+ "-&#*"%1+ *%+
ing more and more recognized, crowdsourcing is ;"./%;*%'+ /%;+ =(<5*%'+ -$)4/);+ <="#*&#+
G
starting to find its way into applications for the regulation.
I
business world (Howe, 2008), as well as into new P+ The second trend is Web 2.0 for cross
approaches for wiser and more inclusive public agency cooperation, which reduces the
governance (Noveck, 2009). fragmentation between institutional levels,
agencies and departments and increases
15"+"-&#*"%#9+/%;+"--"#1*>"%"<<+$-+'$>")%
NEW DIGITAL MEDIA FOR ment actions.
OPEN GOVERNANCE AND P+ The third trend is to apply Web 2.0 for
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT knowledge management, a key factor to
*.=)$>*%'+15"+"-&#*"%#9+/%;+"--"#1*>"%"<<+
EGovernance, as the term has been discussed to of government in general.
include egovernment and eparticipation services P+ The fourth trend has to do with employ
with a focus on good governance, citizen delibera ing Web 2.0 for political participation and
tion and community building, is an application
450
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
transparency, thus helping in reinforcing running water connections from 75% in 1988 to
citizens’ engagement in the public sphere. 98% after 10 years, as well as the quadrupling of
P+ @5"+&-15+1)"%;+*<+-$#(<";+$%+(<*%'+S"7+d?o+ the number of schools.
for service provision, as providing high As Peixoto notes, the next step in the develop
quality and easytouse services to citizens ment and opening up of participatory budgeting is
F
remains a task quite challenging for the to implement this process electronically, allowing
state. citizens to get information and express their views
O
P+ The sixth trend is applying Web 2.0 for law via internet and thus overcoming the barriers
enforcement; this is a core competence of posed through the actual physical presencebased
government and Web 2.0 can change the procedure.The advantages of this approach include
O
way that this competence is exercised, giv
ing to citizens a more active role. P+ An increased window of time; through in
R
P+ Finally, the seventh trend is to employ Web ternet participating citizens do not have the
2.0 technologies for internal government limitation of time and synchronous interac
P
operations such as interoperability, public tion, they can vote at any time of the day
communication, public sector information, or night
L
human resource management and others. P+ Widespread access to voting points; where
there is internet connection, citizens can
A
Electronic Participatory Budgeting vote
P+ An opportunity for enriched focus; par
B
Apart from citizen deliberation and pressure ticipants can focus to the problems of their
groups, political campaigning and egovernment area but also form an opinion about other
service delivery, Web 2.0 and social media tech cities as well.
O
nologies are also well suited to new egovernance
L
applications, such as electronic participatory Allinall, participatory budgeting delivers to
budgeting (ePB). citizens a feeling of responsibility, as well as a
Participatory budgeting, defined as “the recognition of the fact that their participation is
G
participation of citizens in the decisionmaking important and their opinion is taken into account
I
process of budget allocation and monitoring by the state. The electronic implementation of
public spending” (Peixoto, 2008) has existed for the PB process may pose a number of problems,
G
some time now as a concept. One of the first and which however are not considered to outbalance
I
most popular realworld largescale efforts on expected benefits.
participatory budgeting as of today is that of Porto In light of what has already been discussed
Alegre, Brazil (http://www2.portoalegre.rs.gov. for the interaction and information sharing op
br/op/) (Wagle & Shah, 2003), which started in portunities brought about by social media, it is the
1989 and occurs annually, including neighbor authors’ view that ePB can greatly benefit from
hood, regional, and citywide assemblies where the capabilities that they provide. Posting, shar
residents and elected budget delegates identify ing and commenting background information and
spending priorities and vote on which priori facts, discussion agendas and individual opinions
ties to implement. As reported by a World Bank on social media platforms can offer significant
case study (Bhatnagar et al, 2003), participatory advantages for structuring and monitoring the
budgeting has actually led to improvements in dialogue and decisionmaking process, as well
Porto Alegre public infrastructures and facilities as creating a persistent memory of the issues
as, for example, the increase of households with
451
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
discussed, the expectations raised and the actual help of traditional media. A tremendous increase
outcomes of the decisions taken. in visitors, for instance, was observed follow
ing a television interview of one of the founder
Problem Reporting and FollowUp members of the project. As this case shows, in
countries like Greece where traditional media
F
Internet Reporting Information still prevail the media landscape, new media and
System, Italy innovative services need traditional publicity in
O
order to gain popularity.
The Municipality of Venice has deployed IRIS
(Internet Reporting Information System, http:// Gathering Citizens’ Views
O
iris.comune.venezia.it), an open source platform and Concerns
through which everyone interested (e.g. citizens,
R
tourists) can report on problems regarding the Patient Opinion, United Kingdom
city and see how quickly and efficiently these
P
are solved. IRIS provides a map of the city where A really popular example of a site for citizen
users can tag information about the type of the deliberation is the UKbased Patient Opinion
L
problem reported, photographs, as well as personal website (http://www.patientopinion.org.uk) that
information that they may choose to publish on people in the United Kingdom can use to upload
A
the web or not. All residents in the area of Venice comments regarding doctors, staff, facilities,
have free internet access and can use the IRIS everything that they do or do not like about the
B
platform which is part of “Amministrare 2.0”, country’s National Health Service (NHS). The
a project based on Web 2.0 philosophy, with the site is structured in such a way that makes it very
objective to encourage citizens participate and easy to upload a comment, whereas registered
O
enhance administrative transparency. users are also allowed to edit or delete their
L
posts and enjoy some additional services such
Pin Project, Greece as reminders for their medical appointments.
Patient Opinion is also available in Arabic and
G
One more example of a citizenbased problem Chinese and even the state is using reports from
I
reporting service in Greece is the socalled Pin that site as an overview picture of NHS problems.
Project (http://www.msfree.gr/pin/), which is run Comments are checked and edited by the service
G
by the Greek Institute for Road Safety, a non moderators, but this role is often undertaken by
I
governmental nonprofit organization. The Pin users who are more experienced with the site. In 9
Project website provides maps of Athens on which months’ time, Patient Opinion was able to attract
anonymous visitors can place electronic pins to 3,000 comments as well as 38 health providers
denote spots on roads where there are damage. who subscribed to receive feedback, either in
Everybody can see the spots already reported and quantitative terms (ratings and statistics) or in
maybe avoid a future accident. Also the state can qualitative terms, based on blogs (Osimo, 2008,
see the spots in order to fix the problems. The Pin p. 36). Most of the contributions, according to an
Project team are currently preparing a database internal survey, were motivated by altruism and
with contact details of lawyers, forums and other gratitude. The Patient Opinion website aims to
road assistance services. Information is provided enable informed choices for the citizens, help the
only in Greek and, although there are not official government to better understand user needs and
statistics about the site’s popularity, operators improve healthcare services in the UK.
affirm that it would be little known without the
452
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
They Work for You, United Kingdom far more comfortable, providing interesting links
on the front page and including a blog and a Twit
TheyWorkForYou website (http://www.theywork ter connection.
foryou.com) is run by the MySociety project of UK FarmSubsidy.org is an effort within the Fol
Citizens Online Democracy, a charity organization lowTheMoney.eu project, aiming (quoting from
F
registered in England and Wales. TheyWorkFo its website) to “make it easier for European citi
rYou is about the Members of Parliament (MPs) zens to understand the EU budget: how it gets
O
in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales decided, where the money comes from and how it
and its code is open to those interested. The site is spent”. Recently (July 2009), FollowTheMoney.
offers services to get in contact with and send eu in collaboration with the EU Pew Environment
O
messages to local MPs, get information about their Group has also launched FishSubsidy.org, a twin
biography, career and talk schedule as well as to project of FarmSubsidy.org aimed at monitoring
R
inform them about the needs of their constituency. the budget decisions and flows of the EU Com
The site also offers RSS feeds and alerts about mon Fisheries Policy.
P
topics of interest, as well as volunteering opportu
nities. According to MySociety, TheyWorkForYou Political Campaigns and
L
gathered around 2 million visits in 2007. The site Electioneering
was recently upgraded to enhance its usability
A
and its popularity is promoted through frequent German Federal Elections, 2005
coverage in the traditional media.
B
During the German Federal Elections of 2005, the
Uncovering Public majority of the candidates (59%) had a personal
Sector Information web site in contrast with 2002 when webenabled
O
candidates represented a minority of 42%. Ger
L
FarmSubsidy.org and FishSubsidy. man politicians are starting to use tools like chats
org, European Union and blogs to communicate with their electorate.
Although the corresponding percentages are small
G
The subsidies paid to European Union farmers (almost 22% of the candidates had a website in
I
through the EU Common Agricultural Policy combination with a blog or chat and only about 5%
represent huge amounts of money (a 55 billion of the candidates were using all three tools), they
G
euros estimate is quoted), which justifies the idea are still showing that parties and politicians are
I
that every farmer has a right to know where these starting to recognize the value of social media in
money go. The FarmSubsidy.org project was their communication with the public (Zittel, 2009).
launched by EU Transparency, a UKbased non
profit organization in collaboration with DICAR, Philippines Parliamentary
the Danish International Center for Analytical Elections, 2007
Reporting. The aim of the project is to obtain
detailed data relating to payments and recipients The campaign organization of the Philippines
of farm subsidies in every EU member state and Gabriela Women’s Party (http://www.gabriela
make this data available on the web in a way that womensparty.net/) during the 2007 parliamentary
is useful to European citizens. Journalists, analysts elections is an interesting example of a combined
and campaigners are working for this project in application of social media, the internet as well as
more than ten EU countries. The template of the other technologies to electioneering. The Gabriella
FarmSubsidy website changed lately and became Party used emails to disseminate press releases
453
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
to reporters and also inform the party members personal data? How are they being used? Do we,
about petitions, web feeds and other news. Tra as users, have the power and the practical means
ditional (preWeb 2.0) websites and hyperlink to refuse giving them away in public? Are we
ing were used, as well as social platforms such forgetting perhaps how to live in the real world,
as YouTube and Friendster which, according to spending too much time online? Do we remember
F
the need for considering the national context as how to communicate without a keyboard in front
mentioned above, were chosen exactly based on of us? And what about people who are not having
O
their popularity among Philippine youngsters. The access to the internet? Are they moving outside
party also used mobile phones for their campaign, our social environment? In order to counterbal
combining in this way all available technologies ance all these concerns, where is the perceived
O
(Karan et al, 2009). value of social media? Are some new concrete
value propositions needed for social media, other
R
than the liberation from constraints of traditional
CONCLUDING REMARKS: media, that are currently missing?
P
TOWARDS A CONCEPT OF DIGITAL Still, social media and Web 2.0 technologies
MEDIABASED GOVERNANCE are uprising and bringing a great number of new
L
AND ENGAGEMENT applications and, most importantly, new oppor
tunities for communication, interaction and col
A
Many examples can be found online of social laboration. A number of questions are there looking
media and Web 2.0 technologies being used for for answers but, as with all technologies, the most
B
egovernment and eparticipation applications, important answers arise from the ways in which
in different countries and with different focus they eventually arrive at social constructions and
and contents. And as it often happens with social social regulations of their use.
O
media, at one point in time everybody is talking In the quest of applying the potential of social
L
about these applications as the new killer trends technologies to egovernance, a fundamental
that everyone should see and use and, some question that arises has to do with whether the
time later, even their own creators seem to have capabilities offered by social media and Web 2.0
G
abandoned them in the quest for new innovative effectively meet critical success factors from the
I
projects. This is one of the main criticisms (and, eparticipation, egovernance and digital service
in fact, actual disadvantages) of social media ap adoption agenda.
G
plications, that they are ephemeral. Many social In the broad domain of egovernance (criti
I
media projects are not even known to the public cal factors are summarized in Table 1) social
in order to get used. media bring forward a sense of modernization
What is needed to be done for these projects not through innovative interaction patterns, and thus
to be abandoned? How can they become used and indeed challenge existing ways of work. They
offer more to the community and society? What are overcoming a number of barriers at the level
is it that they are missing which does not allow of technology (no need for complex IT systems,
them to last in time? Why don’t people engage in software, hardware or skills), organizations (of
these projects in a lasting way? If these questions fering the opportunity for rich connections and
find an answer, then social media can prove way communication patterns that transverse organiza
more useful than networking with our friends. tional structures) as well as culture (people from
On top of that, there are not only positive effects different countries and with different cultures are
from the use of the social media. A great problem able to communicate and organize themselves
is rising in terms of privacy. Who is using our through simple and commonly acceptable norms).
454
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
Social media can (and actually do) help in com REFERENCES

munity building and volunteering with tools such
as social networking, free/open source software AlKhatib, H. (2009). A citizen oriented EGov
and wikis, offering awareness about citizen right ernment maturity model. Retrieved from http://
and government functions, as well as a variety of www.brunel.ac.uk/329/BBS%20documents/
F
choices to interact with fellow peers. PHD%20Doctoral%20Symposium% 2009/Ha
Finally, new digital social media are not closed laAlKhatib0632085.pdf
O
ended blackbox technologies. They are malleable, Anghern, A. (1997). Designing mature Internet
offer interfaces to interoperate with other systems, business strategies: The ICDT model. Euro
present themselves in ways userfriendly and
O
pean Management Journal, 15(4), 361–368.
flexible enough to be used in different contexts. doi:10.1016/S02632373(97)000169
Social media (nor any other technology) do not
R
have the solution for every problem that we face; Ashby, W. R. (1956). An introduction to cybernet
yet, as discussed above, they have a great range of ics. London, UK: Chapman & Hall.
P
characteristics that cover most of the critical fac
Axelrod, R., & Cohen, M. D. (1999). Harness
tors for everyday interaction as identified from the
ing complexity: Organizational implications of a
L
literature and practice. New forms of social media
scientific frontier. New York, NY: The Free Press,
emerge daybyday, offering new solutions and
Simon & Schuster.
A
opportunities and eventually meeting important
user needs that were not efficiently met before. Bauwens, M. (2005a). P2P and human evolution.
B
All in all, social media and Web 2.0 technolo Peer to peer as the premise of a new mode of civi
gies cannot be considered to cover all the factors lization. Retrieved from http://integralvisioning.
that are needed to ensure successful implementa org/ article.php?story=p2ptheory1
O
tion of eparticipation and egovernance initia
Bauwens, M. (2005b). P2P and human evolution.
L
tives, so much so as a number of these factors
Placing peer to peer theory in an integral frame
are not a matter of technology. Still, their current
work. Retrieved from http://www.integralworld.
advancements and features justify the view that
G
net/ bauwens2.html
they provide some natural answers to important
I
requirements for eparticipation and egovernance, Beer, S. (1984). The viable system model: Its
thus laying the grounds for further research on provenance, development, methodology and pa
thology. The Journal of the Operational Research
G
their development and use.
I
Society, 35(1), 7–25.
Benkler, Y. (2006). The wealth of networks.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
How social production transforms markets and
freedom. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
The research reported in this paper has been
funded by a University of Athens research grant Bhatnagar, D., Rathore, A., Torres, M. M., &
on “Obstacles and opportunities for the adoption Kanungo, P. (2003). Participatory budgeting in
of participatory digital communication services Brazil. Case study prepared for World Bank,
and egovernance” (KAPODISTRIAS Project September 2003. Retrieved from http://sitere
No. 70/4/9897). sources.worldbank.org/ INTEMPOWERMENT/
Resources/ 14657_ParticBudgBrazilweb.pdf
455
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
Blossom, J. (2009). Content nation. Surviving Fraunholz, B., & Unnithan, C. (2006). Egover
and thriving as social media changes our work, nance. inhibitor or facilitator for democracy and
our lives and our future. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley citizen empowerment? In Mitra, R. K. (Ed.),
Publishing. Egovernment: Macro issues (pp. 1–12). New
Delhi, India: Global Institute of Flexible Systems
F
Cachia, R. (2008). Social computing: Study on
Management.
the use and impact of online social networking.
IPTS exploratory research on the socioeconomic Gichoya, D. (2005). Factors affecting the success
O
impact of social computing. Retrieved from http:// ful implementation of ICT projects in government.
ftp.jrc.es/EURdoc/JRC48650.pdf The Electronic . Journal of EGovernment, 3(4),
O
175–184.
Capgemini (2007). The user challenge Bench
marking the supply of online public services. Gouscos, D. (2005). Towards a systemic approach
R
7th Measurement, September 2007. Prepared of electronic government projects. HSSS 2005
by Capgemini for the European Commission, Conference. Greece, May 2005.
P
Directorate General for Information Society and
Howe, J. (2008). Crowdsourcing. London, UK:
Media. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/infor
Crown Business Publishers.
L
mation_society/ eeurope/i2010/docs/benchmark
ing/ egov_benchmark_2007.pdf Jaeger, P. T., & Matteson, M. (2009). Egovern
A
ment and technology acceptance: The case of
Carrizales, T. (2008). Critical factors in an elec
the implementation of section 508 guidelines for
tronic democracy: A study of municipal manag
B
websites. Electronic . Journal of EGovernment,
ers. The Electronic . Journal of EGovernment,
7(1), 87–98.
6(1), 23–30.
O
Janssen, M., & van Veenstra, A. F. (2005). Stages
Chapman, J. (2004). System failure Why govern
of growth in egovernment: An architectural ap
L
ments must learn to think differently (2nd ed.).
proach. The Electronic . Journal of EGovernment,
London, UK: DEMOS Report Series.
3(4), 193–200.
G
Checkland, P. (1997). Systems . In Warner, M.
Karan, K., Gimeno, J. D. M., & Tandoc, E. Jr.
(Ed.), International encyclopedia of business and
I
(2009). The Internet and mobile technologies in
management. London, UK: International Thomson
election campaigns: The GABRIELA women’s
Business Press.
G
party during the 2007 Philippine elections. Jour
I
Ebersbach, A., Glaser, M., & Heigl, R. (2006). nal of Information Technology & Politics, 6(3),
Wiki Web collaboration. Germany: Springer. 326–339. doi:10.1080/19331680903047420
European Commission. (2005). Europe’s infor Kumar, V., Mukerji, B., Butt, I., & Persaud, A.
mation society thematic portal, eGovernment (2007). Factors for successful egovernment adop
overview. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/in tion: A conceptual framework. The Electronic .
formation_society/ tl/soccul/egov/index_en.htm Journal of EGovernment, 5(1), 63–76.
Finger, M., & Gaëlle, P. (2003). From egov Layne, K., & Lee, J. (2001). Developing fully
ernment to egovernance? Towards a model of functional egovernment: A four stage model.
egovernance. The Electronic . Journal of E Government Information Quarterly, 18(2), 122.
Government, 1(1), 1–10. doi:10.1016/S0740624X(01)000661
456
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
Leong, A. (1998). The ICDT model: A framework OECD. (2001). Citizens as partners Information,
for ebusiness. Retrieved from http://www.medi consultation and public participation in policy
acircus.net/ icdt.html making. OECD Publishing, 31 Oct 2001.
Lindmark, S. (2009). Web 2.0: Where does Europe OECD. (2007). Participative Web and usercreated
F
stand? Report EUR 23969 EN – Joint Research content. Web2.0, wikis and social networking.
Centre – Institute for Prospective Technological Retrieved from http://213.253.134.43/oecd/pdfs/
Studies. Luxembourg: Office for Official Pub browseit/9307031E.PDF
O
lications of the European Communities, 2009.
Osimo, D. (2008.) Web 2.0 in government: Why
Retrieved from http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ pub
and how? Retrieved from http://europa.eu
O
lications/pub.cfm?id=2539
Peixoto, T. (2008). Eparticipatory budgeting:
Lister, M., Dovey, J., Giddings, S., Grant, I., &
R
Edemocracy from theory to success? Retrieved
Kelly, K. (2002). New media: A critical introduc
from http://www.epractice.eu/ en/library/281825
tion. London, UK: Routledge.
P
Schwester, R. W. (2009). Examining the barriers
Loban, B. (2004). Between rhizomes and trees:
to egovernment adoption. Electronic . Journal
P2P Information Systems. First Monday, 9(10).
L
of EGovernment, 7(1), 113–122.
Macueve, G. (2008). Assessment of the outcomes
Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody. The
A
of egovernment for good governance: A case
power of organizing without organizations. New
of the land management Information System
York, NY: The Penguin Press.
B
in Mozambique. International Journal of Elec
tronic Governance, 1(4), 363–384. doi:10.1504/ Spannerworks. (2006). What is social media? An
IJEG.2008.022067 ebook from Spannerworks. Retrieved from http://
O
www.spannerworks.com/ebooks
Miller, J. G., & Miller, J. L. (1990). Introduction:
L
The nature of living systems. Behavioral Science, Surowiecki, J. (2004). The wisdom of crowds:
35(3), 157–163. doi:10.1002/bs.3830350301 Why the many are smarter than the few and how
G
collective wisdom shapes business, economies,
MIT Communications Forum. (2007). What is
societies and nations. Anchor Publishers.
I
civic media? Summary of a discussion by Chris
Csikszentmihalyi, Henry Jenkins, Beth Noveck Tapscott, D., & Williams, A. D. (2006). Wikinom
G
and Ethan Zuckerman, Sep 20, 2007. Retrieved ics: How mass collaboration changes everything.
I
from http://web.mit.edu/commforum/ forums/ New York, NY: Portfolio.
civic_media.html
TheissMorse, E. (1993). Conceptualizations
Moon, M. J. (2002). The evolution of egovern of good citizenship and political participation.
ment among municipalities: Rhetoric or reality? Political Behavior, 15(4), 355–380. doi:10.1007/
Public Administration Review, 62(4), 424–433. BF00992103
doi:10.1111/00333352.00196
von Bertalanffy, L. (1976). General system theory:
Noveck, B. S. (2009). Wiki government: How tech Foundations, development, applications (revised
nology can make government better, democracy edition). George Braziller Pubs.
stronger, and citizens more powerful. Washington,
von Hippel, E. (2005). Democratizing innovation.
DC: Brookings Institution Press
London, UK: The MIT Press.
457
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
Wagle, S., & Shah, P. (2003). Porto Alegre, Bra Reddick, C. G. (2010). Comparative egovern
zil: Participatory approaches in budgeting and ment. New York, NY: Springer.
public expenditure management. Note No. 71
Siriani, C. (2009). Investing in democracy. En
for the World Bank Action Learning Program on
gaging citizens in collaborative governance.
“Participatory approaches at the Macro Level”,
F
Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
March 2003. Retrieved from http://info.world
bank.org/etools/ docs/library/205481/ Porto%20
O
Alegre_English.pdf
Westheimer, J., & Kahne, J. (2004). Educating the
O
‘good’ citizen: Political choices and pedagogical Citizen Engagement: Citizens are “engaged”
goals. Retrieved from www.democraticdialogue. when they play a motivated and effective role
R
com/ DDpdfs/WestheimerKahnePS.pdf in decisionmaking, being actively involved in
World Bank. (2001). Definition of egovernment. defining the issues of a community, identifying
P
World Bank’s eGovernment website. Retrieved solutions and developing priorities for action and
from http://www.worldbank.org/egov resources.
L
eGovernance: The application to public
Zittel, T. (2009). Lost in technology? Political par administrations of ICTs, with an agenda that
ties and the online campaigns of constituency can
A
encompasses egovernment, eparticipation and
didates in Germany’s mixed member electoral sys citizen engagement. The concept of egovernance
tem. Journal of Information Technology & Politics,
B
focuses on participatory and deliberative online
6(3), 298–311. doi:10.1080/19331680903048832 interaction with transformational sideeffects that
improves administrative functions and democra
O
tizes public decisionmaking.
L
ADDITIONAL READING eGovernment: The application to public
administrations of ICTs that, combined with ap
Baym, N. K. (2010). Personal connections in the propriate organizational changes and development
G
digital age. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. of new skills, have the potential to transform the
I
relations of government with citizens, businesses
Bhatnagar, S. (2009). Unlocking egovernment
and its different branches and thus lead to improve
potential. Concepts, cases and practical insights.
ment of public services, public policies as well as
G
New Delhi, India: Sage Publications.
I
democratic processes.
Bruggeman, J. (2008). Social networks: An intro eParticipation: The ICTbased connection of
duction. London, UK: Routledge. ordinary people with politics and policymaking,
in order to open up decisionmaking processes
Lathrop, D., & Ruma, L. (2010). Open govern
and make them easier to understand and follow.
ment. Collaboration, transparency and participa
Social Media: Highly scalable and accessible
tion in practice. O’Reilly.
digital media and communication techniques that
Osimo, D., Campbell, D., KerrStevens, J., Bishop, enable any individual to influence groups of other
C., & Bryant, L. (2009). Public services 2.0. Web individuals easily. Social media use web 2.0based
2.0 from the periphery to the centre of public technologies to turn online communication into
service delivery. Retrieved from http://ec.europa. interactive online dialogues, collaboration, co
eu/information_society/ activities/egovernment/ filtering and coauthoring of information, sup
docs/ publicservices_web.pdf porting the ability of many different people and
458
HA"%+<$=")%/%#"S+D*=*#+:%'/'"."%1S+/%>+B"4+R*'*1/8+E">*/
groups to understand a situation, and to understand feeds, as well as social filtering and distribu
who else has the same understanding. tion of usergenerated content, thus bringing
UserGenerated Content: Digital multimedia usercentered design and interoperability a level
content generated by endusers and made avail forward. Web 2.0 sites give their users the option
able to the public through open licenses and social to interact and collaborate in social mediabased
F
media platforms. dialogues as content prosumers, overcoming the
Web 2.0: A universe of webbased standards, traditional Web 1.0 distinction between producers
O
protocols, services and applications that facilitate and consumers of online content.
programmable online service calls and content
R O
L P
B A
LO
I G
I G
459
460
Chapter 23
Social Media Corporate Policies
for Government Organizations:
O F
O
Lessons Learnt from the
United Arab Emirates
Salem Al Shair
Federal eGovernment, United Arab Emirates
P R
L
Ibrahim Elbadawi
A
Federal eGovernment, United Arab Emirates
ABSTRACT
OB
A,'B&+2*1=213'&*B81.H83.&1,'.1G*28,.1B74'*2G&B1.H2'3<2'58,3'B*&F3<'81)'2D$81).1B'.1J#21G2'&5',&G.87'
L
media tools such as social networking sites, blogs, and wikis, they start involving in these tools to increase
the value delivered to their citizens. Many government organizations have realized the importance of
G
having corporate policies to guide them while involving in these social media tools. The main purpose
of this chapter is to present the key lessons learnt from the process of formulating a governmentwide
I
,&G.87'=2).8'$&7.G4'.1'3<2'01.32)'A*86'b=.*832,I'(<.,'G&+2*,'<&F'B&+2*1=213'&5CG.87,'$2*G2.+2'3<2'
adoption of social media by government entities, the main barriers face successful adoption of social
G
media, and the key issues need to be covered by social media policies. The authors analyze the collected
I
answers in light of some of the literature available on the topic. They conclude the chapter with a brief
summary and recommendations for future research directions.
INTRODUCTION In December, 2010, Time magazine unveiled

its Person of the Year 2010: Mark Zuckerberg,
“Society is in the early phases of what appears founder of Facebook – the world’s most popular
to be a media revolution on the scale of that social media site. Mark has surpassed a long list
launched by Gutenberg in 1448” The Economist, of candidates in the initial list, and Time justified
20 April, 2006. this recognition of Facebook and the power of
social media by saying:
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch023
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
For connecting more than half a billion people four forces was the Web 2.0 which described by
and mapping the social relations among them, for (World Economic Forum, 2009) as “Technology
creating a new system of exchanging information Revolution”. The summit report briefly described
and for changing how we live our lives, Mark how Web 2.0 would change the governments by
Elliot Zuckerberg is TIME’s 2010 Person of the saying: ”The static, publishandbrowse Internet
F
Year (Stengel, 2010) is being eclipsed by a new participatory web that
provides a powerful platform for the reinvention
O
This selection is another example of the way of governmental structures, public services and
social media is expanding its influence in our daily democratic processes.” (World Economic Forum,
life and contribute to make serious changes in our 2009. p. 161)
O
world. In the last few years, social media and so From the eGovernance perspective, the
cial networking sites in particular have expanded emerge and fast growth of social media represent
R
remarkably to the limit that social media is now unprecedented opportunity for the government
considered the top activity on the internet (Qual organizations to expand their abilities to reach and
P
man, 2009). At the time of writing, the number of interact with their citizens and promote essential
active users on Facebook site only has exceeded principles of good governance such as openness,
L
500 million users 70 percent of them outside the inclusiveness and citizen participation. However,
United States and they use 70 languages to con these opportunities don’t come free of risks and
A
nect and communicate on the website (Facebook, challenges especially in areas like privacy and
2010), this means that if Facebook were a country, security. Practices around the world have shown
B
it would be the 3rd largest country in terms of the governments’ need to develop and implement
population immediately after China and India1! effective policies to utilize social media and hence,
This growing population on Facebook and maximize the value delivered to their citizens. As
O
other social media sites represent an opportunity Eggers (2005) argues: “today’s technologies can
L
that couldn’t be missed by the business firms. play a crucial role in fixing the problems of modern
Today, 79% of the Fortune 100 use at least of one government, changing how we get to work, how
of the main social platforms (i.e Twitter, YouTube, we pay our taxes, how we register our business,
G
Facebook, and blogs) to communicate with their and how our kids learn”.
I
customers, 82% of them use Twitter and tweet at The recent economic and financial crisis has
727 times per week while 50% of the Fortune 100 offered another reason for government leaders to
G
have a YouTube account and upload 10 videos on think of new methods for fixing the malfunctions
I
average a month. (iStrategy2010, 2010) of the current model of governance and practices
On the government side, a clear recognition in making the government policies and decisions
of the influence of social media tools on gover and in providing the public services. The trend
nance was made by the World Economic Forum as shown by many evidences is moving towards
(WEF) in its annual Global Agenda Meeting 2009 more collaborative and engaging citizens in the
which was the first one after the explosion of the decision making, social media is a key enabler of
global financial and economic crisis. Nnot sur this. The majority of Organization of Economic
prisingly, the theme of the meeting was “Shaping Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries
the PostCrisis World” (World Economic Forum, has formally included eGovernment as part of
2009). The “Future of Governments” was one their national response to the crisis, and some of
of the key issues discussed by the leaders, and these countries (i.e. United States, United King
they have identified “four new forces enable dom, Germany and Slovak Republic) decided to
transformation of government”, one of these give priority to “electronic social forums” and
461
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
other Web 2.0 tools to boost eParticipation and cessful implementation of this constituentcentric
eInclusion levels (OECD, 2009). concept through the continuous and appropriate
This focus on eParticipation is also featured adoption of different emerging technologies.
by the (United Nations, 2010) as key strengths Throughout the last few years, many federal and
of social media: local government entities across UAE have been
F
trying to explore the best ways to leverage the
Public feedback and collaboration will not guar power of social media to maximize the value
O
antee better service delivery but, at very little cost delivered to citizens. Over the time, we have
to the taxpayer, participatory methods can help realized the importance of having formal policy
policy makers set priorities, encourage more citi guidelines that steer the engagement of govern
O
zens to ‘buy in’ to programs, increase satisfaction ment organizations in social media to help them
levels and thus augment the chances of successful maximize their benefits and avoid or minimize
R
policy outcomes. For example, social networking the possible risks.
sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, as This chapter aims at presenting the key lessons
P
well as blogging software and mobile technol learnt from the ongoing process of formulating a
ogy, allow governments to tap into the collective social media policy for UAE government. After
L
knowledge of society quickly and directly. In this going through the literature review, we present
way, citizens move from being passive consumers the chapter methodology and highlight the key
A
of government services to advisers and innova questions we are trying to answer. Then, provide
tors contributing ideas that are in better accord a background about UAE, its governance structure
B
with their individual and group needs. (United and the eGovernment program. Then we provide
Nations, 2010, p. 45) a description of the current situation of social
media adoption by the government organizations
O
Started back in late 1990s, the eGovernment and society before concluding this background
L
programs in United Arab Emirates (UAE) have section by identifying the key forces that lead
been always driven by the needs of people. When the government of UAE towards more adoption
His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al of social media concepts and tools. The analysis
G
Maktoum, Vicepresident and Prime Minister of part of the chapter will provide detailed analysis
I
the UAE and Ruler of Dubai launched “Dubai of the collected data in the form of answers to
eGovernment” in 2000 as the first initiative the identified questions. Finally, the conclusion
G
of its kind in UAE and the region, he defined section provides a wrap up to the chapter and
I
the vision of Dubai eGovernment to “ease the highlights of the future research trends.
lives of people and businesses interacting with
the Government and contribute in establishing
Dubai as a leading business and economic hub” LITERATURE REVIEW
(Alshair & Okan, 2005, p. 109) and one of the
clear strategic objectives under this vision was The impact of social media has hit almost every
to “to achieve a constituentcentric approach for aspect of our lives and many publications consider
government services provisioning” (Alshair & the emerge of new internet technologies and social
Okan, 2005, p. 110) media in particular as a turning point at which we
Since then, Dubai eGovernment and other local will start witnessing radical changes in the way
eGovernment programs that have emerged at later we used to live. However, some studies have
stages (e.g. Abu Dhabi eGovernment2) alongside went far to the limit of comparing the impact of
the federal eGovernment3 have been pursuing suc social media to the impact made by the invention
462
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
of printing press by Gutenberg in 1884 (A survey Another more specific field of interest to the
of new media, what sort of revolution?, 2007; literature we reviewed is the impact of social
Tapsoct & Williams, 2010) media on the governance sphere, Tim O’Reilly to
Tapsoct & Williams (2010) consider the eco whom the term “Web 2.0” is closely associated,
nomic and financial crisis as a “turning point in believes that Government 2.0 is there to “better
F
history” but criticizes the solutions proposed by solve collective problems at a city, state, national,
many world leaders to solve the problems with the and international level” (O’Reilly, 2010, p. 12).
O
current topdown governance model. They argue Thanks to the Web 2.0 and collaborative technolo
that the solution to the world’s problems can’t be gies in particular, citizens are connected like never
provided by the same institutions that produced before and can have the government information
O
these problems. Instead, Tapsoct & Williams and services where and when they need it, they
(2010) call for adopting wikilike models and use are empowered to utilize their skills and passion
R
the web to “disclose pertinent information and to develop improve approach to governance, in
enables a worldwide network of expertsincluding this approach government is a platform: a conve
P
the thousands of analysts already employed by ner and an enabler rather than the first mover of
government regulators today to poll their tips, risk civic action (O’Reilly, 2010). In a more specific
L
models and analysis” (Tapsoct & Williams, 2010, approach, Noveck (2009) discusses how social
p. 16). They supported this argument with a variety media can improve the democratic practices and
A
of examples of how social media in general and citizen participation in drafting government poli
this wikilike model in particular are leveraged cies and the process of decision making. Noveck
B
to provide new ways of doing things in different (2009) builds on the famous case study of Peer
sectors such as healthcare, financial services, toPatent project at the United States Patent and
education, media and government. However, they Trademark Office (USPTO) to suggest a “collab
O
don’t consolidate these chatter examples under orative groupbased” citizen participation model
L
clear comprehensive model to predict the future that aimed at improving the quality of decisions
trend or at least their near future impacts as “the made by government agencies. One possible ap
longterm effects of these shifts on all our institu plication of this model is the “Policy Wikis” in
G
tions are hard to forecast with accuracy” (Tapsoct which Wiki tools are used to enable citizens par
I
& Williams, 2010, p. 25) ticipate in drafting government policies. Noveck
Fraser & Dutta (2008) follow the same radi (2009) provides good specific recommendations
G
cal approach but with focus on social networking to help leaders in both public and private sectors
I
sites and how they will transform everyone’s life, to successfully move towards more collaborative
work and world. They describe how the grow decision making approach.
ing popularity of famous social networking sits Within the same governance area, the latest
such as Facebook and Linkedin is empowering version of United Nations eGovernment Survey
the social connections between individuals from series issued was titled: “United Nations eGov
around the world. These empowered social net ernment Survey 2010, Leveraging egovernment
works are by nature horizontal and animated by at a time of financial and economic crisis”, (UN,
informal exchanges in contrast to the topdown 2010) considered that social networking sites and
institutions which are formal, hierarchic, static and other social media tools can help governments to
rigid. Fraser & Dutta (2008) argue that and as a set their priorities, increase the citizens acceptance
result of this situation, social networking sites are to the government policies and hence, increase the
causing the identities to be disaggregated, status outcomes achieved through these policies. Simi
to be democratized and power to be diffused. larly and in recognition of the growing influence
463
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
of SNS, the Europe Commission issued a report To be more specific, the chapter is trying to
to “examine the socioeconomic impact of Social present answers to the following questions:
Computing applications in Europe” (AlaMutka et
al., 2009). (AlaMutka et al., 2009) drew a picture P+ h$4+;$+'$>")%."%1+$-&#*/8<+=")#"*>"+15"+
about the status of SNS usages in the countries use social media tools in government enti
F
of Europe Union (EU) and the changes social ties in UAE?
networking sites brought to the industry, citizens, P+ What are the main barriers of utilizing so
O
identity, social inclusion, health and public gov cial media tools by government entities in
ernance. The report was concluded by providing UAE?
specific policy recommendations to EU leaders P+ What are the main issues a social media
O
in these areas. policy for government entities in UAE
On another level, some studies like (Hrdinová, should cover?
R
Helbig, & Peters, 2010) focus on the specific issue
of designing corporate policies for using social The primary data source included a focus
P
media by government organizations, other studies group and a workshop both organized as part of
have chosen to tackle a broader arena and explore the policy formulation process itself. The list of
L
how the emerge and evolve of social media affect attendees covered UAE Council of Ministers,
the way government works. UAE Telecom Regulatory Authority, more than
A
Looking for the core elements of a government fifty UAE federal government entities, UAE
social media policy, (Hrdinová, Helbig, & Peters, local eGovernments, representative of private
B
2010) conducted a comparative analysis of twenty sector, key academic and research institutions in
six government social media policies looking for UAE and the public including UAE citizens and
patterns in content and approach and interviewed residents. The secondary data source included the
O
both those who experienced in developing these survey “Crossagency Collaboration in the UAE
L
policies and those who look for advises on devel Government – The Role of Trust and the Impact
oping such policies. As a result, (Hrdinová et al., of Technology” conducted by Dubai School of
2010) identified the following eight elements they Government which. The survey which covered
G
consider essential for government social media federal and local government sin UAE aimed
I
policies: employee access, account management, at exploring the factors affect the collaboration
acceptable use, employee conduct, content, secu among government entities in UAE (Salem &
G
rity, legal issues, and citizen conduct. Jarrar, 2010).
I
The methodology has its limitations; the focus
group and the workshop mainly reflected the of
CHAPTER PURPOSE AND ficial opinion of each government entity which
METHODOLOGY might not be enough to provide comprehensive
understanding of the issues discussed. The in
The aim of this chapter is to present some of the dividual opinion of the government employees
lessons learnt from the currently going process should be taken in consideration as well through
of formulating corporate social media policy for a government wide survey, such survey could of
government entities in UAE. The policy formula fer understanding to the opinion of government
tion is driven by General Information Authority employees on their personal capacities. Such
(GIA) – the government entity responsible for the survey is not available at the time of writing as the
Federal eGovernment Program in partnership process of policy formulation is still in progress.
with Dubai School of Government (DSG).
464
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
Considering this limitation, the findings and the Adoption of Social Media in
analysis should be taken with caution. UAE: The Current Situation
and the Driving Forces
BACKGROUND The use of social media and especially social
F
networking sites by government entities in
Government Sector in UAE UAE is very common; many local and federal
O
government entities in UAE already have online
UAE is a constitutional federation of seven Emir existence in social networking sites8. His High
ates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras ness Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
O
Al Khaimah, Al Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain. VicePresident and Prime Minister of the UAE
The federal system of government includes The and Ruler of Dubai gave a leading example in
R
Supreme Council which is made up of the rulers this matter by leveraging Facebook, Twitter and
of the seven emirates, the 40member Federal YouTube to continuously communicate with the
P
National Council and the Council of Ministers or public and exchange opinions of different issues
the cabinet. In addition, each emirate has its own (Figure 1).
L
local government. (UAE interact, 2010) However, the use of social media by govern
Several local governments have already estab ment entities is not supported by the required
A
lished their own eGovernment programs, while policies which is main incentive for kicking off
Dubai lunched its eGovernment in 2000 to be the process of formulating this social media
B
the first of its kind in GCC countries, other local policy. According to Fadi Salem Program Direc
eGovernments immediately followed and man tor and Fellow at Dubai School of Government:
aged to gain successful achievements, this includes
O
Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah as examples6. From the findings of a survey conducted by the
L
Throughout the last decade, several UAE Dubai School of Government throughout several
local eGovernments have managed to put the local government entities in Dubai, we realised
government eTransformation in the heart of the that they don’t have a formal policy on external
G
government agenda and to achieve significant usage of social networking. Few government
I
success in this context. departments do have internal policies in place,
On the federal level, the GIA is the government which are limited to controlling or banning us
G
entity that is responsible mainly for supervising age of some services in the workplace. Some
I
the implementation of the eGovernment program. government entities are planning to formulate
The scope of GIA incorporates the direct supervi official policies within the entity for such usage.
sion of the eTransformation of more than fifty Interestingly however, all entities acknowledged
federal government entities (ministries, authorities that formal external usage of such tools by the
and programs) in addition to the coordination with government could potentially increase transpar
and between local eGovernments. The federal ency, knowledgesharing, collaboration within
online portal7 represents the official portal of government, innovation and efficiency in govern
UAE government and a single entry point to all ment departments as well as citizens’ reach and
information and services provided by government trust in public offices. (Kapur, 2010)
entities across UAE.
But the picture on the society side is more im
pressive. The society in UAE is heavily involved
in social media where 70% of the internet users in
465
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
Figure 1. Facebook page of H.H. Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
O F
R O
L P
B A
LO
UAE are subscribed to one of the social network UAE government is implementing a detailed
G
ing sites (Arab Media Outlook, 2010). This is the multiphases strategic plan. The “20112013”
highest uptake in all Middle East and North Africa strategic plan “lays the foundations to achieve the
I
(MENA) countries, and it’s even higher than the UAE Vision 2021” (UAE Prime Minister, 2010).
30% uptake in EU countries (AlaMutka et al., The eGovernment program is considered by both
G
2009). Moreover, 41% of Twitter users in MENA the vision and the strategic plan as a key enabler,
I
are from UAE. (Arab Media Outlook, 2010) and some of the essential components that are
Having described the current status of social closely attached to the eGovernment program
media usage by government entities and citizens, include: transforming UAE economy towards
we should talk about the forces that drive the e knowledgebased economy, fostering good gov
Government program and society in UAE towards ernance, the provision of excellent citizenfocused
wider adoption of social media concepts and government services and maintaining efficient
tools. We can summarize these driving forces in financial management for government resources
three main ones: The UAE national agenda, UAE (UAE Prime Minister, 2010). Having these
economy and competitiveness and UAE society. strategic national agenda, moving towards more
UAE has a long term national vision named citizencentered government is a priority and the
UAE Vision 2021(UAE Prime Minister, 2010). successful adoption of the collaborative tools of
To move forward towards achieving this vision, Web 2.0 is essential to make this move possible.
466
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
On the economic side, UAE economy depends ANALYSIS

mainly – in addition to oil revenue on services
and attracting foreign businesses and tourists. How do Government Officials
Worldwide, UAE has gained a renowned status Perceive the use Social Media Tools
“as an international centre for trade, finance and in Government Entities in UAE?
F
services and has attracted major global companies.
The UAE has always focused on strengthening Most attendees considered social media as an op
O
its stance as a hub for private commerce.” (UAE portunity to improve the communication between
Ministry of Economy, 2010) Therefore, having the government and citizens and across govern
effective government sector and government ment entities. Considering the high adoption of
O
services for both individuals and businesses are social media among UAE citizens and residents
crucial for maintain the economic growth and the as highlighted earlier in this chapter, government
R
competitiveness of the country. In addition to that, entities can’t afford to ignore social media as a
eGovernment and ICT is considered as one of new channel for communication with citizens.
P
the key measures of the overall competitiveness This understanding is consistent with the find
of a country as measured by global organiza ings of the survey conducted by Dubai School of
L
tions like United Nations and World Economic Government on the “Crossagency Collaboration
Forum (WEF) in their regular reports. Accord in the UAE” where, 76% of the respondents said
A
ing to the most recent UN eGovernment Survey that online social networking tools were among
and the Global IT Report from WEF, increasing the top three technologies that could foster better
B
eParticipation levels through the adoption of collaboration and bridge silos in the government;
social media tools represents a clear opportunity strengthen ties between government entities;
for UAE to boost its eGovernment performance increase trust between the society and the gov
O
and hence its competitiveness among other world ernment; and promote innovation in government
L
countries. (World Economic Forum, 2009) work. (Salem & Jarrar, 2010) According to Fadi
Another interesting driving force towards Salem Program Director and Fellow at Dubai
more citizencentered government is the UAE School of Government: “all entities acknowl
G
society itself which has a unique combination of edged that formal external usage of such tools
I
features. The age group (1529) represents 32% by the government could potentially increase
of the total UAE population and foreign residents transparency, knowledgesharing, collaboration
G
represent 80% of this population (UAE Yearbook within government, innovation and efficiency
I
2009, 2010). Realizing how this society is active in government departments as well as citizens’
on social media sites as the figures showed above, reach and trust in public offices” (Kapur, 2010)
we can say that if the government is left behind The utilization of social media to enhance the
the society in this matter and insisted to rely on governance and the communication between the
traditional channels to “listen” to its citizens, then government and citizens can go on various levels,
we could witness a “governmentsociety social on top of them is the possible enhancement of
media divide” which will negatively affect the gov democratic practices by enabling the politicians
ernment plans to move towards citizencentered to deliver their messages directly to their citizens
government and hence hinder its progress towards and enable the latter’s to participate more effec
the country’s national and economic agenda. tively more say on the political practices. One of
the best examples is the presidential campaign
of Barack Obama, that campaign was the first
time in history when a US presidential candidate
467
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
used social networking sites such as Facebook security breaches involve “stealing or illegally
and MySpace to connect directly with voters, offering data by those who were never intended
his “Yes we Can” video clip was watched more to have it” (Bradley, 2008)
than four million times in only four days, and 20 (Federal CIO Council, 2009) suggests that
million times before Obama won the Democratic social media technologies are vulnerable to three
F
nomination (Frazer & Dutta, 2008). types of cyber attacks: spear phishing, social
Noveck (2009) suggests that social media and engineering, and web application attacks. The
O
Wiki in particular can be utilized to crowd source level of awareness about online security threats
the policy formulation and decision making at is relatively high among most of the government
the government. “Policy Wikis” in which Wiki entities in UAE, one of the major initiatives in
O
tools are used to enable citizens participate in this context is the launch of Computer Emergency
drafting government policies. (Hujiboom et al., Response Team (aeCERT) which is a federal cyber
R
2009) suggests that crowd sourcing mechanisms security coordination center established and man
can make public sector information more readily aged by TRA. The main objectives of aeCERT
P
compiled, structured and disseminated and thus include facilitating the detection, prevention and
provide the potential to make government more response of cyber security incidents on the inter
L
transparent while empowering citizens to make net, enhancing the cyber security laws, raising the
public officials accountable. security awareness, and acting as a central trusted
A
Another level of the adoption of social media point of contact for cyber security incident report
in governance is service provision. Social media ing in the UAE (Computer Emergency Response
B
can help in providing citizencentered and citizen Team, 2010)
generated services by allowing governments to tap On the privacy side, the situation is less en
into the collective knowledge of society quickly couraging where UAE still lacks a law for online
O
and directly. In this way, citizens move from be privacy. In this situation, the information posted
L
ing passive consumers of government services on social media website becomes vulnerable.
to advisers and innovators contributing ideas However, the attendees agreed on several actions
that are in better accord with their individual and to be recommended as part of the policy. These
G
group needs. (United Nations, 2010) This is valid recommendations will be detailed in the next
I
especially for contentrelated (intangible) public section of this chapter.
services (e.g. teaching, tracing, and designing) Another important barrier comes from the
G
compared to tangible services such as public cultural side. Citizens might have their doubts that
I
transportation and construction of infrastructure. their engagement in government discussions and
(Hujiboom et al., 2009) activities on social media would bring them value
in the form of service and policy improvement.
What are the Main Barriers Similarly, many government employees might
of Utilizing Social Media by not be enthusiast to a new culture of openness,
Government Entities in UAE? transparency and citizen engagement. Attendees
agreed that policy guidelines won’t be enough
The attendees considered privacy and security to make the required cultural shift, an effort to
issues as the most important concerns that can educate and raise the employees’ awareness on
hinder the engagement with citizens on social these issues and the social media policy itself is
media. Privacy breach can be defined as “the in required. (Bradley, 2008; Communities and Local
appropriate use of personal information by those Government, 2008) agree on this cultural barrier
who are allowed to access the information” while and De Maio (2008) agrees on that concern and
468
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
suggests that developing a social media policy is Access to Social Media Sites
important but enough, organizations need to have
a continuous program for educating employees This part of the policy should answer two main
to ensure indepth understanding of the rules for questions:
using social media and the ramifications of misuse
F
or policy violation. P+ Who are the employees authorized to ac
O’Reilly (2010) highlights the cultural issue cess these social media websites?
O
from another angle where culturalshifts are P+ What are the social media tools that are al
required on both the government and the society lowed to be accessed?
sides. Societies need to act more proactively and
O
leverage the power of SNS positively by feeding Though different organizations might have
the governments with useful content to be used in different answers to those questions, we should
R
improving services and policies. Governments on always remember that the main purpose here is
their turn have to be more open and ready to accept to grant the employees’ access to resources they
P
the fact of sharing the power with their citizens can utilize to enhance their work performance
and start redesigning their business model to fit and productivity. (Hrdinová et al., 2010) suggests
L
the new citizencentered and citizenprovided that employees need to access social networking
services. (pp 11) sites for three reasons: to communicate the offi
A
In addition to this, two issues within the gov cial message of the government organization, to
ernment entities were highlighted: the difficulty have access to resources required to fulfill their
B
of measuring the gained value of citizen engage professional duties, and to use social media for
ment through social media and the “hierarchical personal interests.
social media divide” between decision makers at The challenge with this classification is that
O
the higher levels of the hierarchy and technology the line between personal and professional/official
L
savvy at lower levels. The enthusiasms of the latter accounts are not always welldefined and it may
to go online is not enough without the support of be hard to clearly distinguish one from the other,
the former who in many cases prefer to continue making the issue of granting access to one rather
G
doing the government business with the same well than the other difficult. Similarly and except for
I
know traditional methods. some social media websites like social gaming, it
might be difficult to mark a social media website
What are the Main Issues a Social
G
as “for work” or “for personal” use. Some of the
I
Media Policy for Government most famous social media website (e.g. Twitter)
Entities in UAE Should Cover? can be a great source for professional use but also
could be a tool for wasting employees’ time. (Di
The attendees’ feedback on this question is crucial Maio, Andrea, personal communication, August
to the policy formulation as the components of 26, 2010)
the policy should answer the concerns of govern So, the policy shouldn’t rely creating a “black
ment officials within UAE. The attendees agreed list” of banned social media websites9. Instead,
on the importance of the following points to be the focus should be on monitoring the accessed
tackled by the policy: social media websites to detect any possible threat
(e.g security breach) and to hold the employees
accountable for any improper use.
469
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
Account Management Content (UGC), take Facebook for example where

1.5 million pieces of content (e.g. notes, photos,
This component of the social media policy is blog post etc..) are posted daily (Qualman, 2009).
mainly dedicated for managing the official ac In addition, communications with citizens on so
counts of government organization on a given cial media sites tend to be interactive rather than
F
social media site. Attendees suggested that the authoritative and narrowcast as compared to the
policy should guide the government organization broadcast traditional media (Hrdinová et al., 2010).
O
throughout the entire lifecycle including creating, Attendees of the focus group and the workshop
maintaining; and deleting accounts as appropriate, have recommended that government organiza
depending on the type of account and its functions. tions need to decide on the following two content
O
The policy should also offer guidelines on the management issues:
criteria of selecting the employee(s) appropriate
R
for managing the official account of the govern P+ The selection of the employees who will
ment entity on social media sites. manage the content of on the entity’s ac
P
count and interact with the citizens.
Employee Conduct and Acceptable use P+ The moderation strategy (if any) to be ad
L
opted by the entity to manage the UGC.
in essence, the conduct and behavior of the govern Moderating the UGC could be important
A
ment employees on social media sites shouldn’t to ensure proper conduct. It should be
differ from their behavior in general or any other done carefully so as not to restrict said col
B
communication/media tool. In UAE government, laboration and participation, and should
this mainly governed by the document of Pro be clearly communicated to users to set
fessional Behavior Principles and Ethics in the their expectations and guide their contribu
O
Public Office of Federal Authorities10 issued in tions. Mainly, if the user’s contribution is
L
July 2010, and the UAE Human Resources law within the context of the topic of discus
(Federal Law Decree #11 for the Year 2008)11. sion, regardless of whether it is positive of
This doesn’t cover only the employee behavior negative, it should be allowed to remain.
G
on social media websites but also the “acceptable However, if the content is offensive, de
I
use” of government resources and information. rogatory, or completely out of context then
This might include behaving in a way that protects it may be removed.
G
the reputation of the government and avoiding
I
wastage of public funds and government resources. Citizen Code of Conduct
In other countries, this part should be covered by
other existing government policies such as the The concern related to citizen conduct is mainly
Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of raised because of the UGC feature of social media
the Executive Branch in US and the Civil Service as illustrated in the Content Management section
Code in UK (Hrdinová et al., 2010).. above. In some cases, government organizations
Content management in principle, the existing might decide not to allow citizens to post their
content management standards and processes that comments on the organization’s page but in this
government organizations use to manage content case it would be a oneway communication which
published by them on the various media channels is not the main point of using social media sites.
should be applied here. However, social media (Hrdinová et al., 2010) indicates that Citizen
have a unique feature here is that great portion Conduct rules generally refer to limitations on
of the content posted on them are User Generated
470
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
offensive language, inciting violence, or promot P+ When creating an account or singing in to

ing illegal activity. social media sites, employees should not
The attendees have suggested that citizen code (<"+15"*)+'$>")%."%1+$-&#*/8+"./*8+/;;)"<<+
of conduct can explicitly state that certain forms or password.
of content are prohibited and will be removed, P+ Access to unnecessary functionalities and
F
including, but not limited to: applications (e.g. gaming) within some of
the social media websites should be pre
O
P+ Comments that are out of context or vented, because of security risks associ
irrelevant. ated with these applications.
P+ Profane language. P+ Educate employees about these security
O
P+ Comments that promote discrimination. threats especially the social engineer
P+ Comments that promotes illegal activity. ing related threats and the risk mitigation
R
P+ Comments that violates any legal or intel techniques.
lectual property rights.
P
For both security and privacy issues, we suggest
Privacy that the aeCERT program could be leveraged to
L
carry out a governmentwide awareness an edu
Privacy infringements tend to occur due to the fact cational program on the risks related to privacy
A
that governments are becoming more transparent and security.
and open while involving with citizens on social
B
networking sites. As a result, more information Legal Issues
on individual citizens can be found through these
social networks (Hujiboom et al., 2009). In most Even with the availability of social media policy
O
cases, the privacy issue is covered by existing guidelines mentioned above, government organi
L
government policies and regulations such as the zations might always be concerned with ensuring
Standards of Integrity and Conduct in New Zealand that their employees are abiding by the existing
(cite). Knowing that UAE lacks an online privacy laws while using social media tools. To address
G
law as highlighted above, the attendees suggested this concern, some policies take a general approach
I
the type of information that can be disclosed by and use generic text that requires all employees
employees on social media sites should be clearly to adhere to all applicable laws and regulations
G
identified and communicated. without actually specifying which laws and regu
I
lations are applicable. In contrast, others point
Security to specific areas of law such as public records
management, public disclosure, and accessibility
Although the existing IT security policies might be (Hrdinová et al., 2010)
used as a reference to cover this part, there might In the case of UAE, an example of such legal
be a need to address some of the security risks concern is the copyright issue. The United Arab
that are specifically created by social media sites Emirates Copyright, Law, 01/07/20021423, No.
as highlighted above. Security breaches involve 712, doesn’t explicitly cover the online content.
stealing or illegally offering data by those who Therefore, the copyright disclaimer posted by
were never intended to have it” (Bradley, 2008) government organization on social media tools
In addition to the existing IT security policies, should cover this component and also should detail
attendees recommended the following policy the copyrights that nongovernment contributors
guidelines: to their sites may retain.
471
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS P+ What are the main barriers of utilizing so
cial media tools by government entities in
While reviewing the literature available on the UAE?
chapter topic, we noticed that the impact of social P+ What are the main issues a social media
media on governance models and the required policy for government entities in UAE
F
policies to guide the engagement of government should cover?
organizations are hot issues that require both
O
researchers and practitioner to tackle. However, The answers to these questions were collected
most of the available literature tends to focus through a focus group and a workshop as part of
on specific cases of government organizations the policy formulation itself. Representatives of
O
or specific social media tools and draw conclu federal and local government entities contributed
sions and recommendations based on that. There to the answers.
R
is a need for broader theoretical framework that Before presenting the answers to these ques
incorporates all the key issues of social media tions, we offered the reader a background on UAE
P
and link them to the wider eGovernance area, and its governance system, the egovernment
this framework should then be used to deliver programs in the country, the current situation of
L
deep and balanced policy recommendations for adopting social media by the government and citi
government officials. zens and the forces that drive that adoption ahead.
A
In addition to the social media policy, govern There was a wide consensus on the role social
ment organizations need guidelines or a framework media can play in enriching the government inter
B
on the actual “process steps” should be followed action with citizens and the citizens participation
when starting engaging with citizens. Researcher in designing and delivering government services
could consider the issues discussed in this chapter and in making government decisions and policies.
O
especially the key issues need to be covered by Privacy and security concerns alongside the cul
L
social media as and leverage them to provide tural barriers are considered the main challenges
the government organization with this “how to” that face a successful adoption of social media.
framework. Other issues included the hierarchical generational
G
social media divide and the issue of measuring the
I
value gained out of the adoption of social media.
CONCLUSION They key area that considered important to
G
be covered by any social media policy are: ac
I
In this chapter, we focused on the issue of design cess to social media tools, account management,
ing effective corporate social media policies for employee conduct and acceptable use, content
government organizations by presenting some management, citizen code of conduct, privacy,
of the lessons learnt from the ongoing process security and other legal issues such as the copy
of developing a governmentwide social media right issue.
policy in UAE. We presented answers for the We finally concluded the chapter by presenting
following three main questions: advises on the future research directions.
P+ h$4+;$+'$>")%."%1+$-&#*/8<+=")#"*>"+15"+
use of social media tools in government
entities in UAE?
472
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
REFERENCES Facebook. (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2010,

from http://www.facebook.com/#!/ press/info.
A survey of new media, what sort of revolution? php?statistics
(2006, April 20). The Economist. Retrieved No
vember 20, 2010, from http://www.economist. Fraser, M., & Dutta, S. (2008). Throwing sheep
F
com/ node/6794256 in boardroom, how online social networking will
transform your life, work and world. England:
AlaMutka, K., Broster, D., Cachia, R., Centeno, Wiley.
O
C., Feijóo, C., & Haché, A. (2009). The impact
of social computing on the EU information so Hrdinová, J., Helbig, N., & Peters, C. (2010).
Designing social media policy for government:
O
ciety and economy (Tech. Rep. No. EUR 24063
EN). Luxembourg: European Commission, Joint Eight essential elements. New York, NY: Center for
Technology in Government, University of Albany.
R
Research Centre, Institute for Prospective Tech
nological Studies. Hujiboom, N., Broek, T., Frissen, V., Kool, L.,
P
Alshair, S., & Geray, O. (2005). Dubai egov Kotterink, B., Nielsen, M., et al. (2009). Public
ernment initiative: Concept, achievements and services 2.0: The impact of social computing on
public services (Tech. Rep. No. EUR 24080 EN
L
the future pillars of success . In Mishra, S., &
Mukherjee, A. (Eds.), Egovernance in developing 2009). Luxembourg: European Commission, Joint
Research Centre, Institute for Prospective Techno
A
nations. Egovernance in developing nations (pp.
103–130). New Delhi, India: ICFAI. logical Studies. iStrategy. (2010). Retrieved July
2, 2010, from http://www.istrategy2010.com/blog/
B
Arab Media Outlook. (2010). Dubai, UAE: Dubai socialmediainbusinessfortune100statistics/
Press Club.
Kapur, S. (2010). Businesses wake up to social
O
Bradley, A. (2008). Five major challenges orga networking. Emirates Busienss 24|7. Retrieved
L
nizations face regarding social software. (Tech. July 1 2010, from http://www.business247.
Rep. No. G00154985). Stamford, CT: Gartner, Inc. ae/ companiesmarkets/technology/ businesses
G
Communities and Local Government. (2008). wakeuptosocialnetworking 20100407
Online social networks, research report. (Tech. 1.103638
I
Rep. No. 08 RPD 105574/D). London, United Noveck, B. (2009). Wiki government, how tech
Kingdom: Department of Communities and Lo nology can make government better, democracy
G
cal Government. stronger, and citizens more powerful. Washington,
I
Computer Emergency Response Team. (n.d.) DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Retrieved October 12, 2010, from http://www. O’Reilly, T. (2010). Government as platform . In
aecert.ae/aboutus.php Lathrop, D., & Ruma, L. (Eds.), Open government:
De Maio, A. (2008). How governments can use Collaboration, transparency, and participation in
social networks (Tech. Rep. No. G00157649). practice (pp. 11–39). O’Reilly Media.
Stamford, USA: Gartner, Inc. Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Eggers, W. (2005). Government 2.0, using tech Development. (2009, November). The financial
nology to improve education, cut red tape, reduce and economic crisis: The impact on eGovernment
gridlock, and enhance democracy. Maryland: in OECD countries. Paper presented at the 5th
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, INC. Ministerial eGovernment Conference, Malmö,
Sweden.
473
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
Qualman, E. (2009). Statistics show social me ADDITIONAL READING

dia is bigger than you think. Socialnomics. Re
trieved June 22, 2010, from http://socialnomics. Bimber, B. (2003). Information and American de
net/2009/08/11/ statisticsshowsocialmedia is mocracy: Technology in the evolution of political
biggerthanyouthink/ power. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
F
Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511615573
Salem, F., & Jarrar, Y. (2010). Government
2.0? Technology, trust and collaboration in the BorgneBachschmidt, F., Girieud, S., Leiba, M.,
O
UAE public sector. Policy & Internet, 2(1), 4. Munck, S., Limonard, S., & Poel, M. (2008).
doi:10.2202/19442866.1016 Usercreatedcontent: Supporting a participative
O
information society. boyd, d., & Ellison, N. B.
Stengel, R. (2010). Person of the year 2010. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history,
Retrieved December 19, 2010, from http://
R
and scholarship. Journal of ComputerMediated
www.time.com/time/specials/ packages/article/ Communication, 13(1), 11.
0,28804,2036683_2037181,00.html
P
De Maio, A. (2009). Comparing socialmedia poli
Tapscot, D., & Williams, A. (2010). MacroWiki cies for government (Tech. Rep. No. G00173181).
nomics, rebooting business and the world. Corn
L
Stamford, CT: Gartner, Inc.
wall, UK: TJ International Ltd.
Goettke, R., & Christiana, J. (2007, May) Privacy
A
The Federal CIO Council. (2009). Guidelines for and online social networking websites. Harvard
secure use of social media by federal departments University, School of Engineering and Applied
B
and agencies. Sciences website. Retrieved May 20, 2010, from
UAE Interact. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/ cs199r/fp/RichJoe.
O
2010, from http://www.uaeinteract.com/ govern pdf
ment/
L
Human Capital Institute. (2010). Social network
UAE Ministry of Economy. (n.d.) Retrieved June ing in government: Opportunities & challenges.
Retrieved June 12, 2010, from http://www.hci.
G
15, 2010, from http://www.economy.ae
org/files/ field_content_file/SNGovt_Summary
UAE Prime Minister. (n.d.) Retrieved June 15,
I
FINAL.pdf
2010, from http://www.uaepm.ae
Kingsley, C. (2010). Making the most of social
G
UAE Yearbook 2009. (2010). Retrieved June 7 media, 7 lessons from successful cities. Philadel
I
2010, from http://www.uaeinteract.com/uaeint_ phia, PA: Fells Institute of Government.
misc/ pdf_2009/index.html
Millian, M. (2009). White House using social
United Nations. (2010). United Nations egov media to debunk ‘myths’about healthcare reform.
ernment survey 2010, leveraging egovernment at Retrieved June 20, 2010, from http://latimesblogs.
the time of economic and financial crisis. (Tech. latimes.com/ washington/2009/08/healthcare
Rep. No. ST/ESA/PAD/SER.E/131). New York, facts.html
NY: United Nations.
World Economic Forum. (2009). The global
agenda 2009. Geneva, Switzerland.
474
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
North Carolina Office of the Governor, North interaction between government and citizens on
Carolina Office of Information Technology Ser social media and hence, minimize the benefits
vices, North Carolina Department of Cultural of adopting social media tools by government
Resources. (2009). Best practices for social me organizations.
dia usage in North Carolina. Retrieved May 10, Hierarchical Social Media Divide: The gap
F
2010, from http://www.records.ncdcr.gov/guides/ between government officers at the higher level
best_practices_socialmedia_usage_20091217.pdf of hierarchical structure and those lower levels
O
in adoption of social media tools. This gab could
Organization for Economic Cooperation and De
hinder the adoption of social media by govern
velopment. (2003). The egovernment imperative:
ment organizations due to the lack of “buy in”
O
Main findings. Paris, France: Author.
and understanding at the decision making level.
Richter, A., & Koch, M. (2008, May). Functions Social Media Policy: A document provides
R
of social networking services. Paper presented at guidelines for institutions on how to engage on
the 8th International Conference on the Design of social media tools to maximize their gains and
P
Cooperative Systems, Provence, France. minimize their risks.
Social Media: Web based technologies that
Smith, A. (2010). Government online, the Internet
L
enable the social interaction between individuals
gives citizens new paths to government services
and empower them by tools to partially or fully
and information. (Tech. Rep. No. 2024194500).
A
fulfill tasks that are used to be handled exclusively
Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life
by institutions.
Project.
B
Social Networking Sites: Online tools that
State of California Office of the State Chief allow users to (1) create profiles, (2) connect with
Information Officer. (2010). Social media other users within the boundary of the network,
O
standards. Retrieved May 9, 2010, from http:// (3) engage in joint discussions and collaborative
L
www.cio.ca.gov/Government/ IT_Policy/pdf/ activities with those connected users and (4) post
SIMM_66B.pdf usergenerated content in many formats such as
text notes, photos, videos etc…
G
Tredinnick, L. (2006). Web 2.0 and business:
WikiGovernment: The adoption of wiki
A pointer to the intranets of the future. Busi
I
concept and tools in delivering tasks that are
ness Information Review, 23(4), 228–234.
originally handled solely by government officials
doi:10.1177/0266382106072239
G
such as designing various government policies
I
and decision making. This allows the individual
citizens to take part in these tasks and improve
KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS the overall outcome out of it.
Government 2.0: The adoptions of Web 2.0

technologies in government’s business to trans ENDNOTES
form the way government runs its operations,
design and deliver services, and interact with its 1
Authors’ calculations based on data provided
constituent. by Department of Economic and Social Af
GovernmentSociety Social Media Divide: fairs Population Division, UN (2009). http://
The gap between government and citizens in ac www.un.org/esa/population/publications/
cessing and adoption of social media tools. This wpp2008/wpp2008_text_tables.pdf
gap acts as a barrier to have active and efficient 2
www.abudhabi.ae
475
N$#*/8+E">*/+D$)A$)/1"+,$8*#*"@+-$)+<$=")%."%1+H)'/%*O/1*$%@
3
www.government.ae 9
Even when certain social media websites
4
www.gia.gov.ae are banned, employees can have access to
5
www.dsg.ae them through their personal smart phones
6
Dubai eGovernment website: www.dubai. and other handheld devices
ae, Ras Al Khaimah eGovernment website: 10
http://www.wam.org.ae/servlet/Satellite?
F
www.rak.ae c=WamLocEnews&cid=1278055811719
7
www.government.ae &p=1135099400228&pagename=WAM/
O
8
Examples of government accounts on WamLocEnews/WTLENFullNews
Twitter: Federal Ministry of Health: @ 11
Can be accessed on: http://www.fahr.gov.
UAEMOH, Dubai Road and Transport Au ae/assetsmanager/Files/HR_LAWeng.pdf
O
thority: @rta_dubai, Dubai Media Office: 12
http://www.wipo.int/clea/en/text_html.
@dxbmediaoffice jsp?lang=en&id=7
P R
A L
OB
G L
G I
I
476
477
Chapter 24
The Gateway to Enhanced Service Delivery

TT Connect:
O F
Charlene M. L. Roach
The University of the West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago
R O
ABSTRACT
L P
A
The Trinidad and Tobago (TT) Pilot Portal site, also known as TT Connect provides a gateway to access
3<2',2*+.G2,'&5'3<2'KK'(('B&+2*1=213'=.1.,3*.2,I'(<.,'8$$*&8G<',.B1.C2,'8'5#1)8=21387'G<81B2'.1'$<.
B
losophy from a ministrycentered focus that was vertical, linear, and insular to a step to an egovernance
paradigm. Using the portal design to enhance service delivery of the ministries to citizens, it is expected
O
that in the future, the site will lead to an increase in civic engagement, transparency, and a new form
of participatory governance.
INTRODUCTION
G L Fastforward) and discuss the Information and
I
Communication Technology (ICT) strategy, that
This chapter has multiple objectives that relate to is being employed so that TT government can
G
egovernance and civic engagement. It focuses reach developed nation status by 2020.
I
on the rationale for using the portal design as a
strategy to engage citizens in egovernment and
how it enhances egovernance. By using the portal BACKGROUND
design, TT’s government is attempting to shift to
a new paradigm in its service delivery, improv Digital Divide Issues
ing public outreach and citizens’ responsiveness.
This approach shifts the government’s orienta The term digital divide relates to gaps that exist
tion from a ministrycentered focus, to having a between countries (and people) that are technologi
multidimensional and holistic approach. In so cally advanced and those that are technologically
doing, it will discuss digital divide issues; review less advanced. The concept became popular in the
the government’s macro policy (Vision 2020 and late 1990s and was a salient issue with public,
political, and scholarly debates. It first originated
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch024 in the United States from stakeholders in certain
??+D$%%"#1
areas of research such as education, policy mak It forces implementers of ICT to consider their
ing, government and advocacy groups, (Aspray, end users’ needs and the kinds of problems they
2004; Kuttan & Peters, 2003; Mossberger, Tolbert, may face when visiting a government website
& Stansbury, 2003; Van Dijk, 2005; Warschaeur, (Stowers, 2002). Some authors describe usability
2003) and later spread to Europe and the rest of as, “the more a site helps people find the informa
F
the world. This term captured the essence of the tion they are looking for, the more usable it is”
dichotomy in the world of those who “have” and (Spool et al., 1999). Further, it involves design
O
those that “do not have” technology (Aspray, goals that encompass the following:
2004). The important point to consider is that the
digital divide, is a complex issue that brings new P+ Correct Functionality: An assurance that
O
questions for policy makers that must decide how the system eliminates software that com
society is able to take advantage of the opportuni plicates usability and enables users to cor
R
ties offered by technology. rectly execute functions they need (Brinck
et al., 2002; Pearrow, 2000).
P
Other Divide/Website P+ Effective Usage: Minimization of delays;
Usability Issues users are able to execute tasks speedily.
L
P+ Easy Learning: New users can easily un
Additionally, the study alludes to another aspect derstand and learn how to complete tasks
A
of the divide which is website usability issues that with fewer steps as possible.
can arise for potential users when using a govern P+ Easy Recall: The extent to which users’ re
B
ment portal. The concept of the other divide is tention abilities are tested; the fewer mem
defined accurately by Stowers (2002): ory aids required make a site easy to recall.
P+ Error Control: The management of error
O
The gap between those who not only know how to prevention, detection, and tolerance. Once
L
contact government, but understand enough about *;"%1*&";B+*1+<5$(8;+7"+"/<*89+#$))"#1";?
it to be able to sift and sort their way through a per P+ Perceptual Aesthetics: This relates to us
haps poorly designed government website – and ers’ subjective sense of the “look and feel”
G
those who not only have less access to computers of a website. The site’s “look and feel”
I
and the Internet but also understand less about ./9+*%D("%#"+(<")<U+=")#"=1*$%<+$-+(</7*8
the agencies whose websites they are visiting. The ity (Brinck, et al., 2002).
G
result is another digital divide (Stowers, 2002). P+ User Limitations: Consideration of types
I
of limitations that may occur for users –
The other divide demonstrates “the lack of bandwidth constraints, type of browser,
experience of many citizens in using computers cutting edge web browsing gadgets (e.g.
or the Internet” (Stowers, 2002, p. 6). In rela web TV, hardware, plugins), and Internet
tion to the digital divide (DD), the other divide accessibility for users to access a website
may be regarded as a subissue with the broad (Pearrow, 2000).
phenomenon. P+ People Preferences: Knowledge of the us
Consequently, governments, policymakers, ers you serve – IT savvy, choice of features
web designers, and IT specialists need to focus on the Web, IT phobias or fears, and com
on their design, development and implementation puter literacy (Pearrow, 2000).
of websites that are userfriendly, house critical P+ User Practices: Knowledge of how users
information and provides services that are easily would execute current tasks may contrib
accessed and understood by a wide crosssection ute to cost effectiveness (Pearrow, 2000).
of people.
478
??+D$%%"#1
P+ User Biases: Knowledge of what potential 1. Deliver Effective Information: Sites should
users may be opposed to. This information include information and services that are
may be factored into the design early to relevant and useful for users’ effective use.
avoid poor design issues (Pearrow, 2000). 2. Provide Good Information Architecture:
P+ Users Demographics: Research about po Users who know little of government or
F
tential users and tailor the design to suit understand much of the services and informa
their needs (Pearrow, 2000). tion they provide, should easily find initially
O
P+ Current Systems: Knowledge of what sys all that they need based on the effective
tems users are accessing – telephone num layout of the website.
bers, paper forms, etc. (Pearrow, 2000). 3. Usability Help Tools: Any help tool that as
O
sists users to “find what they want and what
These design goals enumerated above are they need”
R
not exhaustive, but provide a framework that 4. Accessibility Tools: Any tools that assist users
may be used to achieve critical website usability to access government websites should be put
P
assurances. The focus is on what goes on behind in place to facilitate comparable access to
the scenes of the designing process, which will information for all strata of the population
L
determine how each goal is attained. These goals including the disabled.
should be upper most in the implementers’ minds 5. Credible Features: Stowers uses the term
A
from start to finish, and should be timely, and con “legitimacy features” here to describe
ducted frequently, as they process what will make content that makes the websites appear as
B
a most usable website. Good usability measures authorized government sites and in so doing,
facilitate easy usage for users and completion of gain the trust of users for the information
tasks desired on websites. When there is poor and services presented.
O
usability – for example, through complicated web 6. Navigation Features: Any tools that allow
L
sites, errors, difficulty navigating and unsuccessful users to browse a website as finding desired
attempts at task completions – people lose interest services easily.
and may not return or, develop negative impres
G
sions based on their initial experiences. Another Hence, these strategies may be considered as a
I
effect of poor usability is having information that type of quality management for increased website
cannot be used or “unusable information”, and usability. All users should be able to get what they
G
this creates more distance between users and the need easily and quickly from any government
I
Internet (the other digital divide). Put differently, website (Stowers, 2002).
it creates “an ocean of ubiquitous World Wide Once the websites are created, a heuristic
Noise” (Pearrow, 2000, p. 12). evaluation may be carried out (Nielsen, 2000).
Additionally, Stowers provides some specific These issues and concerns also require delib
concerns that should be noted when designing erate policies and programs to make websites
significant elements of public sector website simple to use. This is even more significant, as
usage and she discusses in brief detail some of we consider globalization and its implications
the six dimensions that are used in this study as for the usability of government websites. The
a framework to analyze the TT portal website transformative powers of the World Wide Web
(2002, p. 12): can literally take you to another country by one
click of a mouse. These global factors add to the
level of responsibility for the TT government in
their egovernment initiative. In so doing, the
479
??+D$%%"#1
government will ensure levels of usability for 5. Information architecture; and

all: national usability for the public, regional us 6. Accessibility accommodations and
ability for the Caribbean, international usability Information architecture (Baker, 2004;
for citizens living abroad as well as visitors and 2006; and 2009).
users interested in TT. Government websites on
F
the whole should provide “pervasive usability” Online Services
with a “citizencentric” or “usercentric” design.
O
Therefore, the concept of website usability is Online services may include a wide range or spec
relevant for all involved in the egovernment ini trum of services and, may extend from generic
tiative and by extension the portal site, ttconnect. services to more specific services. They tend to
O
Such a quality control will enable implementers include features such as: i) basic information;
of information policy and technology, to presume ii) range of government or official documents;
R
that users regardless of their background or origin, iii) communication with government officials or
may possess minimal exposure and knowledge public servants; iv) downloadable forms; v) inter
P
of using a website and will need simple designs active forms; vi) interactive databases; vii) multi
that will enable usability and information (and media types of applications; viii) ecommerce
L
services) successfully accessed and retrieved or business types of applications; ix) tailored or
(Stowers, 2002). customizable content; x) mapping applications
A
(such as Graphic Information SystemsGIS); xi)
purchasing/outsourcing/contracting information;
B
DIMENSIONS AND VARIABLES xii) quantitative data/statistics; xiii) publications;
FOR TTCONNECT WEBSITE xiv) employment information; and, xv) ordinance
USABILITY ISSUES code (Stowers, 2002). If a website is not initially
O
user friendly, this may discourage users from
L
In order to evaluate the website usability of TT visiting it in the future or give up while trying to
portal site ttconnect, this study utilizes the web access vital information.
site usability dimensions and variables identified
G
primarily from Stowers’ research (2002), which UserHelp
I
Baker later extended and modified with the de
velopment of scale construction in his usability Like online services, government ministry web
G
study of “the most populous counties” (Baker, sites should contain helpful information for all
I
2004; 2006; & 2009). users, to guide them, step by step, on how to resolve
Stowers conceptually designed features any issue while using the website. Userhelp tools
which she considers to bridge the divide (and by empower users to browse, trouble shoot and find
extension, the other divide) or website usability. ways to access and understand the content. Some
However, for ease of reference, this study will of these are: helpful tips; search tools; site index;
adopt Bakers’ abbreviated labeling of Stowers’ site map; site information; Email us; frequently
six dimensions of website usability. In his study, asked questions; site feedback; help; and other
Baker identifies them more concisely as: user help features (Stowers, 2002).
1. Online services; Navigation

2. Userhelp;
3. Navigation; They function as the copilot for the website, allow
4. Legitimacy; ing users to browse through the website and find
480
??+D$%%"#1
what they need. The analogy of a captain steering serves to assist users in getting better acquainted
a boat conjures the same image for navigation with the way a government agency is organized.
features of a government website. Users must be For instance, it may highlight these labels using
able to get to the right services they want easily and departments which represent the traditional format
know where they are and how to exit. Navigation of government. Conversely, some websites may
F
features include: 1) agency or minister’s official identify information architecture using services
welcome; 2) agency or ministry calendar; 3) an that particular agencies provide or based on users’
O
swers from a to z; 4) agency or ministry Eservices; needs. These features include: i) audience focus; ii)
5) ministries’ links; 6) legislation/laws enacted; organization by ministry/departments; iii) events;
7) current media releases; students/children links; iv) metaphor; v) agency/ministry officials; vi)
O
8) contact us; 9) most visited site; and 10) what’s services/functions offered; vii) topics/issues; viii)
new. Stowers identifies a more comprehensive list newspaper listing appearance; ix) customizable
R
in her study, consisting of about twenty naviga features (Stowers, 2002).
tion features for this dimension. However, there
P
is some overlap so this condensed list provides Accessibility Accommodations
a good representation of navigation features as
L
used by Baker in his study (Baker, 2004; 2006 These are “enabling access features” for users
& 2009; Stowers, 2002). with any kinds of disability. The EGovernment
A
paradigm supports leveling the plain field in order
Legitimacy to provide all users equality of access opportuni
B
ties to government. This means that the design
This refers to the features that authenticate any of websites should not discriminate to users with
website, as belonging to a particular government special accommodation needs. These features vary
O
agency. In the case of TT portal website, these but include: 1) text browsers/text telephone for
L
features are critical in motivating users to use the the hearing impaired; 2) reducing animation/more
portal website as a credible and reliable ereplica of text offered for the visually impaired to access; 3)
a government agency. Hence, legitimacy features bobby analysis/tool (software that facilitates the
G
will increase security assurances and strengthen evaluation of websites for poor designs that inhibit
I
users’ trust that these are official government disable users from having full access of websites
documents, records, and services. Users should content); and, 4) legal compliance (Baker, 2004;
G
recognize these features throughout the website 2006; & 2009; Stowers, 2002).
I
and be certain that their privacy needs are pro The issues presented above create a context for
tected. These features include: 1) visible security the analysis and discussions later in this chapter,
policy; 2) visible privacy policy; 3) disclaimer of the ttconnect portal site’s usability performance.
statements; 4) contact information; 5) website Therefore, the usability of ttconnect’s portal site
information updates; and 6) external parties’ site is significant for the TT government, as it moves
endorsement (Stowers, 2002). forward with its ICT strategy titled Fastforward
and, its national agenda for developed nation
Information Architecture status. In the following section, theoretical and
practical implications will be discussed under
This relates to the structure and organization for the lenses of governance and democracy theories,
a website, providing “labels information” espe which allude to civic engagement issues for the
cially on the “front page” or “splash page”. For people of TT, relevant to the theme of the book.
the usability of the portal website, this dimension
481
??+D$%%"#1
THEORETICAL AND sovereign authorities on various levels (Kooiman,

APPLIED IMPLICATIONS 2003; World Bank, 19981999; Kim et al., 2005).
Traditionally, the term conjured up an understand
This section discusses the theoretical and applied ing of governing within a single nation state using
implications of the study through the lenses of a bureaucratic model (Goldsmith, 2007; Sellers
F
governance and democracy (as a system of gov &: Lidstrom, 2007). However, a contemporary
ernance). Each lens demonstrates the theoretical understanding of governance is grounded on its
O
connections that may be made with egovernance dynamic policy making and breadth of networks
and at the same time, the practical implications consisting of many actors in forums in varied
they have for the study. Some of the practical forms – virtual, national, international, regional,
O
applications and connections for egovernance or local (Kim et al., 2005).
include: TT’s policymaking, governing, institu Based on this definition, when a linkage is
R
tional arrangements and institution building. For made between EGovernment and governance,
democratic theory, connections may be made in it causes major transformational impacts upon
P
the areas of: democratic accessibility of govern societies, communities, and governments. One
ment and its efforts at representation, transparency, area of impact is the challenge it poses for the
L
accountability, civic engagement, and serving the traditional model of bureaucracy, as a conventional
public interest or citizens. form of organization depicted by Max Weber’s
A
ideal type (Simon, 1997; Weber, 1947). Weber’s
Governance Theory model presents many benefits to governments
B
and continues to do so, especially in developing
Conventionally, governance is understood as the economies as TT, where these principles can be
process of governing (Carmody, 2005; Goldsmith, a mainstay for their public service delivery sys
O
2007; Meso,Datta, & Mbarika, 2005; Werlin, tems, public sector organizational structure, and
L
2003). However, contemporary notions of gover organizational culture Azab, 2009; Eschenfelder &
nance invoke similar meanings but, go beyond this Miller, 2007; Espinosa, ValdézConca. Manresa
since they incorporate the innovations in digital Marhuenda, 2008; Greorgescu & Greorgescu,
G
technology and the impact of globalization upon 2008; Meso, Datta, & Mbarika, 2005; Molla &
I
governments (Rose, 2005; Patratchett, 1999; Shah Licker, 2005). Bureaucracy reinforces structures
& Shah, 2007). Governance in the twentyfirst that facilitate departmentalization, hierarchy,
G
century is an important phenomenon to consider, specialization, uniformity, formality, neutrality,
I
as nations forge ahead with EGovernment initia career systems, and meritocracy. These approaches
tives such as designing usable websites for citizens serve to legitimize the operations and functions
and all types of users as with ttconnect. In a broad of governments in their service to the public to be
sense, it is defined as a process that involves many reliable, fair, and transparent. They also promote
stakeholders who are engaged in the system of democratic values of governance.
governing and policymaking, interconnected In terms of governments’ interactions with
through networks that extend beyond traditional other levels or forms of governments, depart
institutions of governing bodies in the arenas of ments, citizens and other entities (e.g. private and
the private sector and the public sector (Rose, nongovernmental sectors), bureaucracy increases
2005; Westland & AlKhouri, 2010). Its process of efficiency, decreases wrong doing and agency
influence is enabled through the diffusion of duties, problems of shirking, selfseeking behaviors
potential for action and engagement, and discus and moral hazard (Goldsmith, 2007; Sappington,
sion through varied forms, multiple centers, and 1991; Williamson, 1985). Efficiency gains are
482
??+D$%%"#1
increased in the communication process and the For this study, democracy is defined as a
coordination among many levels of hierarchy in system of governance and rights that provide
governments. There is little room for mistakes, opportunities for: 1) effective participation or
loopholes, interpretation, manipulation and abuse civic engagement; 2) political equality for all; 3)
of power by high ranking public officials. freedom to vote and to fair elections; 4) facilitat
F
On the other hand, bureaucracy has its short ing an enlightened understanding; 5) gaining the
comings and is not a panacea for governance consent of the governed; 6) the majority exercis
O
ailments. It is sometimes critiqued for red tape, ing final power or controls over policy making,
unresponsiveness, indifference to individual needs agendas, and the power to change decision mak
and concerns, inflexibility and inefficiency. While ers; and 7) inclusiveness of adults, that is, those
O
there are benefits to the structure it provides, it of legal age for enfranchisement (Kakabadse &
could hinder the flow of good governance. Kouzmin, 2003).
R
Administrative reforms geared toward the pub These democratic principles generate good out
lic sector in the late eighties, under the umbrella comes for societies and governments, especially
P
of reinvention or the New Public Management, in light of egovernance initiatives, such as creat
sought to address many of the bureaucratic ail ing usable websites as ttconnect, to enhance new
L
ments by proposing a new shift in the way that service delivery systems for the public (Madon
governance is regarded and approached (Osborne & Sahay, 2000; Mahler & Regan, 2007; Mitra
A
& Gaebler, 1992). EGovernment creates a possi & Gupta, 2008; Torres, Pina, & Acerette, 2006)
bility for changing the focus of governance under . A system of democracy can hinder the rise of
B
a bureaucratic model to an egovernance model. autocratic governments, guarantees to people their
This new framework enables digital technologies fundamental rights and freedoms, with platforms
to reach out to more citizens than is possible under to articulate and demonstrate them in staggering
O
a conventional facetoface or brick and mortar ways. Democracy guarantees people their right
L
type of interactions and services in a bureaucracy. to selfgovernment and for moral claims to their
It has the potential to reengineer governments sovereignty (Hinds, 2008; Shah & Shah, 2007).
and foster changes to services delivered to citizens It nurtures human development and safeguards
G
and other stakeholders; making changes to the against opportunistic behaviors with selfinterest
I
structures and organization of governments. For ed gains. It helps to promote political equality in
example, government officials using digital tech a plural world, stability, prosperity and avenues
G
nologies can better communicate with the public for deliberation, understanding and resolution.
I
and disseminate information with convenience, Linked with egovernance, democracies are po
speed and cost effectively (but Internet rates in sitioned well to use ICTs to advance governance
developing countries do not always make it cost (Dahl, 1998; Madon & Sahay, 2000; Mahler &
effective). Regan, 2007; Mitra & Gupta, 2008; Torres, Pina,
& Acerette, 2006).
Democratic Theory Accessibility is maintained in egovernance
through the diffusion of electronic information,
Democratic theory (or democracy) provides provisioned through the Internet for people to ac
another lens into the theoretical and practical cess/retrieve at their convenience (Hanapi, Latif,
benefits for egovernance, but not without chal & Masrek, 2010; Gatauts & Vitkauskaite, 2009;
lenges. Similar concerns may be applied to the link Kuanlai, 2009; OcharaMuganda & Van Belle,
between democratic theory and egovernance, in 2010; 2010). It allows citizens’ access to govern
light of TT’s initiative with its portal site, ttconnect. ment information to peruse and give feedback
483
??+D$%%"#1
through channels for discourse. Governments may Edemocracy proposals have the capacity for
choose to have a wealth of information available good governance, transparency, and responsive
online but, still maintain conventional forms of ness to the public. Citizens are empowered from
hard copies and files for the public to reference latent information accessing to active participating
and organize opportunities for deliberation in in political processes (Westland & Khouri, 2010;
F
traditional ways, (e.g. city council meetings, Gatauts & Vitkauskaite, 2009; Hanapi & Latif,
parliamentary sessions, legislative hearings, con 2010; Kuanlai, 2009; OcharaMuganda & Van
O
gressional hearings, debates, town meetings, and Belle, 2010; 2010).
other public meetings). Some scholars predict that In the area of representation, some govern
in the future, these types of coverage will be com ments have designed their egovernance initiatives
O
monplace on the Internet at all levels of governance to enhance citizens’ accessibility to government
(Espinosa, ValdézConca, & ManresaMarhuenda, elected and nonelected officials. In TT, their E
R
2008; Kakabadse, Kakabadse, & Kouszmin, 2003; governance initiative made available an online
OcharaMuganda & Van Belle, 2010; 2010). directory for all the ministers represented in the
P
Globally, there is also a trend for more elected TT government. They entitled this subsection
assemblies at different levels of governments to “Assignment and Responsibility to Ministers,”
L
be online. The InterParliamentary Union (IPU) which can be downloaded for citizens to have a
in Geneva maintains a comprehensive list of detailed listing about each minister and designation
A
official parliamentary websites in 179 countries (with a photograph of each), business and depart
(Norris, 2001). This highlights the potential of ment of government, and the ministry’s address,
B
egovernance to increase the capacity of forums and ministers’ contact information inclusive of:
to be accessible to the publice.g. Web casts, or email, the ministry’s URL, telephone and fax
cyberspace public forums, manytomany direct numbers for each minister represented (www.
O
communications, as in chat rooms or electronic gov.tt/directory/).
L
forums, onetoone, and onetomany, as in email, Some egovernance programs are using two
and cyber juries, edebates and ediscussions about way communications between a citizen and
voting (Espinosa, Valdéz, & Manresa Marhuenda, government. In doing this, governments are en
G
2008; Kakabadse, Kakabadse, & Kouszmin, 2003; deavoring to solicit feedback and engage citizen
I
OcharaMuganda; Shane, 2004; & Van Belle, participation in some aspect of decision making,
2010; 2010). even if it is at the opinion sharing level. On a
G
Further, egovernance promises better policy group level, egovernance allows for virtual
I
making decisions using ICTs and compels gov cooptation where citizens’ concerns are taken
ernments to be more empathetic and committed into consideration, but they may not have power
to their citizens. It supports representation and over the final decision made. This is a form of
enhances democratic institutional arrangements citizen participation (Espinosa & ValdésConca,
that are in existence. They encompass institu & ManresaMarhuenda, 2008; Hanapi, Latif, &
tions, customs, norms, cultural values, indigenous Masrek, 2010; OcharaMuganda & Van Belle,
preferences, historical experiences, education and 2010).
other contexts that help to shape citizens’ life The foregoing projects a promising future for
styles, political ideas and philosophies (Azab, egovernance and democratic institutions and
2009; Eschenfelder & Miller, 2007; Kakabadse, societies. It envisions societies where electronic
Kakabadse, & Kouzmin, 2003; Madon & Sahay, information provision is inexhaustible, societies
2000; Pratchett, 1999). prosper, governments’ policy making and gov
ernance processes operate like a fish bowl. The
484
??+D$%%"#1
downside of promoting democracy with egover its independence from the United Kingdom (UK)
nance (or edemocracy) has serious implications in 1962 and its republican constitution in 1976,
for many democratic countries. One major issue which replaced the Queen as the Head of State
is widening the global digital divide (GDD) in with a president elected by the Electoral College.
Internet access, for informationpoor countries As a republic, TT has a ceremonial president who
F
as compared to informationrich countries. Vast is the Head of State and CommanderinChief of
segments of developing countries may be excluded the armed forces. It is a parliamentary democracy
O
from participation and civic engagement. Those patterned after the UK’s Westminster System of
who are able to afford in developing countries government. It has a population of about 1.3 mil
could also create an emerging class of elites on lion people and is a diverse multicultural society
O
the Internet, which can disfranchise those who do predominantly of African and East Indian descent,
not have access, from communicating in political though there are elite minorities of Whites from
R
processes. European descent (English, French, Portuguese,
Another point to note in the literature is that and Spanish), Chinese, and Syrians. There is a
P
although there are many potential benefits of using growing percentage of people from mixed races
egovernance to enhance democratic practices, or ethnicities that were mentioned earlier (The
L
many governments are experiencing incremental Ministry of Public Administration and Informa
changes (Gauld, 2007; Pratchett, 1999; Mahler & tion, 2003).
A
Regan, 2007; Shay & Shay, 2007). Egovernance Overall, TT is considered as one of the stron
has the potential to make practical and transfor gest financial sectors in the Englishspeaking
B
mative changes to the way democracies exist to Caribbean. It is home to a wide range of smaller
serve their citizens. However, the rate of change financial and insurance institutions. For example,
is modest in comparison to the predictions. Given it has five large commercial banks, six merchant
O
time, egovernance may continue to bring about banks, one agricultural development bank, two
L
more positive and practical benefits for democratic large corporate financing institutions and four
governments, institutions and citizens; while at large insurance companies (The Ministry of Public
the same time, exploring ways of dealing with Administration and Information, 2003).
G
the challenges digital technologies bring along
I
its path of change to affect the possibilities for e National Agenda
democracy (Eschenfelder & Miller, 2007; Gauld,
G
2007; Madon & Sahay, 2000; Mahler & Regan, This section discusses five (5) themes that may
I
2007; Metra & Gupta, 2008; Torres, Pina, & be considered under TT’s national agenda. First,
Acerette, 2006; West, 2003; 2004; 2005; 2007). Vision 2020 is discussed. It charts the course of TT
in order to achieve developed nation status by the
year 2020. Second, Fastforward is also discussed
HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS OF as the ICT national agenda, a strategy under the
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Vision 2020. Third, the ICT connectivity agenda
is mentioned and identifies the ICT connectivity
Brief History objectives. Fourth, barriers that exist that can
inhibit increased levels of ICT connectivity are
TT is a twin island republic located just off the briefly summarized. The fifth and final section
coast of South America, about seven and a half of TT’s national agenda gives an overview of
miles north east of Venezuela. It is considered part its ereadiness and benchmarking conclusions to
of the English speaking Caribbean. TT achieved consider in light of its egovernance initiative.
485
??+D$%%"#1
Vision 2020: Developed Nation Status Barriers: Increasing Capacity
The TT government projected in its 20022003 However, there are a number of barriers that
Budget speech, its vision to achieve developed currently inhibit increased levels of ICT us
nation status by the year 2020 as their major age among TT residents and businesses. An
F
developmental goal for the country. This plan is ereadiness assessment was conducted in 2003.
called “Vision 2020.” In order to achieve this goal, It used the “Harvard +” eReadiness Methodol
O
the government developed a number of policy ogy, an analytic instrument that systematically
objectives that will be used to tailor the scale organizes the assessment of numerous factors
and scope of this projected transformation over that determines Networked Readiness of a com
O
the medium term. “A major facet of Vision 2020 munity in the developing world. It is based on
is the development of a strategy to facilitate the a Guide Harvard University developed entitled,
R
transformation of [TT] into a knowledgebased “Readiness for the Networked World: A Guide for
society through the effective use of … [ICT]” (The Developing Countries.” This Guide helped TT to
P
Ministry of Public Administration and Informa get a snapshot of its ICT capacity in several areas
tion, 2003, p. 9). as: (1) Economy and Finance, (2) Government,
L
(3) Human Resources, (4) Infrastructure, and (5)
Fastforward: The ICT Agenda Policy and Legal (2000).
A
Readiness according to the Guide refers to,
TT National Information and Communication “the degree to which a community is prepared to
B
Technology (NICT) Strategy is a comprehen participate in the Networked World. The “mini
sive report, to bring to the people of TT the mum condition for Readiness is access to adequate
innovation, education, IT, and IT infrastructure, network infrastructure. Without access to global
O
needed to usher in social, economic and cultural communications networks, no community can
L
development. The former Prime Minister, Patrick participate in the Networked World” (Center for
Manning, formally launched it on May 2nd 2003. International Development at Harvard University,
2000, p.3).
G
ICT Connectivity Agenda The eReadiness Assessment illustrates that
I
TT’s current network capacity is insufficient to
Thus, the objective of TT’s national ICT con support the scope of their initiative. The implica
G
nectivity agenda is as follows: tion of this finding is that TT will need to take
I
critical steps in the future in order to bridge this
P+ Provide all citizens with affordable Internet divide (Center for International Development at
access; Harvard University, 2000).
P+ Focus on the development of children and
adult skills, to ensure a sustainable solution
and vibrant future; EREADINESS: FINDINGS
P+ Promote citizen trust, access and interac AND BENCHMARKING
tion through good governance; and STUDY CONCLUSIONS
P+ Maximize the potential within all citizens
and accelerate innovation, to develop a These benchmarks and ereadiness findings pro
knowledgebased society (The Ministry vide a snapshot of how TT is faring with regard
of Public Administration and Information, to its ICT development and its relation to the
2003, p. i). GDD. It examines only a few indicators of ICT
486
??+D$%%"#1
development, in order to gain a better idea of the of Trinidad and Tobago, 2006); and in view of
progress relative to other countries. These include: its implementation of different phases of the ICT
“1) [l]ow general Internet usage, mirrored by low strategy (The Ministry of Public Administration
availability of business and government online and Information, 2003). The section that follows
service; 2) [n]o definitive bandwidth policy; 3) [l] later in the chapter, about the usability perfor
F
ow telecommunications sector competition result mance, will be better understood in light of the
ing in poor access, bandwidth and affordability; context of this overview of TT, since Fastforward
O
and 4) [h]igh incidence of IT “brain drain” (The was published in 2003. Many initiatives have
Ministry of Public Administration and Informa or are being implemented, such as launching of
tion, 2003, p. B35). It also hints of areas that the TT ministry websites by 2006 and the launching
O
NICT plan needs to refine as “assets to be leveraged of the EPortal (launched after the study). This
or as liabilities to be mitigated” (The Ministry of study is useful to TT’s government evaluation of
R
Public Administration and Information, 2003, the portal site that is currently online, in terms of
p. B35). For instance, TT has potential in areas its usability features and performance based on
P
of its: “1) High GNI per capita for a country in Stowers’ six dimensions. It provides a transition,
this geographic region; 2) [s]trong use of fixed as it shows what gaps exist that may curtail the
L
line telephone service; 3) [h]igh quality of public implementation of TT’s national agenda. It is note
schools; 4) [h]igh availability of venture capital; worthy to see how much has changed since 2003
A
and 5) [a]dequate overall infrastructure” (The and 2007, in terms of the Ereadiness findings and
Ministry of Public Administration and Informa benchmarking conclusions that are highlighted in
B
tion, 2003, p. B35). Fastforward (The Ministry of Public Administra
In the NICT plan, three initial strategies if tion and Information, 2003).
adopted could help to stimulate ICT use among
O
nationals of TT and accelerate the EEconomy. Issues, Controversies, and Problems
L
The first is that the TT government takes a strong
leadership role in accelerating ICT programs like In light of the foregoing discussions, the proceed
other governments of smaller countries as Singa ing six sub heads examine the approach of the TT
G
pore. The second initiative is to facilitate improved government in using the portal design ttconnect,
I
access and affordability. The third focuses on to enhance their service delivery systems to us
increasing promotion, awareness and education. If ers. This section discusses the prevailing model
G
access is improved, it is still necessary to invest in of governance using government ministries (bu
I
a diverse program to ensure citizens and business reaucratic model), in order to accomplish the goals
owners are aware of the benefits of connectivity, and objectives of public service. It highlights the
by promoting ICT usage and preparing the public issues, problems and controversies that exist within
for a global digital society (The Ministry of Public this structure of governance (ministry websites
Administration and Information, 2003). design). Then, it examines the rationale for a portal
This overview of TT provides a context to design and the benefits that can be derived from
understand the portal site. It examines what has this orientation. Finally, it analyses the usability
happened since 2003 when Fastforward was pub performance of the portal site.
lished. In regard to the usability of the portal site
this research can be seen as the first among studies
that are needed for TT’s agenda for developed
nation status by 2020 (The Ministry of Planning
and Development, Government of the Republic
487
??+D$%%"#1
The MinistryCentric Philosophy The Rationale for the Portal System

in TT Governance
The rationale for the portal system provides a
Ministries are vested with autonomy in the govern better alternative to understand these ministries’
ment of TT. They have different missions impact websites from one gateway called ttconnect. This
F
ing services and the implementation of policies. is captioned on the ttconnect site, as “government
The approach that is projected on the ministry at your service” (TTConnect, 2010). It promotes
O
websites highlights the bureaucratic orientation one face to the TT government to users and
toward service delivery. For instance, each minis facilitates a “onestopapproach” to accessing
try attempted to create their website with a focus multiple services.
O
on its ministry. Users can access each website as
separate gateways to navigate ministries’ services Potential Benefits of a Portal
R
that constitute the TT government. Just as users Design for Services
will need to visit different ministries for service,
P
this approach is projected on the ministry websites. There are advantages to the “onestopshop”
Users will need to visit each ministry website in services through ttconnect versus the ministry
L
order to understand the services that each provides. websites (multiple gateways). It symbolizes the
attempt to shift the paradigm of governance from
A
Issues, Controversies, and a bureaucratic to an egovernance model in the
Problems with the Prevailing future.
B
MinistryCentric Orientation This design is user centric versus ministry
to EGovernance Initiatives centric. It focuses on users’ needs to access min
istries’ services that constitute the TT government
O
This image that is projected when browsing in a timely way (TatKei Ho, 2002). It reduces
L
ministries’ websites projects a fragmented view duplication, fragmentation from multiple entry
of the TT government. Its orientation places the points, achieves economies of scale and facilitates
bureaucracy center stage and locates the hierarchy coordination of information and resources via the
G
within it. This bureaucratic “look and feel” gives portal site (Heeks, 2006).
I
users a sense of the complexity of the TT gov The portal design promises multidimensional
ernment and limits the seamless flow the portal interactions, ease, and flexibility for users’ ac
G
design facilitates. cess to services. For instance, ttconnect accom
I
For instance, if you browsed the Ministry of modates for diverse users – citizens, businesses,
Agriculture website, you are informed about their ministries, nonresidents, tourists and foreign
mission statement, departments, and the services nationals – using a centralized database managed
included within them (Ministry of Agriculture, by the ttconnect site. This enables customization
2007). Similarly, the Ministry of Community that each ministry website would not be able to
Development, Culture, and Gender Affairs website provide for diverse users. These potential benefits,
highlights outreach programs and service delivery hint to the shift in paradigm that it promises, to
offices (Ministry of Community Development, an egovernance model that can increase users’
Culture and Gender Affairs, 2007). There is hardly satisfaction (TatKei Ho, 2002).
a sense of how these ministries’ services can be
coordinated and citizens can be challenged online
as they are in facetoface interactions.
488
??+D$%%"#1
THE USABILITY PERFORMANCE and selects the option number that best represents
OF TTCONNECT PORTAL SITE the content being coded (Edwards, 1957). For
example, if we are measuring extensiveness of
This section tries to examine the usability perfor download opportunities for the online services
mance of the portal site, to determine how easy dimension, a scale might be formed that assigns
F
it is for users to access and retrieve information. a score of zero if there are no available downloads,
The usability performance characteristics a score of 1 if there are 1 to 3 available downloads,
O
were mentioned in an earlier section. They are a score of 2 if there are 4 to 6 downloads and so
evaluated from an online analysis of the portal on. The evaluation form displays the dichotomous
site, using content analysis of its manifest con and scale variables that are used to assess the
O
tents of the thirty seven usability variables of the usability performance of the portal site, under the
six dimensions identified (see table below). The six usability dimensions.
R
analysis begins with accessing the portal site via This attempts to illustrate the impact of the
the Internet and connecting to its home page. usability characteristics for novice users when
P
Patterned after Stowers’ work, dichotomous browsing the portal site to obtain information by
variables are examined from the portal site home evaluating its usability performance as a gateway
L
page, “down to the third click (considered by many to the TT government ministries.
to be the farthest that users will go in their search Three levels of analysis will be used to examine
A
for information)” (p.34). Through Baker’s scale the portal site: (1) focuses on the overall usability
and additive index these scale variables extend index scores of the pilot portal site; (2) concentrates
B
beyond the third click standard to demonstrate on the total number of usability variables for the
variations in usability dimensions. Baker’s addi pilot portal site in three ways (i) total number of
tive scale index provided the study with a more dichotomous variables; ii) total number of scale
O
robust examination of scales to supplement the variables; and iii) total number of usability vari
L
dichotomous treatment of measures. An evaluation ables.) and (3) examines the usability performance
form that guided the analysis for the thirty seven of the 15 scale variables for the pilot portal site.
variables is displayed in Table 1. The scale variables are highlighted because they
G
As noted in the form above, each dimension reflect the quality of usability performance. Given
I
consists of variables that represent an understand more usability variables present on the site, out of
ing of the characteristics for each dimension. The a total number of 37 variables (22 dichotomous
G
variables included in each scale created from the and 15 scale variables), it will be an indication of
I
Baker study are representative of those studied the quality of attempts to reduce the other divide.
in the literature on website usability and egov It is expected that the results for these levels will
ernment for government websites (2004, 2006, provide a robust discussion of how the pilot portal
& 2009). For each of the variables subsumed by site performed. This examination may help inform
a dimension (as online services), the research future policies for egovernance initiatives. Since
identifies the investment made by the web de the pilot portal site is launched it is expected that
signer in the particular variable. Methodologi it may employ high usability features. The portal
cally, such measures reflect manifest coding and site serves the TT ministry sites, by representing
are defined by the author as the frequency of op their services to users and provides a gateway to
tions available for a given variable (Goldenberg, TT government, with a look and feel that provides
1992). These are a type of summated rating scale them with a onestop shop approach.
that are constructed when the researcher defines First, the overall usability distribution of the
and assigns numbers representing extensiveness TT Pilot Portal site is a total UI score of 75. The
489
??+D$%%"#1
Table 1. Website usability dimension evaluation form
Website Title: Minister Assigned:

URL:
Evaluation Date (s): Total Time Online:
F
Online Services 0 1 2 3 4
Dichotomous Variables
Basic information
O
Interactive forms
Interactive databases
Multimedia applications
Chat areas/message boards
O
Email updates/listserve
Scale Variables
Communications with officials
R
Documents/publications
Downloadable forms
Ecommerce applications
P
Employment information
Subtotals
UserHelp 0 1 2 3 4
L
About the site
A
Email us
Personal digital assistance
Index
B
Scale Variables
Feedback
Foreign language
Search Subtotals
Navigation
LO
Egovernment services
0 1 2 3 4
G
Link to contact information
Chat areas/message boards
I
Scale Variables
Link to other agencies
Volume Scale
G
Subtotals
I
Legitimacy 0 1 2 3 4
Contact Information
Disclaimer statements
Security policy
Authentication
Scale Variables
Privacy policy
Webmaster contact
Subtotals
Information Architecture 0 1 2 3 4
490
??+D$%%"#1
Table 1. Continued
Website Title: Minister Assigned:

Agencies/departments
Services
F
Branch of government
Branding/structure/metaphor
Scale Variables
O
Audience/market
Personalized/customizable
Subtotals
Accessibility Accommodations 0 1 2 3 4
O
Text telephone
R
Scale Variables
Bobby compliance
Subtotals
pilot portal site also has two high scores in two

dimensions, which are navigation and informa
L P
the Pilot Portal site has scores 13 out of the 15
possible scale features (87%). The scale features
A
tion architecture. that are consistently absent from the site are E
Second, a breakdown of the total number of commerce applications and foreign language. The
B
usability variables for the Pilot Portal site indicates first feature requires legal reform for ecommerce
that it achieves 16 out of a possible 22 dichoto to be legalized. The latter can be implemented
mous variables (refer to Table 2 below for 73% through local collaboration with other ministries
O
of dichotomous scores recorded). The site has such as National Security – the only website with
L
deficiencies in its usability features as chat areas/ this scale feature for one languageSpanish (Min
message boards (seen under online services and istry of National Security, 2007). This is in keep
G
navigation), index and text telephone devicesall ing with national policy to have Spanish recog
areas needed for strengthening its usability perfor nized as TT’s official second language. The Pilot
I
mance. For the multimedia applications feature, it Portal site has email addresses and access to ad
is also deficient. Through collaboration with other dresses or phone numbers for the scale feature,
G
ministries improvements can be made. Email for communication with officials, but did not
I
updates/listserve as a usability feature, in terms respond to a test question within 24 hours. Re
of email updates to users is lacking. But, it has sponse rates with officials need improvement.
the personal digital assistant as a usability feature. Second, when a another breakdown is done for
A breakdown of the total number of scale the total number of usability variables, as seen in
variables reflects according to Table 2 above, that Table 2, the pilot portal site emerges with 29 out
Table 2. Overall number of usability variables for pilot portal site
TT Gov Number of % of Number % of Total %

Website Dichotomous Dichotomous of Scale Scale Usability Usability
Variables Variables Variables Variables Variables Variables
Pilot Portal 16/22 73 13/15 87 29/37 78
491
??+D$%%"#1
Table 3. TT pilot portal scale variables raw scores and usability performance
Scale Variable Raw Score Usability Performance

Communication with Officials 2 Moderate Usability
Documents/publications 4 Very High Usability
F
Downloadable Forms 4 Very High Usability
ECommerce Applications 0 Lacking Usability
Employment Information 3 High Usability
O
Feedback 3 High Usability
Foreign Language 0 Lacking Usability
O
Search 3 High Usability
Link to other Agencies 4 Very High Usability
R
Volume Aids 4 Very High Usability
Privacy Policy 3 High Usability
P
Webmaster Contact 1 Poor Usability
Audience/Market 4 Very High Usability
L
Personalized/Customizable 4 Very High Usability
Bobby Compliance 4 Very High Usability
B A
of 37 possible variables (78%). The point noted is
that the site’s performance is at a high rate, given
FUTURE IMPLICATIONS,
RECOMMENDATIONS,
O
its pilot state in the study. AND CONCLUSION
L
Third, an analysis of the quality of usability
performance for the Pilot Portal site demonstrates This chapter discusses the findings of the usability
in Table 3 that the Pilot Portal site achieves very of the Pilot Portal Site ttconnect. It has implications
G
high usability performance, 7 out of the 15 scale for the TT government ministries as they work
I
features (about 47%); 4 out of 15 for high usabil to improve their website usability performance,
ity performance (about 27%); moderate usability to enhance the quality of egovernance and the
performance in 1 out of the 15 scale features (about interests/ needs of all users. In examining the
I G
7%); poor usability performance of 1 out of 15 usability performance of the portal site and its
features (about 7%); and lacking (or no) usability “onestop approach” approach, future implications
2 out of 15 features (about 13%). and policy recommendations come to mind. These
When the site is examined on these levels, the implications are relevant for egovernment initia
Pilot Portal site performs fairly well for a pilot tives, egovernance and civic engagement isues.
program. It can serve as a model for other minis Given time, government officials can focus ef
tries using the usability features to enhance users’ forts on enhancing the types of services that users
satisfaction online. access on the portal site. Legislation is needed to
facilitate full online transactions; e.g. being able
to make payments for license renewals, passport
application fees. In the usability performance
analysis features emerged that needed improving
492
??+D$%%"#1
and can be enhanced with time for more efficient Azab, N. A. (2009). Assessing electronic govern
services and users’ satisfaction. ment readiness of public organizations. Commu
Policy recommendations include public offi nications of the IBIMA, 8, 95–106.
cials responsible for the ttconnect can seek ways
Baker, D. L. (2004). Egovernment: Website us
to obtain feedback from users/citizens, in order
F
ability of the most populous counties. Unpublished
to make improvements for better services, e.g.
doctoral dissertation, Arizona State University.
online surveys. Currently, local officials are select
O
ing ICTs that are culturally consistent with TT’s Baker, D. L. (2006). Website usability of the most
public. For instance, citizens use mobile devices populous counties in the United States. Journal
than any ICT and officials incorporated this fea of EGovernment, 3(3), 65–89. doi:10.1300/
O
ture to communicate with citizens, services they J399v03n03_04
access; as text messages sent to alert citizens of
R
Baker, D. L. (2009). Advancing egovernment
the status of their appointments for their passports.
performance in the United Sates through enhanced
Greater collaboration with ministries will enhance
P
usability benchmarks. Government Informa
services on the portal site. Skillful leadership is
tion Quarterly, 26(1), 82–88. doi:10.1016/j.
needed to communicate with public officials the
giq.2008.01.004
L
power of shifting paradigms from a bureaucratic
to an egovernance model. Brinck, T., Gergle, D., & Wood, S. D. (2002).
A
Future research can focus on benchmarking Designing web sites that work: Usability for the
studies with other Caribbean regions facing web. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann
B
similar challenges and share common practices, Publishers.
(e.g. bureaucratic orientation). Comparisons can
Carmody, P. (2005). Making sense of governance:
be made based on the usability performance of
O
Empirical evidence from 16 developing coun
ministries’ websites and the portal site.
tries. Perspectives on Politics, 3(2), 100–401.
L
Sensitizing citizens to egovernance initiatives
doi:10.1017/S153759270566015X
and their potential benefits can create opportuni
ties for increased civic engagement. Citizens can
G
Center for International Development at Harvard
be coopted to serve in arenas where their ideas University. (2000). Readiness for the networked
I
and opinions can be solicited. Surveys, kiosks, world: A guide for developing countries.
community access centers, can help more users
Dahl, R. A. (1998). On democracy. New Haven,
G
get online to participate in future innovations. The
CT: Yale University Press.
I
portal design can enable citizens’ input through
feedback forums, online chat rooms, focus groups Edwards, A. (1957). Techniques of attitude scale
and public forums which can create avenues for construction. New York, NY: AppletonCentury
democracy, civic engagement, responsiveness Crofts.
and egovernance.
Eschenfelder, K. R., & Miller, C. A. (2007). Exam
ining the role of website information in facilitating
REFERENCES different citizengovernment relationships: A case
study of state chronic wasting disease websites.
Aspray, W. (Ed.). (2004). Chasing Moore’s law: Government Information Quarterly, 24(1), 64–88.
Information technology policy in the United States. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.05.002
Raleigh, NC: Scitech Publishing, Inc.
493
??+D$%%"#1
Espinosa, S., ValdézConca, J., & Manresa Kim, P. S., Halligan, J., Cho, N., Oh, C. H., &
Marhuenda, E. (2008). Egovernment implemen Eikenberry, A. M. (2005). Toward participa
tation in Spain: The case of the city of Benidorm. tory and transparent governance: Report on the
Communications of the IBIMA, 5(23), 198–203. sixth global forum on reinventing government.
F
Gatauts, R., & Vitkauskaite, E. (2009). Towards
doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2005.00494.x
e interoperability: Lithuanian case. Journal of E
Government Studies & Best Practices, 3, 27–35. Kooiman, J. (2003). Governing as governance.
O
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Gauld, R. (2007). Public sector information system
project failures: Lessons from a New Zealnad Kuanlai, C. S. (2009). Towards a model of macro
O
hospital organization. Government Informa Egovernment portal adoption. Journal of EGov
tion Quarterly, 24(1), 102–114. doi:10.1016/j. ernment Studies & Best Practices, 10, 140–150.
R
giq.2006.02.010
Kuttan, A., & Peters, L. (2003). From digital divide
P
Georgescu, M. R., & Greorgscu, I. (2008). Do we to digital opportunity. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow
need a powerful egovernment? Communications Press Inc.
of the IBIMA, 5(30), 242–249.
L
Madon, S., & Sahay, S. (2000). Democracy &
Goldenberg, S. (1992). Thinking methodologi information: A case study of new local gov
A
cally. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. ernance structures in Bangalore. Information
Communication and Society, 3(2), 173–191.
Goldsmith, A. A. (2007). Is governance reform
B
doi:10.1080/13691180050123695
a catalyst for development? Governance: An In
ternational Journal of Policy, Administration and Mahler, J., & Regan, P. M. (2007). Crafting the
O
Institutions, 20(2), 165–186. doi:10.1111/j.1468 message: controlling content on agency web
0491.2007.00352.x sites. Government Information Quarterly, 24(3),
L
505–521. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.06.008
Hanapi, M., Larif, A., & Masrek, M. N. (2010). Ac
G
cessibility evaluation on Malaysian egovernment Meso, P., Datta, P., & Mbarika, V. (2005). Moderat
websites. Journal of EGovernment Studies & Best ing information and communication technologies
I
Practices, 2010 (ID number 935272), 11 pages. influence on socioeconomic development with
good governance: A study of the developing
Heeks, R. (2006). Implementing and managing
G
countries. Journal of the American Society for
egovernment: An international text. Thousand
I
Information Science and Technology, 57(2),
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
186–197. doi:10.1002/asi.20263
Hinds, D. (2008). Beyond formal democracy:
Ministry of Agriculture, Land, and Marine Re
The discourse on democracy & governance in
sources. (2007). About Ministry of Agriculture.
the Anglophone Caribbean. Commonwealth
Retrieved February 22, 2007, from http://www.
and Comparative Politics, 46(3), 388–406.
agriculture.gov.tt
doi:10.1080/14662040802176558
Ministry of Community Development, Culture,
Kakabadse, A., Kakabadse, N. K., & Kouzmin, A.
and Gender Affairs. (2007). About Ministry of
(2003). Reinventing the democratic governance
Community Development. Retrieved February
project through Information Technology? A grow
22, 2007, from http://www.cdcga.gov.tt
ing agenda for debate. Public Administration Re
view, 63(1), 44–60. doi:10.1111/15406210.00263
494
??+D$%%"#1
Ministry of National Security. (2007). About Osborne, D., & Gaebler, T. (1992). Reinventing
Ministry of National Security. Retrieved February government: How the entrepreneurial spirit is
22, 2007, from http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.tt transforming the public sector. Reading, MA:
AddisonWesley Publishing Company, Inc.
Mitra, R. K., & Gupta, M. P. (2008). A contextual
F
perspective of performance assessment in egov Pearrow, M. (2000). Web site usability handbook.
ernment: A study of Indian police administra Rockland, MA: Charles River Media, Inc.
tion. Government Information Quarterly, 25(2),
O
Pratchett, L. (1999). New technologies & the
278–302. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.03.008
modernization of local government: An analysis
Molla, A., & Licker, P. S. (2005). Perceived e of biases & constraints. Public Administration,
O
readiness factors in ecommerce adoption: An in 77(4), 731–751. doi:10.1111/14679299.00177
vestigation in a developing country. International
R
Rose, R. (2005). The Internet & governance in a
Journal of Electronic Commerce, 10(1), 83–110.
global market. Journal of Public Policy, 25(1),
P
Mossberger, K., Tolbert, C. J., & Stansbury, M. 1–3. doi:10.1017/S0143814X05000267
(2003). Virtual inequality: Beyond the digital
Sappington, D. (1991). Incentives on principal
divide. Washington, DC: Georgetown University
L
agent relationships. The Journal of Economic
Press. Retrieved February 22, 2007, from http://
Perspectives, 3(2), 45–66.
library2.nalis.gov.tt/
A
Sellers, J. M., & Lidstrom, A. (2007). Decentral
Nielsen, J. (2000). Designing Web usability. In
ization, local government, & the welfare state.
B
dianapolis, IN: New Rides Publishing.
Governance: An International Journal of Policy,
Norris, D. F., & Moon, M. J. (2005). Advancing Administration and Institutions, 20(4), 609–632.
O
egovernment at the grassroots: Tortoise or hare? doi:10.1111/j.14680491.2007.00374.x
L
Shah, A. A., & Shah, F. F. (2007). Citizencentred
doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2005.00431.x
local governance: Strategies to combat demo
G
Norris, P. (2001). Digital divide: Civic engage cratic deficits. Development, 50(1), 72–8220.
ment, information poverty, and the Internet doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1100327
I
worldwide. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Uni
Shane, P. M. (Ed.). (2004). Democracy online:
versity Press.
The prospects for political renewal through the
G
OcharaMuganda, N., & Van Belle, J. P. (2010). A Internet. New York, NY: Routledge.
I
proposed framework for egovernment knowledge
Simon, H. (1997). A study of decisionmaking
infrastcructures for Africa’s transition economies.
processes in administrative organizations: Ad
Journal of EGovernment Studies & Best Prac
ministrative behavior (4th ed.). New York, NY:
tices, 2010, 1–9.
Free Press.
OcharaMuganda, N., & Van Belle, J. P. (2010).
Spool, J. M., Scanlon, T., Schroeder, W., Synder,
Managing the egovernment adoption process in
C., & DeAngelo, T. (1999). Website usability: A
Kenya’s mixed government authorities. Journal
designer’s guide. San Francisco, CA: Morgan
of EGovernment Studies & Best Practices, 2010,
Kaufmann Publishers.
(ID number 303226), 98109.
495
??+D$%%"#1
Stowers, G. N. L. (2002). The state of federal Werlin, H. H. (2003). Poor nations, rich nations:
websites: The pursuit of excellence. Arlington, A theory of governance. Public Administration
VA: The Pricewaterhouse Coopers Endowment Review, 63(3), 329–342. doi:10.1111/1540
for the Business of Government. 6210.00293
F
TatKei Ho, A. (2002). Reinventing local West, D. M. (2003). Global egovernment. Provi
governments and the egovernment initiative. dence, RI: Center for Public Policy.
O
West, D. M. (2004). Egovernment and the trans
doi:10.1111/00333352.00197
The Ministry of Planning & Development, Gov Public Administration Review, 64(1), 15–27.
O
ernment of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2004.00343.x
(2006). Vision 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2006, from
R
West, D. M. (2005). Digital government: Technol
http://wwwvision2020.info.tt
ogy and public sector performance. Princeton,
P
The Ministry of Public Administration and Infor NJ: Princeton University Press.
mation. (2003). Fastforward: Trinidad and Tobago
West, D. M. (2007). Global egovernment. Provi
accelerating into the digital future, Trinidad and
L
dence, RI: Center for Public Policy. Retrieved
Tobago. Retrieved July 22, 2006, from http://
September 29, 2007, from http://www.insidepoli
www.fastforward.tt/ICT_agenda
A
tics.org/ egovt07int.pdf
Torres, L., Pina, V., & Acerette, B. (2006). E
Westland, D., & AlKhouri, A. M. (2010). Sup
B
Governance developments in Euorpean Union
porting egovernment progress in the United Arab
cities: Reshaping government’s relationships with
Emirates. Journal of EGovernment Studies &
citizens. Governance: An International Journal
O
Best Practices, 2010, (ID# 897910), 11 pages.
of Policy, Administration and Institutions, 19(2),
L
277–302. doi:10.1111/j.14680491.2006.00315.x Williamson, O. (1985). The economic institutions
of capitalism: Firms, markets, relational contract
Van Dijk, J. A. G. (2005). The deepening divide:
G
ing. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Inequality in the information society. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publishers. World Bank. (1998). World development report
I
1998/99: Knowledge for development. The Inter
Warscheur, M. (2003). Technology and social in
national Bank for Reconstruction and Develop
G
clusion: Rethinking the digital divide. Cambridge,
ment/The World Bank. Oxford University Press.
I
MA: MIT Press.
Washcheur, M. (2002). Reconceptualuizing the
digital divide. Retrieved September 29, 2005, from
ADDITIONAL READING
http://www.firstmonday.dk/ issues7_7/warscheur
Weber, M. (1947). The theory of social and Abbott, J. P. (2004). The political economy of
economic organization (Henderson, A. M., & the Internet in Asia and the pacific. CT: Praeger
Parsons, T. (Trans. Eds.)). New York, NY: Oxford Publishers.
University Press. Abramson, M. A., & Means, G. E. (Eds.). (2001).
Egovernment 2001. Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
496
??+D$%%"#1
Afele, J. S. (2003). Digital bridges: Developing Hargittai, E. (1999). Weaving the western web:
countries in the knowledge economy. Hershey, Explaining differences in Internet connectivity
PA: Idea Group Publishing, Inc. among OECD countries. Telecommunications
Policy, 23(10/11), 701–718. doi:10.1016/S0308
Anderson, K. (1999). Reengineering public sector
5961(99)000506
F
organizations using information technology . In
Reinventing government in the information age: Hiller, J., & Belanger, F. (2001). Privacy strate
International practice in ITenabled public sector gies for electronic government . In Abramson, M.,
O
reform (pp. 312–330). New York, NY: Routledge. & Means, G. E. (Eds.), Egovernment 2001 (pp.
162–198). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield
Benchmann, G., Krings, B.J., & Rader, M.
O
Publishers, Inc.
(2003). Across the divide: Work, organization and
social exclusion in the European society. Berlin, James, J. (2003). Bridging the global digital di
R
Germany: Sigma. vide. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing
Company.
P
Blackstone, E. A., Bognanno, M. L., & Hakim, S.
(Eds.). (2005). Innovations in egovernment: The James, J. (2004). Information Technology and
thoughts of governors and mayors. New York, NY: development: A new paradigm for delivering the
L
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Internet to rural areas in developing countries.
New York, NY: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
A
Cammaerts, B., Van Audenhove, L., & Nulens,
G. (2003). Beyond the digital divide: Reducing Jussawalla, M., & Taylor, R. (2003). Information
B
exclusion, fostering inclusion. Brussels, Belgium: technology parks of the Asia pacific: Lessons for
VUB University Press. the regional digital divide. New York, NY: M.E.
Sharpe, Inc.
O
Charlton, C., Gittings, C., Leng, P., Little, J., &
Neilson, I. (1999). Bringing the Internet to the Katz, J. E., & Rice, R. A. (2002). Social conse
L
community. Interacting with Computers, 12(1), quences of Internet use: Access, involvement, and
51–61. doi:10.1016/S09535438(98)000551 interaction. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
G
Compaine, B. M. (Ed.). (2001). The digital divide: Keniston, K., & Kumar, D. (2004). IT experience
I
Facing a crisis or creating a myth?Cambridge, in India: Bridging the digital divide. New Delhi,
MA: MIT Press. India: Sage Publishers.
G
Dai, X. (2000). The digital revolution and gov King, J. L. (1982). Local government use of in
I
ernance. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing formation technology: The next decade. Public
Company. Administration Review, 61(2), 206–220.
Fountain, J. E. (2001). Building the virtual state: Knack, S. (Ed.). (2003). Democracy, governance,
Information Technology and institutional change. and growth. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of
Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution. Michigan Press.
Goodin, R. E. (1996). Institutions and their Lan, Z., & Falcone, S. (1997). Factors influencing
designs . In Goodin, R. E. (Ed.), The theory of Internet use: A policy model for electronic govern
institutional design (pp. 769–802). Cambridge, ment information provision. Journal of Govern
United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ment Information, 24(4), 251–257. doi:10.1016/
S13520237(97)000245
497
??+D$%%"#1
Landsbergen, D., & Wolken, G. Jr. (2001). Re technology rich) and those who are technologi
alizing the promise: Government Information cally less advanced (technology poor).
Systems and the fourth generation of information EGovernance: An approach to governance
technology. Public Administration Review, 61(2), that uses the Internet and ICTs to reengineer gov
206–220. doi:10.1111/00333352.00023 ernments’ delivery services to their stakeholders.
F
EGovernment: Technology used to enhance
Lenhardt, A., Horrigan, J., Raine, L., Allen, K.,
governments’ service delivery
Boyce, A., Madden, M., & O’Grady, E. (2003).
O
Fastforward: Is the information and commu
The evershifting Internet population: A new look
nications technology strategy of the TT govern
at Internet access and the digital divide. The Pew
ment to attain to developed nations status by 2020.
O
Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved Sep
Governance: A process of decision making
tember 29, 2005, from http://www.pewinternet.
or policy making that uses democratic principles
R
org/ reports/pdfs/ PIP_Shifting_Net_Pop_Report.
to accomplish society’s well being.
pdf
New Public Management: A contemporary
P
McConnell, S. (2000). A champion in our midst: public administration reform initiative focused on
Lessons learned from the impact of NGOs’ use private sector strategies to improve governments’
L
of the Internet. Electronic Journal on Information service delivery.
Systems in Developing Countries, 2(5), 1–14. Other Divide: Is a type of digital divide that
A
exists between users who are able to connect to
websites, understand how to navigate them, and
B
retrieve information required and those who lack
access to computers, the Internet, and services and
know little or understand government websites.
O
Citizen Centric: Government websites’ de
TT Connect: Is a portal site that is designed
signs should accommodate for diverse users to
L
for users to connect with the TT government
have greater technology inclusion when visiting
ministries’ websites servicesc.
government websites.
Website Usability: Users’ ability to easily
G
Digital Divide: Relates to gaps that exist be
find what they want on a government website
tween those who are technologically advanced (or
I
and execute tasks desired.
I G
498
499
Chapter 25
A Glimmer of Hope for Mass
Media in a Liberal Democracy:
O F
O
istanbulrumazinligi.com
/.0)12'3145#6&70#
Galatasaray University, Turkey
P R
ABSTRACT
A L
Media is an electronic circle that can create spaces for deliberation, interaction, or participation. However,
B
media in the global age is also constructed with the effects of liberal economy that create large companies’
hegemony in media. This economic circumstance creates blocks in media and prevents participation and
O
deliberation of people. The aim of this study is to demonstrate that new media technologies can provide
solutions for the problems of mass media in terms of creating rooms for active citizen participation, by
L
providing the outlets for public to participate in. Minority groups have taken advantages of new media
technology and have created Web pages to promote their interests and agenda. Turkey is an important
G
example of this phenomenon since several minority groups have created such Web pages. One such
group is the Turkish Greeks; by analyzing their Web page, istanbulrumazinligi.com, this study aims to
I
understand their online public sphere, edemocracy, and edeliberation.
I G
INTRODUCTION
Democracy is a term often used instead of liberal

ism, constitutionalism, or social equality. Someone
can say democracy is majority rules with minori
cow, one at Rome, a third in Sudan and a fourth
at home”. In 1975 Shaik Majibor Rahman banned
the opposition and strikes in Bangladesh, explain
ing that it was necessary to “ensure democracy”
in the country. Another example occurred in the
ties still having rights. The meaning of democracy Philippines, when Dictator Ferdinand Marcos pub
has changed over time according to the time and lished a book titled “Today’s democracy”, which
people and states have appealed to democracy to contained his description of “democracy”. Thus
justify their policies and approaches. “Christopher any act or activity can be defined as “democratic”
Hollis describes democracy as one thing at Mos or “non democratic”. The same activity could be
called both “undemocratic” and “democratic”
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch025 (Stronberg, 1996).
6+<8*..")+$-+U$A"+-$)+E/@@+E">*/+*%+/+2*7")/8+R".$#)/#9
This study begins with a short definition and BACKGROUND

history of democratic development in the West. In
the 21st.century, democracy needs tools to exist, Brief History of Western Democracy
such as the media. The tradition of democracy
needs public opinion which is based on media in In ancient times, Greek city states had places in
F
this century. Because media can carry discussions, city centers called agora. In this meeting point,
arguments to the public and cause the formation of men (not women or slaves) came together to dis
O
consensus of the society. However, today, there are cuss politics and hear the decisions of the king or
many critics about the media because traditional council. The agora became one of the first demo
media organizations are generally established by cratic arenas for the public. The Roman Republic
O
big companies. Therefore, it causes some suspi also engaged in representative democracy when
cious about its impartiality. General public intends Roman citizens began to live farther away from
R
to see media near citizen rights and public instead the capital city some people were designated to
of corporations and dominant ideology. New media represent groups of citizens. Most representatives
P
technologies have led to new possibilities that were individuals from noble lines or very wealthy
have helped remove these problems of traditional families (Dahl, 1993).
L
media. This study investigates a website that was The first restriction of the power of the king
launched by a Greek minority group that lives occurred in England with Magna Carta in 1215
A
in Istanbul: istanbulrumazinligi.com. Analyzing and it became the root of the English parliamentary
the web site, the study examines how a minority system. Ideas of land use, the scope of power for
B
group is integrated into to national public sphere government institutions and concepts of liberty
that has been shaped by the media. were first presented in Magna Carta. Perhaps
Minority identities are a recent topic of dis because of the location of England, these early
O
cussion, because a country’s boundaries are not democratic steps were not as effective as the Dec
L
necessarily reflective of a homogenous culture. laration of Independence in America in 1776, and
Countries are composed of multiple cultures, the French Revolution in 1789. These two historic
minority groups and different people. But also events affected many things in the world; giving
G
they all live in one specific national identity and the idea of democracy to states and directing their
I
share a public sphere which is under effects of attention toward independence. Robert Allen
the traditional media. There are some questions Rutland (1955) says that the American Revolu
G
which will be looked for in this study. How do tion did not give people something new, and that
I
minority groups find a national voice in the public they simply mimicked the concepts that were
sphere? How can a minority group utilize the media born in England. The founders already knew the
to enhance their position in the political arena? laws concerning how to protect life, liberty and
Can new media find solutions to the problems of property. Thus, the process was not new; rather, it
national integrated public sphere by opening new was copied to America (Rutland, 1955). On July
spaces? The findings will be analyzed in terms of 4, 1776, 13 colonies seceded from the British
democratic engagement, public sphere, minority Empire and constituted their own state (Scott,
culture, edemocracy, and edeliberation. 1920). In the course of time, France supported the
colonies against the British Empire. This effort
later affected France, because supporting the 13
colonies required heavy taxes in France and French
intellectuals saw the realization of their vision of
500
6+<8*..")+$-+U$A"+-$)+E/@@+E">*/+*%+/+2*7")/8+R".$#)/#9
freedom. These facts came together and in 1789, ety, there needed to be new standards to support
the French Revolution occurred (Sander, 1989). nationalism. Gellner defines “nation” as a large
There is a relation between democracy and organization of people who are centrally educated
the national state in modern times. American and culturally homogeneous. It can be said that
independence showed other colonies the pos culture is created as a common value for the use
F
sibility of breaking their connections to empires. of this group of people in a nation. The media
It became an example of freedom. In France, a provides support for national culture and help
O
constituent assembly announced the “Universal build up the national culture in a nationstate.
Declaration of Human Rights” and restricted the We can say that media manufacture the products
great power of the ruling elite. These steps were needed for the imagined community. Media prod
O
important for the democracy process and affected ucts help create a sense of national community
global politics. The French Revolution of 1789 (Schlesinger, 2000).
R
gave birth to liberalism and nationalism, and the Authors who study nationality usually empha
desire to spread them across the entire world. size the historical or political sides. But, they dis
P
The new soul of politics took hold of empires regard the construction of nationalism in everyday
and rebels (Sander, 1989). Benedict Anderson life. National cultural forms are not just constituted
L
defined the nation as an imagined community in sophisticated institutions; they are also created
and he described nation as “imagined”, because through popular culture. There is a settlement in
A
the members never meet or hear each other. Ross the cultural and social life. The information about
Poole says that the term “imagined community” the nation state and citizenship are embedded in
B
can be used to describe all communities, because cultural products. These cultural products embody
if there is no facetoface communication, then the national identity (Edensor, 2002).
this community is imagined. So people think of Michael Billig gives the example of the “Brit
O
themselves as belonging to a community and this ish pub week” and he says the “British pub” had
L
community informs how people think and how become a national icon in England. This setting
they conduct social relations (Poole, 1999). is strengthened by the “Daily Mirror” newspaper.
The circulation of the media is elaborate enough to
G
reproduce the idea of national identity and helps the
I
NATIONALISM AND CREATING constitution of national culture (Edensor, 2002).
NATIONAL CULTURE
I G
The world contains many different ethnic groups MEDIA AS A PUBLIC SPHERE
and cultures. It is estimated that there are 184 IN A LIBERAL DEMOCRACY
independent states with over 600 living language
groups and 5000 ethnic groups. With the excepiton If democracy is a subject of discussion, then the
of only a few countries, often a number of differ public sphere is the main topic of this discussion.
ent ethnic groups live in a country and share one In the democratic process, many places are used as
national representation. The diversity of groups in the public sphere; parks, coffee houses, churches
nations creates some problems, such as language (Poster, 1997).There are many academic writings
rights, political representation, educational prob about the public sphere, but Jurgen Habermas’s
lems or immigration (Kymlikca, 1996). cult writing left an indelible impression on the
Ernest Gellner explains that the nation state following studies. Habermas emphasized public
is an outcome of industrialization, and there are sphere as an area that every person could reach
new industrial societies. In this new type of soci and discuss politics there. This area could function
501
6+<8*..")+$-+U$A"+-$)+E/@@+E">*/+*%+/+2*7")/8+R".$#)/#9
well if every citizen had the right to come together, For whom is this freedom? Edward S.Herman
express their feelings and make organizations. (1999) asked that whether a free, liberal economic
According to Habermas, the public sphere was model constitutes free establishment of media con
not part of the state and it could not be under the stitutions, but who can reach that public sphere?
state’s control (Habermas, 2010). He examined To access this area, people need great capital or
F
the public sphere through the 18th century by power. This great capital makes media elites gate
researching the press, but after the 19th century he keepers and very powerful in society. They can
O
added a critique of his earlier work and said that control and create the media agenda. The owners
the decline of the public sphere had begun in the of media generally hold a group which consists of
19th century. He noted the reasons of the decline newspaper companies and TV channels. Media
O
of the public sphere as the meshing of private and companies get profit from advertisement firms
public life; the transformation of the citizen into which have great effects on media companies.
R
the consumer; the rise of popular press; and the Their demands can affect the programs in media
commercialization of the media. These factors productions (Herman, 1999).
P
affected the public sphere and caused the decline Elisabeth Noella Neumann explains that all
of the public sphere (Craig, 2004). societies reserve consensus of citizens. She says
L
Democracy needs a free press to exist in modern that individuals want to be part of the consensus
times. Justice Murphy states: “A free press lies at and normally people like to feel a sense of com
A
the heart of our democracy and its preservation munity. Here, the media plays an important role
is essential for the survival of liberty” (Baker, in forming the consensus and, public opinion.
B
2001, pp.125126). There are many ideas which Neumann adds that, elites can particularly influ
support the need for a free press in a democracy. ence the media and shape public opinion. When
Democracy provides people with respect, their the media represent a usual and cheerless idea
O
equality, and autonomy. The principal of democ about a minority, they can keep silent and need
L
racy is to give people a chance to participate in not attempt to change the view of the majority
making important decisions. In our time, media (Rothman, 1992). The problem is if a group of
is a tool for the process of participation (Baker, people cannot reach the media as a public sphere,
G
2001). According to liberal theory, the media how can they voice themselves? How do minorities
I
forms a place between the individual and the state. make their presence felt in a majority’s society?
This area is a public sphere and forms a nexus What is the ideal role for the media in a democratic
G
between the citizens and the state. As mentioned system? How can new possibilities be created for
I
before, citizens have to participate in this area deliberative democracy in the mediaspace?
and contribute to decisions. James Curran (1991)
said that the problem came into existence here
because capitalists possess power and they do APPROACHING IDEAL IN POLITICS:
not wish to see it shared with all parts of society. DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY
Apart from that, the media does not function to
represent society as a whole. Curran argues that When we consider how a nationstate becomes
the main principal of a democratic media must democratic, it is easily noticed that Habermas’
be representative of all interests in society and approach identifies the main factor of deliberative
it should enable citizens to participate in public democracy that is a public space for communica
debate (Curran, 1991). tion. Habermas states that democratic government
Liberal theory says that liberalism brings free is not just the bureaucratic procedure of the modern
dom to the mass media. Here the question arises: state controlled by law. Democratic governance
502
6+<8*..")+$-+U$A"+-$)+E/@@+E">*/+*%+/+2*7")/8+R".$#)/#9
must be greater in power than the supremacy of This cooperation gives us hope for the future of
law. He says that there has to be a place for de deliberative democracy. Deliberative democracy is
liberation by citizens, so that they can participate particularly important for multicultural societies,
in decision making processes. Seyla Benhabib because of the societal differences. Discussing
emphasizes this point as a problem of legitimacy possibility and deliberative democracy can give
F
in a liberal democracy. Liberal democracies have an opportunity to people in multicultural societies,
to provide realms for citizens to participate in as it can provide a link between different groups
O
decision making (Keyman, 1998). in a society. The groups may be surrounded by
Deliberative democracy can be labeled as a cultural groups of other socioeconomic status and
political ideal. For deliberation, many differences political power. If all members in a multicultural
O
are needed; nations, social classes, gender, and society are equal, then they have equal ability to
ethnicity. Deliberation gives rise to pluralism and provide resources and can contribute to equality.
R
allows for collective outcomes (Dryzek, 2002). Clearly, “all members of a multicultural society
Public reasoning plays a key role in deliberative should have equal access to information technolo
P
democracy. In an ideal deliberative democracy, gies” (Valadez, 2000, p.7).
equals have to see each other as free and can As it was mentioned before, the mass media as a
L
participate in deliberations. This process equal public sphere is not open to all members of society.
izes voices in decisionmaking. Each citizen can The foundations of a media company require vast
A
identify and discuss the problems on the agenda amounts of capital and therefore powerful groups
and also find solutions to these problems. They can establish them and have a greater voice than
B
have equal voices in the decision making process. others. This means some groups are excluded
The participants do not regard themselves as mor from the formation of mass media and become
ally engaged in the existing system; additionally, spectators. It is the reflection of liberal economy
O
it is also reasonable that they criticize the system on the media. As a public sphere, the mass media
L
as equal and free citizens (Cohen, 1998). has to be an area where citizens can interact with
Antje Gimmler (2001) defines the historical different ideas. They have to be aware of others
background of deliberative democracy and public who are not in the majority. In the old media, the
G
sphere relations. She explains that the deliberative possibility of visibility for everyone was difficult.
I
public sphere incorporated the idea of publicity However, new communication technologies carry
in the 18th century. The German philosopher hope for removing the limits of the mass media
G
Immanuel Kant associated publicity with self and provide an active public sphere that is a base
I
enlightment in his essay “What is Enlightment?” for deliberative democracy.
The problem is how publicity can enlighten itself
(Gimmler, 2001). Citizens can advance reasons
for policy in open public forums for all of society. THE NEW MEDIA AND NEW
In an open, free public area, people can explain POTENTIAL FOR EDEMOCRACY
their thoughts for decisions. Sometimes collec AND EDELIBERATION
tive decisions are not required, but in open public
deliberation people can see and understand what Benjamin Barber says that “you have to learn to be
others need. Each person tries to persuade others a citizen,” and adds that in Athens they had more
in the public arena. Although there is not always a experience discussing and talking about politics
consensus on what is good, deliberative democracy (Cole, 2006, p.8). Today, the problems of public
is a positive process because citizens think that they sphere and liberal or representative democracy
can equally affect the process of making decisions. need something new to clear away the challenges.
503
6+<8*..")+$-+U$A"+-$)+E/@@+E">*/+*%+/+2*7")/8+R".$#)/#9
The new media can assist the mass media in a old media, the space for interacting with citizens
liberal democracy. The new media as new tech was limited. Citizens have to find another place
nologies which can be used in communication. where there are no limitations to interaction and
As the name suggest, it changes and gives some discussion. They may come together as equals
new things but in the end, the purposes of appli or different individuals in an alternative public
F
cation give its value. The new media give hope sphere. Habermas argues that the transformation
of applying a new direct democracy and replace of the media changed the structure of the public
O
the eighteenthcentury representative democracy sphere. This means that “horizontal communica
(Abramson&Arterton, 1988). tion between citizens is increasingly replaced by
In Western liberal democracies, there is a vertical communication” (Downey&Fentons,
O
problem of decreasing trust among citizens. 2003, p.186). As mentioned before, there is an
Governments try to rebuild trust by using new unbreakable structure of mass media that gener
R
communication technologies. Edemocracy ser ally functions for the state, capital, and consum
vices are a lifesaver for the governments and are ers. This began to change with new technologies
P
based on four premises; participation, information, and the rise of civil society. The decentralization
meeting the masses, and the absence of power of the mass media changes citizens’ ability to
L
(Kampen&Snijkers, 2003). The new media offer participate in discussions. Also, there has been a
new channels of participation in life with more rise in nongovernmental organizations (NGO’s)
A
knowledge. Indeed, a great deal of information use new technologies. For example, the Green
flows to users over the internet. For example, city movement uses the web to maintain the counter
B
halls or governments can arrange web pages to public sphere. New information technologies are
inform the citizens. Through web pages, citizens not just in use for civil society, but they can also
acquire more knowledge. However, there are many be used for political participation. The old mass
O
critics of this kind of circulation of information. media were the whole of the public sphere and
L
They say such information is related to leisure time difficult to enter. New forms of communication
and does not address real problems or politics. may enable access for more people to the public
Furthermore, another criticism concerning the sphere and lead to a greater deliberative democracy
G
Internet is that it can be under the control of big (Downey&Fentons, 2003).
I
media organizations. This means that what they In conclusion, we can say that today new com
publish in a newspaper is also published on the munication technologies allow for direct participa
G
net, without changes in the content. There can be tion and remove obstacles to political participation
I
a new monopoly structure for the new media as in the media, and modern democracies. It can be
well (Tambini, 1999). also be said that the new media provides a basis
There are some factors which cause the trans for realizing equal distribution of information
formation of media, such as privatization and among citizens, free access to information, the
deregulation of broadcasting, bandwidth scarcity, emergence of new public spheres, and freedom of
and growing access to computers. Additionally, expression. New public spheres allow deliberation
changes in political and social life, such as migra and the creation of direct democracy, instead of
tion, multiculturalism, and civic republicanism, representative democracy (Timisi, 2003).
require the transformation of the media. A homog Being the subject matter of heated debated in
enous culture and national interests has become Turkey from time to time; minorities were ex
the problems of democratic institutions. These cluded from the public sphere upon the downfall
conditions come together and direct the media of the Ottoman Empire and the foundation of
toward new opportunities (Tambini, 1999). In the Turkish Republic, with its emphasis on “Turkish”
504
6+<8*..")+$-+U$A"+-$)+E/@@+E">*/+*%+/+2*7")/8+R".$#)/#9
identity. During the formation of the new state, axes, the first frame will be formed by the home
the prominence of “Turkish” identity revealed page of the istanbulrumazinligi.com and the head
itself in newlyestablished institutions and or ings of the links given there, and then the existence
ganizations. The state made use of the power of of edemocracy will be discussed. The second axis
creating a common identity for national channels, will be made on the basis of participant messages
F
while creating a new nation. National identity coming to the forum of the website, and whether
can be established on different spheres. Media is or not edeliberation is achieved will be observed.
O
one of these spheres. If media reflect the major
ity’s national identity, how can minorities reflect
their identity? In which sphere they can live their BREATHING IN THE HARD LINE
O
cultural identity? These questions also show the OF THE MASS MEDIA: FORMING
problems of modern liberal democracy and its A NEW PUBLIC SPHERE
R
media sphere.
Greeks, primarily Greek Orthodox, in Turkey
P
are a minority, but there are also Catholics and
DISCUSSION OF A WEBSITE Protestants. Orthodox Greeks were forced to emi
L
TO EXEMPLIFY EDEMOCRACY grate from Anatolia as a result of the compulsory
AND EDELIBERATION population exchange agreed in Lausanne in 1923,
A
which led to 1,190,000 Greeks moving to Greece,
The existence of “the other,” who lives in society while approximately 110,000 Greeks remained in
B
but is not included in the integrated public sphere Turkey. Istanbul Greeks and Western Thracian
is necessary for the functioning of a democracy. It Turks were excluded from this exchange.
is possible to talk about the existence of democ Currently, Greeks in Istanbul use technological
O
racy if minorities are able to transfer their cultures facilities to form a micropublic sphere for vis
L
and values to succeeding generations. The right ibility purposes. Through the home page of the
to keep only the culture of the majority alive and website istanbulrumazinligi.com, the issues facing
to explain only the opinions of the majority is this group that are not addressed by the old media
G
in contradiction with democracy. As mentioned are discussed. On the website, the information ap
I
before, equal participation in public opinion pears in two languages; Turkish and English. The
does not come into existence for groups that are most remarkable thing on the website is the phrase
G
excluded from integrated public sphere and not “Istanbul Greeks, we are native citizens of Istan
I
covered by the media. As a matter of fact, the new bul”. There is also an “image gallery” reinforcing
media enables new micro public spheres to be the phrase. In the gallery, images are divided into
opened for issues that were not visible to the old three sections; the Byzantine Empire Period, the
media or not on the media agenda. Edemocracy Ottoman Empire Period and the Turkish Republic
is possible with mobile public spheres, where Period. By means of the images from these periods,
there is freedom of expression and engagement, Greeks emphasize their history as well. With the
or in other words, deliberation. image gallery they document the fact that they did
In this section of the study, the existence of not come to Istanbul from anywhere else but they
edemocracy and edeliberation on a website is were natives to Istanbul. Another link where they
studied with particular attention to the possibilities make a similar case regarding recent history is the
brought along by the new media. Data will be col “Historical/Social Documents” section. This area
lected by employing a content analysis technique includes an Istanbul telephone catalogue belong
and analyzed by means of the qualitative method. ing to the years of 195556. Greek names are seen
In this study, to be conducted on the basis of two in the catalogue. Similarly, a touristic Istanbul
505
6+<8*..")+$-+U$A"+-$)+E/@@+E">*/+*%+/+2*7")/8+R".$#)/#9
guide from 1951 and school records from 1938 If we look at the links in the second group as
and 1943 are published. Again, Greek names and demonstrating cultural engagement, headings such
Greek place names are seen in these documents. as activities, books, Istanbul cuisine, Istanbul city
This information and these images reinforce the guide, discover Istanbul, and our famous people
phrase, “Istanbul Greeks, we are native citizens can be seen. The point underlined in these links is
F
of Istanbul”. that Greek culture is a part of Istanbul culture. To
In general, the website forms an alternative give some examples, Lefter Küçükandonyadis in
O
public sphere because it addresses issues that the link “Our famous people” is a popular football
are not always covered by the mainstream me player, who played in Turkish football teams and
dia, and which are specific to Istanbul Greeks. was widely embraced. Furthermore, in the link
O
As a space for issues concerning this group, the “Istanbul cuisine”, it is stated Istanbul cuisine is
website makes a democratic contribution to the a multicultural cuisine thanks to the influence of
R
society. As mentioned in the theory section, the Greek, Armenian and Jewish minorities, and plate
functionality of democracy is not ensured only names are given as examples, including “papaz
P
by councils, laws and institutions. The ability to 9/5%*<*fB+e0<1/%7(8+st)"M*fB+e1$=*3fB+/%;+e8/3");/f?+
live together and to share a culture is one of the The names of these dishes are a mixture of Greek
L
key factors of democracy. Minorities who are not and Turkish names. Again in this link, the book
covered in the media have accomplished this task titled “Istanbul Lezzeti” is by a Greek, Sula Bozis,
A
in other spaces. The mass media and other cultural who was born in Istanbul in 1944 and migrated to
elements create national codes of identity, or they Athens in 1980. She writes about the Greek food
B
help the circulation of popular culture. On the other which is consumed in Istanbul. It is also explained
hand, there are ethnic groups or religious groups that the book was published in Greece in 1993
which have been ignored. As mentioned before, and became the best seller in Athens. This is part
O
democracy and deliberation do not just exist in of the minority culture which is not mentioned in
L
institutions or laws. In everyday life and in the daily life. By means of the new media, now they
media, people have to live and feel that they are can publish documents concerning their culture
participants in social life. and convey them to the society.
G
There are two types of links and information on In the link “Discover Istanbul,” the historical
I
the website. In the first group, there are political buildings of Istanbul that have a Greek identity
links and in the second group there are cultural are displayed. For instance, in the news about
G
links. The political links comprise issues such Hagia Sophia, it is said that Hagia Sophia was
I
as news, the European Union, a press scanner, constructed between 532 and 537 upon the order
opinions, community foundations, references, of the Byzantine Emperor, Justinian the Great, and
compulsory population exchanges, the Istanbul that the building was transformed into a mosque.
pogrom of September 67, the Lausanne Treaty, It goes on to say that after the conquest of Istanbul
and conferences. However, there are no articles the mosaics were covered in accordance with
written by the editor or any other writer on the Islamic tradition, but that in 1934 Hagia Sophia
above mentioned topics. Under these headings, was turned into a museum and the sixwinged
almost all of the information is quoted from the angel figure ‘kerubimserafim’, which is thought
writings of the media. Given the issues covered, to be 700 years old, was unearthed and that the
it is seen that the issues which are of vital impor plaster and metal mask covering it was removed
tance to the Greek and Turkish communities but in 2009. Such news makes people aware of the
rarely discussed in the mass media are published Byzantine Empire’s influence on Istanbul prior to
on the website. the Ottoman Empire. They emphasize the same
506
6+<8*..")+$-+U$A"+-$)+E/@@+E">*/+*%+/+2*7")/8+R".$#)/#9
information about their own existence in Istanbul RESPECT FOR A PLURALISM:

and try to inform the society. EDELIBERATION IN NEW MEDIA
One of the links on the home page is “Useful
Phone Numbers.” In this section, there are the One of the significant links on the website is the
phone numbers and addresses of the Istanbul forum. The formation of edeliberation on the web
F
governor’s office, the Istanbul Metropolitan will be discussed on the basis of the forum. While
Municipality, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the entering it, there is an explanation of Greek identity
O
Greeklanguage Apogevmatini daily newspaper, and their relations with Istanbul. In this piece, the
/%;+15"+r/8u38u+N)""3+h$<=*1/8+W$(%;/1*$%?+@5"+ Greek’s love of Istanbul and their desire to live
objective is to help the Greek community find in the city is explained. Furthermore, Istanbul is
O
information for the Greek minority that is not referred to as “our Istanbul.” It is expressed that
given on a massmedia website. Through the web they contribute to the multicultural life of the city
R
site, they form a micropublic sphere. The media, and that the website was opened for the purpose
as the public sphere of modern democracies, was of sending messages. The piece concludes with
P
a tool criticized for being under the influence of the following phrase: “Istanbul belongs to all of
liberal economy. The incorporation of media af us and we love you all.” The key point necessary
L
fected the issues selected for the news agenda. It for democracy is to ensure interaction and engage
is possible for others to be covered by the media ment in the public sphere. Therefore, the forum
A
only in cases of extreme incidents. Possibilities is useful in terms of providing an opportunity for
brought by new media into democracy are clearly interaction and engagement. When we look at the
B
seen in these examples. It is ensured that infor forum, we see that the first message is dated April
mation that is not made a topic of mass media 4, 2008 and that last message is dated April 29,
coverage, but that is important to the community, 2009. Therefore, although it is not updated, the
O
is shared in a space and via an alternative public forum provided an opportunity for edeliberation
L
sphere that eliminates the deadlock to democracy for about a year. There are 67 messages in it. The
in mainstream media. These examples can show table providing an overview of the messages
the help of new media to minorities, and indeed received is as follows;
G
to liberal democracy. In the forum, seven of the messages are in
I
Greek language. There is one message in English
and the rest of them are in Turkish. Among the
G
messages received, the topic that is highest in
I
number is the messages received from those who
would like to get “help/information for research
Table 1. Distribution of messages
Community Foundations 2
Istanbul Pogrom of September 67 1
Population Exchange 1
Help / Information for Research Purposes 27
Looking for Family / Persons 5
Messages from Turks 8
Acknowledgements / Guest Writings 23
507
6+<8*..")+$-+U$A"+-$)+E/@@+E">*/+*%+/+2*7")/8+R".$#)/#9
purposes.” Messages for “acknowledgement/ on this matter and it expresses thanks for the in
visit” follow it. In those messages, people express formation. It can be seen that thanks to the web
thanks for the website and state that they would pages, Greeks can announce their problems and
like to visit them. Eight of the 67 messages in present themselves in a public sphere. This can
total were received from Turks. They express that provide understanding between different groups
F
they are sorry for Istanbul Pogrom of September and may help deliberation and interaction among
67, emphasize the importance of living together them. The forum became a space for edeliberation
O
and multiculturalism. As mentioned in the theory in spite of its deficiencies. The contribution of the
section, relations between the communities living website to edeliberation will improve as the
in a society and their effort to understand each forum is updated and the tendency to address
O
other are important for the proper formation of problematic issues increases.
democracy and public opinion, because such a
R
mutual dialogue builds up the confidence that a
relation may be established for possible future SOLUTIONS AND
P
incidents, even if it does not solve past problems. RECOMMENDATIONS
Also we can see five messages in the category of
L
“Looking for Family/Person.” People are looking In this study, the reflections of representative lib
for their friends or their neighbors and they don’t eral democracy in the media that tend to dominate
A
have contact now. Maybe because of the popula nation states, as well as the problems that these
tion exchange or the pogrom, people have suffered bring along, and the solutions technology provides
B
losses. The messages of Greeks about significant have been analyzed. Technology will always
incidents in the historical process are limited in continue to develop. Therefore, it is possible to
number. The amount of news on the community use it as a tool for eliminating problems. As a mat
O
and its foundations, and the Istanbul Pogrom of ter of fact, many problems will be solved when
L
September 67, is very low. Except for the post micropublic spheres on the web are recognized
messages by Turkish citizens, the messages from and integrated into the public sphere. The “other”,
Greeks in this regard are written in general with not covered by the media, will be recognized by
G
out mentioning the subject matter. In email mes the center as soon as it reveals itself through the
I
sages, they do not criticize the events. They do web. New media may create possibilities, insofar
not address historical problems. For example, the as to ensure edeliberation and edemocracy. If
G
only message on the population exchange was governments and big companies support groups
I
received from Trabzon from a person looking for using new media and create new spaces, then
his ancestors that moved to Greece during the technological events may help remove the limita
population exchange. Except for his mail, nothing tion of the old media and generate new spheres
was written about the population exchange. On for democracy and deliberation.
the other hand, there is an informatory post about
the community’s foundation. In the message, the
recent amendment in the law about the foundation FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS
is given in details. The issue of foundations and
foundation properties are mentioned in the web One of the topics which has been researched
site. In fact, Greeks have opened the subject for and discussed most in recent times is civic en
discussion by covering the recent decision in the gagement – edeliberation or edemocracy. The
forum. The subject of the minorities’ foundation reasons why the results of this study have not yet
is very important, but only one email was received completely established themselves in society are
508
6+<8*..")+$-+U$A"+-$)+E/@@+E">*/+*%+/+2*7")/8+R".$#)/#9
not emphasized. After determinations are made, REFERENCES

“why not?” is still a question that may become a
major part of future studies. Abramson, J. B., Arterton, F. C., & Orren, G. R.
(1988). The electronic commonwealth: The impact
of new media technologies on democratic politics.
F
CONCLUSION New York, NY: Basic Books.
Baker, C. E. (2001). Media, markets and democ
O
As we have seen in the theoretical background of racy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
this case, liberal representative democracy may Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511613227
not “represent” all parts of a society. This is not
O
just a problem for minorities; it is a general prob Cohen, J. (1998). Democracy and liberty . In Elster,
lem of liberal democracies. “Others” who are not J. (Ed.), Deliberative democracy (pp. 185–231).
R
placed at the center usually cannot dominate the USA: Cambridge University Press.
media. Everybody who is not “us” at the center
P
Cole, M. (2006). Democracy in Britain. Edin
is the “other”, and they cannot participate in the
burgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press.
media as gatekeepers with this identity. Not only
L
religious and ethnic minorities, but also homo Craig, G. (2004). The media, politics and public
sexuals, women, children, youth, people living in life. Crows Nest, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
A
other regions, and people without a solid educa
Curran, J. (1991). Rethinking the media as public
tional background are regarded as “others”. The
sphere . In Dahlgren, P., & Sparks, C. (Eds.), Com
B
ingroup is comprised of whitecollared men who
munication and citizenship: Journalism and the
have a good educational background and live at
public sphere in the new media age (pp. 27–57).
the center, who are influential in both the media
O
London, UK: Routledge.
and the decisions of society. This influence paves
L
the way for the illegitimacy of a liberal democ Dahl, A. R. (1993). a2=&-*8,.' +2' b72c3.*.72*.,
racy. The problems encountered in nation states Çev: Levent Köker, Ankara: Türk Siyasi ilimler
where liberal economies are dominant, emerge as ;")%"M*+*8"+@v)3+H".$3)/<*+K/3-u+w/9u%u?
G
a problem for democracy and are reflected in the
Downey, J., & Fenton, N. (2003). New media,
I
media because those which are dominant in the
counter publicity and the public sphere . In New
media are the beneficiaries of liberal economy. As
media & society. London, UK: Sage Publication.
G
mentioned earlier in the study, thanks to technol
doi:10.1177/1461444803005002003
I
ogy it is possible to overcome the problems cre
ated by the mass media which is often closed to Dryzek, J. S. (2002). Deliberative democracy and
the problems, tastes, and voices of decentralized beyond: Liberals, critics. Contestations. Oxford,
people. With the websites prepared, micropublic England: Oxford University Press.
spheres may be formed outside the mainstream
Edensor, T. (2002). National identity, popular
media and thus alternatives to liberal economy’s
culture and everyday life. Oxford, UK: Berg.
media coverage may emerge.
Gimmler, A. (2001). Deliberative democracy, the
public sphere and the Internet [London, UK: Sage
Publication.]. Philosophy and Social Criticism,
27(4), 21–39. doi:10.1177/019145370102700402
509
6+<8*..")+$-+U$A"+-$)+E/@@+E">*/+*%+/+2*7")/8+R".$#)/#9
Habermas, J. (2010). Kamusal Alan . In Özbek, ADDITIONAL READING

M. (Ed.), Kamusal Alan+Q==?+]mx\odR?+O<1/%7(8B+
@()3"9:+h*8+w/9u%8/)u? Anderson, M. (1996). Frontiers: Territory and
state formation in the modern world. Cambridge,
Herman, E. S. (1999). The myth of the liberal UK: Polity Press.
F
media. An Edward Herman reader. New York,
NY: Peter Lang. Axtmann, R. (1997). Liberal democracy into the
twentyfirst century. Manchester, UK: Manchester
O
Keyman, F. (1998). Kamusal Alan ve Cumhuriyetçi University Press.
Liberalizm Türkiye’de Demokrasi Sorunu (pp.
m`x`dR?+6%3/)/:+H$M(+r/1u? Bagdikian, B. H. (2004). The new media monopoly.
O
Beacon Press.
Kymlicka, W. (1996). Multicultural citizenship:
R
A liberal theory of minority rights. Oxford, Eng Beck, U. (1997). The reinvention of politics.
land: Clarendon. London, UK: Polity Press.
P
Poole, R. (1999). Nation and identity. London, Dagger, R. (1998). Civic virtues. London, UK:
UK: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203209158 Oxford.
L
Rothman, S. (1992). The mass media in liberal Downing, J. D. H., & Husband, C. (2005). Rep
democratic societies. New York, NY: Paragon resenting race: Racisms, ethnicity and the media.
A
House. London, UK: Sage.
B
Sander, O. (1989). d7-e8>78*)81'^f^MS2I+O<1/%7(8B+ Gellner, E. (1983). Nations and nationalism.
@()3"9:+O.'"+y*1/7">*B+[#5"8*%'")B+,?+QdoooR?+@5"+ Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.
sociological scope of ‘national cinema . In Hjort,
O
Giddens, A. (1985). The nation state and violence.
M., & Mackenzie, S. (Eds.), Cinema and nation Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
L
(pp. 19–31). London, UK: Routledge.
Hardt, M., & Negri, A. (2000). Empire. Cambridge,
Scott, J. B. (1920). The United States of America: MA: Harvard University Press.
G
A study in international organization. New York,
NY: Oxford University Press. Jenkins, R. (1997). Rethinking ethnicity. London,
I
UK: Sage.
Stronberg, R. N. (1996). Democracy: A short,
G
analytical history. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. Keyman, E. F. (1997). Globalization, state, iden
I
tity/difference. New Jersey: Humanities Press.
Tambini, D. (1999). New media and democracy.
In New media & society. London, UK: Sage Klapper, J. T. (1960). The effects of mass com
publication. munication. New York, NY: Free Press.
Timisi, N. (2003). g21.'d723.c.='(2-1&7&".72*.'+2' Marshall, T. H. (1965). Class, citizenship and

Demokrasi?+6%3/)/B+@()3"9:+H$<1+w/9u%">*? social development. Garden City, NJ: Anchor
Books Edition.
Valadez, J. M. (2000). Deliberative democracy:
Political legitimacy and selfdetermination in mul McQuail, D. (1987). Mass communication theory.
ticultural societies. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. London, UK: Sage Publication.
Morley, D. (1992). Television, audiences and
cultural studies. London, UK: Routledge.
510
6+<8*..")+$-+U$A"+-$)+E/@@+E">*/+*%+/+2*7")/8+R".$#)/#9
Ong, W. (1997). The presence of the world. New EDeliberation: Beside the result, process is
Haven, CT: Yale University Press. also important. A decision is taken through the
participations and argumentation of all groups in
Schuck, P. Citizens, (1998). Strangers, and in
the society. Even a small group can express an
betweens: Essays on immigration and citizenship.
opinion via internet.
F
Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
EDemocracy: Computer technology and new
Soysal, Y. (1994). Limits of citizenship: Migrants media get involved in the process of democracy
O
and postnational membership in Europe. Chicago, and enable the citizen to participate. Such circum
IL: University of Chicago. stances build up edemocracy.
MassMedia: Media which is transmitted by
O
Straubhaar, J., & LaRose, R. (2009). Media now:
radio, television and newspapers, broadcasting/
Understanding media, culture, and technology.
publishing on national scale and regarding the
R
USA: Cengage Learning Inc.
audience/reader as a homogenous mass, wherever
Tomlinson, J. (1999). Globalization and culture. the broadcasting/publishing is performed.
P
Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. MicroPublic Sphere: Spheres created outside
the integrated public sphere. Created not by big
Zolberg, A. R., & Benda, P. M. (2001). Global
L
companies or the government, but by various
migrants, global refugees: Problems and solutions.
groups. These spheres have minor participation
New York, NY: Berghahn Books.
A
and activate democracy.
Minority: A community which has a different
B
defining characteristic (religion, language, etc.)
KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS from the society where it lives and which is lower
in number than the dominant nation.
O
Citizen: An individual who participates by NewMedia: Computer aided media that
L
asserting an opinion on important decisions taken provides the individual in the target group with
in the economic, political, social and cultural areas the ability to interact and be productive in con
of the society in which he/she lives. tradistinction to traditional media.
I G
I G
511
512
Chapter 26
Debate on E-Debate:
Between Acceptance and Refusal
O F
Ewa KrzatalaJaworska
CRPSCESSP, Université Paris, PanthéonSorbonne, France
R O
ABSTRACT
L P
A
The French State has been investing in the development of the information society, which has become
an important frame of reference for local institutions. At the local level, municipalities are the lead
B
ing actors constructing the information society. In some French municipalities, the introduction of the
eparticipation tool is still an ongoing process which generates debate. This chapter, based on a case
study, discusses not only the factors that contribute towards the acceptance of the eparticipation tools
O
by local government actors but also why eparticipation is rejected. The analysis shows that the attitudes
L
3&F8*),'2E$8*3.G.$83.&1'64'7&G87'G&#1G.7&*,'8*2'=8.174'.1J#21G2)'64'3<2')2B*22'&5'G&13*&7'3<24'<8+2'
over the device, and the vision of local democracy.
INTRODUCTION
I G score of ICT deployment get the prestigious title

of Ville Internet 5@. The ranking takes under con
G
In France, the Deffere law on decentralization sideration the municipal web sites, the eservices
I
(1982) and the Vaillant law on the democracy of and the devices facilitating citizen participation.
the proximity (2002), made the local municipalities The ICT deployment became part of what Pierre
the leading actors of ICT deployment. However, Muller (1995) calls “the transformation of French
many projects of municipalities are stimulated by society on behalf of an overall modernization”
external actors, such as the State which supports (p. 33).
some of initiatives standardized at the national Consequently some French municipalities
level (e.g. foundation of the public digital spaces called by Loiseau (2000) the paragons of virtue
as a tool to diminish the digital divide). Also, each are well known for their successful involvement
year, a best practices ranking of municipalities in ICT implementation. Just to mention a notable
is published. The municipalities with the highest example, IssylesMoulineaux has been leading
a proactive policy in this domain for the last 20
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch026 years. The municipality has its own local social
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
network, films town council meetings and umpload the eparticipation of citizens, according to
them on the internet. The paragons of virtue have everybody the right to be connected to the
already been studied by many French scholars, for Internet etc. This référentiel. has its media
example Maigret et Monnoyer (2000) analyzed tors in the municipalities. The challenge of
the experimental use of cameras during the town this study is to put in evidence what are the
F
council meetings in IssylesMoulineax. However, beliefs that make the local councilors and the
the cases of local councilors who do not take ad local administration staff promote or refuse
O
vantage of the potential to enhance webenabled it.
governance through online citizen participation
have not been studied yet. This research aims at The unit of analysis is a local project Les Etats
O
filling this gap by analyzing both the reasons for Généraux de la Ville Numérique (StatesGeneral
acceptance and refusal of online participation of the Digital City) conducted in a French munici
R
tools by local councilors. pality of over 50,000 residents. This exploratory
research determines the strategies of the local
P
1. This study answers the following question: government stakeholders who adopt, or refuse to
What are the main reasons for local council adopt, the tools of eparticipation. The opening
L
ors to refuse eparticipation tools and what premise is similar to the observation of Muller
are the factors that contribute towards their (1995) and other scholars: the cognitive approach
A
acceptance? The hypothesis of this study is to public policies is not only providing solutions
that the decision of local officials to involve to problems but also to the construct a framework
B
citizens in the policy process via the Internet for interpreting them. What are the conflicts and
depends not only on the rational balance tensions around the new local public policies
between gains and costs, but also on the concerning eparticipation?
O
beliefs of the local councilors. This article focuses on the discourse of ac
L
2. The study is focused on the municipalities tors responsible for the project, which shows the
which follow the best practices model for conflict between the old référentiel (representative
ICT implementation for citizen participation democracy) and the new one (citizen participation
G
but, for some reason are less successful. Why and eparticipation). These two models of govern
I
does the idea of online participation have ment, both founded on the priciple of elected indi
difficulty prevailing even when the local viduals representing the people, envisage different
G
councilors seem to accept it? This chapter levelf of citizens’ involvement. Obviously, the
I
answers this question using the concept stakeholders’ beliefs are not the only factor deter
of référentiel defined byMuller,(2008), as mining acceptance or refusal of the eparticipation
representation, an image of the reality in tools. From a macro sociological viewpoint one
which the policymakers want to intervene. could say that the sociopolitical characteristics
Regarding this référentiel the policy makers of the municipality, or the experience of other
organize their perception of the problem and municipalities in the field of eparticipation, are
define their solutions. According to Muller also important factors and must be taken under
(1995) the prevailing référentiel in French consideration. However, in this section of our
society is the modernisation. In the case research, the macrosociological explanation has
of ICT, the predominant representation of not been formulated yet and for this moment we
reality is composed by many beliefs, for are exploring the microsociological hypothesis.
example the necessity of fighting the digital This chapter is organized along three lines.
divide, developing egovernance, designing In the first part a background of the research and
513
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
its methodology will be provided. The second why often scholars instead of drafting a general
part will expose the findings, structured along overview of municipal websites, focus rather on
the reasons of the acceptance/refusal of the new the specific devices of participation integrated
frame of eparticipation. The third part will discuss within the institutional websites like for example
some future research directions. forums. This approach (large sample, analysis
F
of content, quantitative and qualitative methods)
permits comparison of the same device in different
O
BACKGROUND municipalities in order to expose some general
tendencies like the representativeness and com
Analyzing the Devices and petence of users, the formatting of the discursive
O
Their Users Rather than the exchanges by the municipal authorities. However,
Institutional Stakeholders analysing only the online debate does not lead to
R
conclusions about its impact on the local political
Local democracy in France, traditionally based on decisions. Finally, other researchers have focused
P
the representative model has been changing since on the local policies concerning ICT deployment
the 1980s. This process, characterised by Cécile in a larger, systemic context. Bouquillion and
L
Blatrix (2009) as “the participatory retouches of Pailliart (2006) have observed that during the
the representative democracy” (p. 97), became last 20 years, the policy of municipalities in the
A
the subject of much research that covered a large domain of TIC has been marked by their capacity
number of reforms conducted in the country. to catch the opportunities proposed by the State.
B
The literature review is focused on the re The authors claim that it is important to know what
searches which studie the influence of ICT on goal and what pressures determine the local poli
those changes. Two major trends have been cies. It is also pertinent, essentially in the French
O
observed. Firstly, the existing research covers case where the State had the prerogatives in this
L
the different scales from the analysis of specific domain for a long time, to study the relationship
cases (Monnoyer & Maigret, 2000) through the between the local municipalities and the State.
comparative studies (Loiseau &Wojcik, 2004) This structural approach permits analysis of the
G
to the structural studies considering French local local ICT policies in a larger perspective includ
I
edemocracy in a larger context (Bouquillion & ing the external factors that possibly influence
Pailliart, 2006). The case studies facilitate a deep these policies.
G
and detailed analysis but it is difficult to gener Also, the literature review shows that the
I
alise from their results. That is why the majority analysis focuses on the existing devices and the
of researchers work on a large sample of devices way they are used by the citizens. The research
(e.g. municipal websites). For example, Loiseau ers choose the most famous cases commented on
(2003) developed an analytical model detecting the by the media that had a large feedback from the
elements of the websites that reflect the vision of citizens. In consequence two questions are omit
the decision makers concerning citizens participa ted. First, the process of designing those devices
tion. He distinguishes information, dialogue and by the local stakeholders is not studied. However,
discussion tools. His study aims at determining it is an important issue because it might provide
the elements of the municipal web sites supposed some data about the development of the device,
to strengthen the political dialogue. The main lack useful for the analysis of the device itself. Also,
in those studies is that, covering a large number the use of the device by the citizens being studied,
of websites, they do not analyse in detail the rate the researchers cannot reach a conclusion about
and the forms of the actual use of those. That is the attitude of the local government towards the
514
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
devices. In consequence, the eparticipation tool worldview by another, to observe the change in
might be perceived as accepted and promoted by public policy. It permits study of not only the
all stakeholders,which cannot be observed from abstract ideas that become the mainstream system
the empirical data. of beliefs but also the individuals or the groups in
favour of the new référentiel (called mediators)
F
The Public Policy as a Construction or against the change. The model emphasises the
of a Dominant Worldview fact that during the formulation of a public policy
O
the actors involved in the public policy network
The research framework adapts the cognitive have to reconstruct their social position and their
approach to the analysis of public policies devel social identity. (Muller, 1995). This model seems
O
oped mainly by Muller and Jobert (1987), which is useful in this research which aims at analysing
suggests that public policies are the processes of the change in public policy making by the introduc
R
construction of the worldview that would become tion of new tools of eparticipation. Of course, it
dominant. This approach conceives the formula is not the whole référentiel that changes but there
P
tion of public policies not only as a process of is an important new element being introduced.
balancing the benefits against the costs but also The main assumption of this approach is that
L
as a construction of images that will constitute a the public policies result from the interactions
dominant worldview. between the policy makers and other involved
A
The key concept of this model is the référentiel. actors,producing some ideas which become
Named by analogy to the mathematical concept frameworks for the interpretation of the world.
B
denoting a set of elements constituting a reference In consequence, the task of the researcher is to
system, it is composed of four levels of perception examine these beliefs analyzing the discourse of
of the world: values, standards, algorithms and the actors who are part of the policy network as
O
images. Values are the fundamental representa well as their acts and decisions.
L
tion whereas standards measure the gap between Even if useful, the référentiel model has its
values and reality. Algorithms are defined as the limits. First, the unit of analysis to which the
casual relations that express an action and can model can be applied is a public policy referred
G
be formulated using the scheme “if something ... to one specific public sector. However, it is not
I
then something”. Images are the central element always possible to isolate a specific public sector
of the référentiel because they are meaningful. among others and one policy concerning this sec
G
The référentiel is the space that gives the mean tor. The analyzed case represents this difficulty.
I
ing to see the world, and the public policies The questions linked to electronic democracy can
are perceived here as systems of beliefs. In the be regulated by different public policies. This
case of eparticipation as a new element of the research, instead of taking a public sector as the
référentiel, the main value would be to broaden unit of analysis, focuses on one set of actions in
eparticipation in the public sphere and the observ order to analyse the construction of the worldview
able gap between this value and the reality would concerning the role of the Internet in a French
be the exclusion of some populations as well as commune. The aim is not to analyze the public
a low level of participation. In consequence, the policy concerning the digital divide but the way
algorithm could be formulated as follows: if the this public policy is formulated and debated. The
citizens had some modern tools of political par article aims at specifying the beliefs that make the
ticipation, they would participate more actively. local councilors and local administrators accept
The concept of the référentiel is useful for or refuse the introduction of some specific tools
the analysis of replacement of one dominating which actually precede the policymaking process.
515
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
This perspective permits to notice another limit of tation. Also, the reports of each meeting and the
the model. According to Muller, the analyses of formulated proposals could have been reviewed
the construction of public policy as a system of and discussed online. The eparticipation in the
beliefs should be done after the policy is formulated project was also possible through Facebook and
and implemented because it permits a scientist to Twitter accounts.
F
keep some distance and to view more clearly the The final stage of the project consisted of a
référentiel as a whole (1995). Although, I would summary of a document putting all the proposals
O
argue that this methodological approach could together. A closing session gathered the majority
also bias the research. Knowing all the phases of people involved.
of the public policy cycle, the researcher might This project can be characterised as local,
O
interpret the data taking into consideration the partnering, intending to promote social ties and
factors known ex post which the actors were not to ease the social inequalities. The local associa
R
aware of. tions had no formalized place in this experiment
but they were tacitly a target of the organisors and
P
Case Study the most represented group in the project. The
organisors themselves described it as collabora
L
In this section the case study will be presented. tive effort because it gave the opportunity for the
The States General of the Digital City (les Etats coproduction of the local public policies in the
A
Généraux de la Ville Numérique) project was a domain of ICT to actors usually not involved in
public consultation on the role of ICT in local the policymaking process.
B
community. This topdown project was initiated
and managed by the local councilor in charge of Methodology
ICT initiatives (political actor) and the director of
O
the ICT department in the town hall (stakeholder This study relies on qualitative data. First, the
L
from the administration). analysis of the archives aimed at reconstructing
The consultation took one year. Firstly, a the project and the policy network in order to for
seminar that aimed at the training of local govern mulate the list of stakeholders to interview. Then,
G
ment members and the transmission of the new semi structured interviews with local councilors
I
référentiel was organised.. In other words, tThe and other actors involved in the project were
goal was to convince the local councilors of the conducted. They were asked about their engage
G
importance of the subject and to get the political ment in the project (or its lack), their biography
I
will to conduct the project. This step was followed and position in the local government structure as
by a conference on the role of ICT in the city, open well as their vision of local democracy. Parallelly,
to the public, which involved the experts and the the facetoface meetings were observed and the
representatives of the most succesfull cities.Then, website analysed.
16 public town hall meetings were organized, The case study methodology, a comprehen
dedicated to the further definitions of problems sive research strategy, was chosen because it is
and to the formulation of possible solutions. The adapted to illuminate the decisions concerning
facetoface meetings were accompanied by a eparticipation as a complex social phenomena.
discussion on the web site created especially for Also, this research, organised around the questions
this initiative. The internet users could have found “how” and “why,” concerning a contemporary
there some diverse content: the videos from the phenomenon within a reallife context does not
meetings, the interviews with the local councilors permit to find the overall explanation of discussed
and participants and the key issues of the consul problem but rather to test some hypothesis and to
516
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
provide an original point of view which coresponds the case studied in this chapter, the online debate
to the early stage of the research program. is accompanying the offline one. For example in
Grigny the local councilorsorganized an online
EParticipation: Plurality debate concerning the participatory budgeting. In
and Weakness 2010, the inhabitants’ proposals were discussed in
F
the townhall meetings . Also, a specific website
This section is a short overview of policies concern was created to let people express their opinions
O
ing edemocracy and eparticipation in France. The online.1 Finally, 150 volunteers voted for the final
French State has been investing a lot in develop form of the participatory budget. This example
ing the information society. The discussion about shows a possible complementarity of the two kinds
O
the infrastructures of communication emerged in of the participation: offline and online.
1994 with an enthusiastic report by Gérard Théry Last but not least, the number of municipal
R
“The highways of communication”followed by pages on Facebook is increasing. The investigation
a large number of recommendations, studies and of Barabel (2010) tells us that “all French territories
P
analyses.stigmatizing the slowness of the country have groups on Facebook and this phenomenon
concerning ICT development. As a consequence, is not marginal since it also relates to the depart
L
the public authorities have made the information ments which are less known” (p. 234). Moreover,
society a goal for France and have conducted a it is possible to distinguish “institutional” (created
A
proactive policy in this domain. by local authorities) and “personal” (created by
Eparticipation is one of the objectives of the citizens) Facebook groups. This phenomenon is
B
information society perceived as a mean of reviv caused by the decentralization of power in France
ing local democracy. In the words of Macintosh, that took place in the 1980s. Since then, local au
eparticipation could be defined as “the use of thorities assume a greater role in decision making
O
information and communication technologies whichrequires them to communicate better and be
L
to broaden and deepen political participation by in tune with their audience directly.
enabling citizens to connect with one another and In spite of an important number of local govern
with their elected representatives” (2006, p. 364). ment initiatives, the response of the citizens is still
G
In France, at the local level, the municipal weak. A crisis of local participation in edebate
I
websites remain the main tool of eparticipation. can be observed both for the very specific projects
They are often perceived as a “place of centralized like for example the participative budget in Griny
G
information, where we can find information on all or the more generalist platforms like for example
I
the activities of the local community” (Bouquil ifolio, the local network of a wellknown French
lion, Pailliart, 2006, p. 15).This phenomenon, municipality. Although 123 people are registered
according to Bouquillion and Pailliart (2006) as members of this social network, after two years
is the “effect of the competition and reciprocal of its existence, very few comments about the
stimulation between local authorities but also of the published articles have been posted.
trivialization of the Internet in social practices.”(p. However, this chapter is not focused on whether
14). Apart from this informative function, a large eparticipation is used or notbut on the fact that
number of the municipal websites are interactive it is conceived and institutionalized by the local
and permit an exchange between the councilors/ government actors according to their beliefs. The
service and the citizens as well as among citizens following two parts of the chapter aim to describe
themselves via email or forum of discussion the beliefs that make the local government actors
French local governments also invest in other accept or refuse the référentiel of eparticipation.
devices of eparticipation. Very often, just like in
517
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
RESEARCH FINDINGS is threatened by other groups and institutions that

want the people’s voice for themselves.
The lack of unanimity in the project between the The results of our case study show that the lo
local councilors could be observed from the very cal councilors are unanimous that representative
beginning. From the first stage the initiative has democracy is in crisis and that there is a strong
F
not been followed by all the political actors. From desire for public participation in the decision
45 members of the municipal council only 21 par making process. However, the biggest problem of
O
ticipated in the event dedicated to the presentation public consultations is mobilization of the public,
of the numerical issues showing their meaning for with the groups that are the most difficult to mo
the town hall. Surely, this score, unsatisfying for bilize being the young and the socially excluded.
O
the project leader, may be explained by the number
of tasks every local councilor is in charge of and Broader Citizen Participation
R
the lack of time. However, viewing the transversal
character of the project (the subjects proposed The city of tomorrow is to be built with more people.
P
for discussion concern a lot of different services These are tools that will enable greater participa
and delegations and their choice is inspired by tion of citizens in this construction declares the
L
the general vision of the municipality expressed local councilor in charge of digital city issues in
by the majority in its political program) this lack a video uploaded to the website of the project. In
A
of unanimity highlights the tensions between the consequence, citizen participation in public life
local councilors. These different points of view is very much linked to the idea of inclusion of the
B
on the project itself and on the design of public excluded. It has led to the attempts to include in
consultation in particular, may be the indicators the debate the population usually excluded from
of the diverse visions of democracy, the role of public life: the poorest who are often victims of
O
the representatives and that of the citizens. This the digital divide. The communist affiliation of
L
section aims at demonstrating the main findings the municipality made of the decrease the digital
of the research. From the data collected the results divide one of the topics to be discussed during
show that the reasons for accepting or refusing the States General. In an interview, the same local
G
the (e)consultation could be grouped into two councilor formulate this idea as follows:
I
categories: the vision of local democracy and the
degree of control of the new device. We would love to hear the poorest people who at
G
the moment are invisible. They have to deal with
I
Vision of Local Democracy daily life, they must work to feed their families,
it is not always easy. They also think that they
Today, we can observe some participatory altera don’t have anything to say. We believe instead
tions in the representative democracy (Blatrix, that their opinion is of interest. (Local councilor
2009). Are they capable of influencing it con in charge of digital issues, personal communica
stantly? Clearly, some local councilors represent tion, March, 11, 2010)
the participationary point of view and they give
value to the idea of the participation of the “or The aim of including the most excluded, shown
dinary” citizens in the process of public decision in the discourse as crucial for the broaden citizen
making. Sometimes the local councilors agree to participation, was not achieved. This segment of
accept this vision of the place of citizens in the the population rather than be present at the town
community because they feel that their position hall meetings or on the Internet, was represented
by various NGOs. Also, the value of political
518
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
inclusion of the most excluded was not shared by politicians can have instant feedback regarding
all the local councilors, which will be discussed their ideas.However, unlike the project leaders’
in the section presenting the image of an ordinary expectations the creation of the space for debate
citizen resulting from the interviews. However, the on the social networks and on the website of the
poorest were not the only social group that usually project did nott provoke an active discussion
F
were not very interested in the local democracy amongst young citizens. The Facebook group of
aimed at by the project leaders. the project was composed of 123 members and
O
The project leaders counted particularly on 22 people followed the messages on Twitter. No
the eparticipation in order to get involved with message or comment on the published content
the young inhabitants of the city. Not very inter was posted. There was no discussion of the pro
O
ested in the traditional political institutions and posed subjects on the social networks or on the
absent during the facetoface meetings (only one web site forum.
R
person came to the meeting organized especially The ideal to broaden citizen participation in the
for young citizens in a popular pub in the city), public life, promoted by project leaders, consists
P
they are the group which uses the social networks in including the populations the most excluded. It
the most. According to the latest study of the can be reconstructed not only from the interviews
L
Observatory of Social Networks FIFG, 2009 was but also from the decisions concerning the choice
marked in France by an amplification of the rise of devices. The facetoface town hall meetings
A
of online social networks. 77% of Internet users were supposed to gather the population which
claim to belong to at least one social network was the victim of the digital divide, while the
B
and tested in the population of 1824 years old2 eparticipation tools were supposed to enhance
this percentage reached 96%. Also, high school the participation of young inhabitants.
and university students are more likely to have a
O
Facebook account (69%). Twitter as well remains Role of Citizens and Representatives
L
the most popular among 1849 yearolds. That is
why the project leaders created a Facebook and The local councilors and administrators are more
a Twitter account dedicated to the project. On the likely to accept the new référentiel whether they
G
Facebook account, they posted the information on accept a modification of their role of the repre
I
the project (posts, videos, photos and events) and sentatives in local democracy. New devices of
they encouraged people to discuss the problems citizen participation, including those that are
G
debated during the facetoface meetings. Via the ICT driven, possibly broaden participation, and
I
Twitter account they tried to promote all the events modify the idea of the representative democracy.
related to the project. As pointed out previously, The local councilor in charge of the digital city
the presence of local authorities on Facebook is a issues observes that:
general tendency in France, especially in regions
and departments. The reason for being on Face This is not a pure representative democracy
book is that some of its features facilitate public anymore. It becomes a participatory democracy.
and political communication (Westling, 2007). But it’s difficult because elected officials still
Firstly, it achieves a truly public space, because have their powers and their budgets to manage.
there is no other community that brings together Sometimes the actions of elected officials may be
so many people despite the geographic distances. out of step with public expectations. It challenges
Secondly, the network combines the best features us, but not our legitimacy. (Local councilor in
of the municipal bulletin, public meetings and charge of digital issues, personal communication,
newspapers. In addition, the message is commu March, 11, 2010)
nicated to those who wish to receive it. Finally,
519
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
The multiplication of citizen participation them with an average citizen and a councilor.
devices is perceived by the local councilors as an (Mayor, personal communication, May, 26, 2010)
important change, a transition from one form of
local democracy to the other. In consequence, the The neighborhood councils can be analysed as
devices involving citizens in the policymaking another example of the same process of limited
F
process affect both the figure of the representa participation. Always stimulated by a councilor,
tive and of the citizen. The extract quoted above they can be the arena of an exchange but created
O
presents the tension created in consequence of and fed by the representative. Then, the aim of the
this modification. The questions that arise are the neighborhood meetings is, according to the mayor,
relation between the citizens and their representa that citizens are informed and able to intervene
O
tives, their legitimacy and tasks. but also make us reflect on the things they want to
The role of the representatives seems to remain have made (Mayor, personal communication, May,
R
important despite the changes. They are the ac 26, 2010). This extract says a lot about the relation
tors who design the devices of participation and established between the representatives and the
P
eparticipation and influence it by this means. As citizens which is asymmetrical because these are
the mayor of the municipality says in the interview: the elected officials who have the resources, the
L
knowledge and the legitimate knowhow.
We set up an organization that controls our Also, talking about citizen participation as an
A
program. This is a board commitment composed abstract idea, the local officials all seem to accept
by the citizens who follow the realisation of our and be in favor of it. It is particularly visible in
B
program. (Mayor, personal communication, May, the short videos uploaded to the website of the
26, 2010) project, in which the local councilors answer the
questions about their vision of the municipality
O
This extract is only one example of the possible in the future, the role of the citizen etc. We attach
L
attitude represented by local councilors who, on great importance to the participation of citizens,
the one hand, seem to construct and promote new the socalled local democracy says the mayor of
devices in order to broaden the citizen participa the municipality in a video. However, asked in
G
tion and on the other hand by setting up those the interview to explain the aim of the General
I
devices, influence and limit this participation. States, he does not highlight the need of citizen
The topdown devices seem to be preferable by participation. It is an useful tool for the develop
G
the representatives who are more likely to accept ment and sharing of the knowledge. It allows
I
them because they can control them much more. confrontation of the ideas of experts and elected
The same tendency is illustrated by another extract officials on how to ensure that the digital divide
from the interview with the mayor. will be beaten. (Mayor, personal communication,
May, 26, 2010)
A number of ways to ensure that citizens partici The extract quoted above is also important
pate in the construction and management of their because it illustrates the way an average citizen
city has been set up in recent years. For example is often perceived by the local councilors. This
we set up the neighborhood councils that have image is much different from the one presented
been meeting very regularly dealing with issues by the local councilor in charge of digital issues,
that citizens want to discuss. About life in their who claimed that the opinion of all the citizens
neighborhood but also the life of the town. Traffic, count and have an equal value in the public life.
cleanliness, schools, public safety. To operate these First, the citizens are perceived as not likely to
neighborhood councils we decided to stimulate get involved and to stay engaged. The administra
520
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
tor in charge of one discussion group during the to meet for the third time internally. (Administrator
projects observes that: in charge of the sustainable development group,
personal communication, April, 27, 2010)
It’s not easy to include the citizens in the continuity
because people do not come to all the meetings,
F
they come for the first one because of some curios Local Government
ity, then they skip the following meetings and they Stakeholders in the Project
O
come back for some… So it is difficult to have this
continuing discussion. Even at the municipal level However, while the absence of citizens is not an
there were people who skipped a lot of meetings. interesting finding3, a very low level of partici
O
(Administrator in charge of the education group, pation by local councilors and local government
personal communication, May, 3, 2010) officials could be observed as a sign of refusal.
R
Engaged at the discursive and declarative level,
The citizens are also viewed as incompetent they were rarely present during the facetoface
P
to express themselves in the public sphere. This town hall meetings or online, feeding the Facebook
inability to communicate effectively is perceived and Twitter account. The local councilors have the
L
by some local councilors as another zone of their impression that deploying some new knowledge
possible intervention. One of the local councilors is difficult to accept by other social groups, for
A
says: example the teachers. Although education was
one of the discussed topics, the actors in educa
B
We wish to improve the capability of people to tion were absent from the debate. One of the local
intervene. It’s good because people are involved in councilors interprets this fact as follows:
decision making and then it should develop their
O
capability. Being in touch means being there for This means that the digital issue is not yet an issue
L
citizens, that is why the use of new technologies for this universe. The teachers don’t consider the
could be good. (Local councilor in charge of edu technology as a support to their activity. What is
cation, personal communication, May, 26, 2010) the digital blackboard? What am I doing with it?
G
(Local councilor in charge of education, personal
I
As well, some topics are thought as too com communication, May, 26, 2010)
plicated for citizens to get involved and should
G
be rather excluded from public consultation and Formally accepting the frame of reference (the
I
reserved for the experts. The example of such idea of the participation of citizens in local public
a theme is mentioned in the interview with the life and of the use of new technologies to bring
administrator in charge of the discussion group people and local policymakers closer), in practice
on sustainable development: the big majority did not support the project. The
most spectacular example is the one of the local
The problem with sustainable development is that councilor in charge of the local democracy who
this subject is very confusing. This is a problem did not want to participate in the public faceto
and a strength. The problem is that when you speak face meetings because they were not attended
of sustainable development, people do not really by many citizens. On the other hand, the name
know what it is, it is often a confusion between of this person was officially linked to the project
ecology and sustainable development. To mobilize because an interview with her was posted on the
the population on this subject is hard. During the web site of the project and she contributed to the
second meeting it was hard to fill. So we decided document, a résumé of the proposals formulated in
521
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
the consultation with the citizens. In consequence We didn’t schedule this project neither did we
her image and her name became related to the ask to be its pilots. Yes, it was a supplementary
project despite a nearly nonexistent involvement charge but we accepted it. We already had this
on her part. The lack of engagement from the part system of working together. When you have to do
of local councilors, declaring their acceptance something, you have to do it. (Administrator in
F
for the new référentiel, influenced the number of charge of the local democracy group, personal
citizens present at the meetings because the local communication, April, 27, 2010)
O
officials were expected to be there. This expecta
tion is present in the extract of the interview with This extract shows that a debate with the citi
the local official who, during the project, was in zens during the facetoface town hall meetings
O
charge of the education working group. or online is perceived as a supplementary charge,
Also, we can observe that the involvement a task that goes beyond their usual work. What is
R
of many town hall agents is not a spontaneous understandable for an administrator who usually
consequence of their belief about the necessity has less contact with the public, can be found in
P
of the construction of the information society or an interview of a local councilor:
of public debate. Even the people involved in a
L
part of the project because of their function in the I participated in the first meeting organized for the
town hall services, attended only the meetings they local councilors. I also agreed to be interviewed
A
were obliged to attend. It is visible on the town and to put the interview on the project web site.
hall Facebook account where the invitations to Then, I participated in the opening meeting with
B
the meetings were sent. Many town hall admin the citizens. Because of my calendar, I couldn’t
istration agents openly refused these invitations participate in other meetings. (Local councilor
which contributes to the bad image of the town in charge of education, personal communication,
O
hall meetings and gives the impression that they May, 26, 2010)
L
have no interest. So, a gap between the discourse
of the officials and their real involvement can be These words of the person in charge of the
observed. One of the officials involved says in the sustainable development working group show that
G
interview that the core that was leading the project even the people involved in the project weren’t
I
was composed of the elected representatives, the as engaged as they declared. They declare their
Direction of the Systems of Telecommunication involvement in the project but they also talk about
G
and Information. This very general notice gives the time sacrificed for the preparation and atten
I
permission to the interviewed person to avoid dance at the town hall meetings. They highlight
giving the exact number of the people involved the fact that it was a supplementary project that
as well as their level of involvement. At the same cost a lot of time and work.
time, the municipal service is presented as the Finally, some attempts to stimulate citizen
leader of the project, the modern one. In paral participation can be observed. For example, the
lel, the lack of involvement of other social and whole campaign of the actual majority of the local
professional groups is stressed in the interviews, council was based on a participatory device. The
like for example teachers who do not attend the majority had not created a program but formu
meetings concerning ICT at school. lated the statements called “commitments” that
For many local government officials, even were coproduced during the meetings with the
involved in the project, the realization remains a inhabitants in the neighborhoods. Today, this fact
supplementary task. is used as a tool of legitimation focused on the
input of the majority’s decisions. As the mayor
522
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
says in the interview, For the program, it is dif zens possible. We built an Internet ecosystem very
ficult to criticize it since we followed the wishes quickly, within 23 weeks. It was not only the web
of citizens in formulating the program. (Mayor, site dedicated to the project with all the informa
personal communication, June, 4, 2010). tion about the project and a forum for discussion.
The conclusion of Blatrix is that the repre We also opened a Facebook and Twitter account,
F
sentative system is capable of absorbing and and created a blog. All of this to make buzz and
neutralizing in its proper logic the participatory to make the people participate. (Animator from
O
innovations (Blatrix, 2009). The same observa the local library in charge of the ICT training,
tion can be formulated regarding the analyzed personal communication, May, 6, 2010)
project. On the one hand the mayor and the local
O
councilors who are representatives of the local As shown in the extract above, asked about the
citizens declare their readiness and the necessity role she played in the creation of the device, the
R
of consulting the inhabitants’ opinion. person highlights above all her competence and
efficiency. Through her discourse, she presents
P
Control of the New Device herself as a person aware of the tools that could
be used to encourage the citizens’ participation
L
The participatory observations as well as the in like for example social networks. Diverse devices,
terviews have shown that the people already using which are not necessarily exploited at the same
A
ICT are more likely to accept the new référentiel. time, in her discourse are listed one by one as if
This is not only because they already believe in she wanted to prove that she knows all of them. In
B
the usefulness of the tools but also because the another part of the interview, she puts in advance
deployment of the new vision is a good conjuncture her involvement in the project measured by the
for them to promote themselves in the municipal number of hours spent on the project.
O
ity. The emerging popularity of technique serving
L
the society permits them to promote their skills We met with our small team (the project lead
and competence. They can also build their image ers) regularly, every 15 days. However, as it was
highlighting their sense of modernity. What is supplementary work, most of the time we worked at
G
even more important, they show themselves as a distance. That was very efficient. On our work
I
essential, irreplaceable for the institution. And ing space on the Internet we had an integrated
even if nobody is irreplaceable, the promotion chat. At 10 p.m. we could have something to say
G
of the frame of reference is likely to contribute and discuss it. (Animator from the local library in
I
to the creation of new employment. That is why charge of the ICT training, personal communica
they are ready to experiment and to spend even tion, May, 6, 2010)
their free time working and building new devices.
The following extract of interview with a woman The fact of highlighting the supplementary
working as an animator in the local media library amount of work serves as a proof of involvement
shows that the promotion of a new référentiel may and exemplarity. The person shows herself as a
represent some new opportunities. reliable, passionate employee, capable of being
committed and working late. Not only is reliability
I love the event communication and I have a lot an important part of this image but also, creativ
of expertise on the tools related to it. I cooperated ity is highlighted as an important quality which
with some of my colleagues in order to create a is visible in the following extract:
common strategy of communication about the
project and make participation by the most citi
523
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
Then, I felt that it should experiment with some I would have prepared the project,an alternative
things, it was an opportunity. So we opened a Twit plan. I know some people in the town hall who
ter account that has integrated the site and that I could have stimulated the debate in order to omit
fed initially. (Animator from the local library in the call for the external provision of services that
charge of the ICT training, personal communica cost so much… (Administrator in charge of the ICT
F
tion, May, 6, 2010) practice, personal communication, May, 11, 2010)
O
The analysis of the trajectory and the discourse It is crucial to highlight that both administra
of the woman shows that her involvement was tors: are highly persuaded about the rightness
professionallydriven. Unhappy with her actual of the new référentiel. A the States General. B,
O
position, she wants to become the community even while refusing to be involved in the project,
manager for the municipality and manage the is persuaded to be a witness of a great mental
R
eparticipation and ecommunication devices. As revolution. He says during the interview:
there is no such a function, she shows herself as
P
the ideal person to become the first community In 2002, when I sent an email to somebody, I
manager in order to have the job created. That is had to call him to remind him to read it. In 2004,
L
why she decides to invest her time in the prepara nobody wanted to help me with my project con
tion of the website and the whole web environ cerning ICT in the town hall. Today not only do
A
ment of the project (Twitter, Facebook, blog), to I not have to convince people to accept work on
show that these are essential for modern political a project, but also very often other people are at
B
communication. the origins of a project that are able to involve
many more people in the decisionmaking process.
Designing the Device (Administrator in charge of the ICT practice,
O
personal communication, May, 11, 2010)
L
As claimed by Street & Wright (2007) “we should
view deliberation as dependent on design and Again, this conflict is much more than a
choice, rather than a predetermined product of personal one. B is retiring in two years so his
G
the technology” (p. 849). Consequently, I would quarrel with A is certainly not a conflict of pro
I
argue that the local councilors and administrators fessional opponents. However, accepting the new
having control on the eparticipation design (its référentiel, each of them tries to impose his own
G
functionalities, its managing, the questions to de vision of the new order and define through this
I
bate) are more likely to accept the new référentiel. strategy his own role in the institution. In fact, it
A conflict that emerged during the project perfectly is rather a conflict of two visions of adoption of
illustrates this problem. In the town hall two dif the référentiel.
ferent services were related to the ICT policies. While B has a liberal attitude towards the ap
The first one, responsible for the information and plication of the new technologies, the attitude of A,
telecommunication (he will be called A) was the is much more conservative. What does it mean in
leader of the analyzed project. The other was the the case of new technologies? For B, the applica
oneman service in charge of new technologies tions he installs for the staff and for the services
(he will be called B), who was also involved in should become independent with time, the users
the deployment of ICT and who was not invited should be able to manage them by themselves. A
to the project. The exclusion of B became a bone feels responsible for all the software he installs and
of contention because he felt competent enough to watches over it without leaving a hint of liberty to
get involved. In the interview, he says as follows: the users. From his point of view, it helps to keep
524
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
the whole information system coherent and safe. This possibility of having an idea about the
In the opinion of B, the aim of his opponent is to public before the debate serves above all the
keep people in ignorance in order to preserve the political communication and allows preparation
domination of his service. of the arguments in advance. The fact of seizing
Leaving aside the arguments of both opponents, the public gives the local councilors more self
F
it is clear that the acceptance and the deployment confidence and the feeling of being able to con
of the new frame of reference serve them to impose trol and orient the discussion which is not always
O
their vision of the place of new technologies in possible online.
the institution. A, more restrictive, permits the
information system to control the infrastructure Solutions and Recommendations
O
and in consequence to confirm the importance of
the service. B, more liberal, is more user generated Certainly, the introduction of eparticipation tools
R
content oriented. in France depends largely on the acceptance by
the local policymakers which, as it was shown
P
Controlling the Device in the analysis, is not common.
The eparticipation tools are contested for
L
The possibility of controlling the device is also different reasons. Firstly,online consultations of
very important for the local councilors. They do citizens, even if not decisive in the policy mak
A
not attempt to design the eparticipation tools ing process, can be interpreted by certain local
however; they would like to be able to predict councilors as an attempt to undermine their role
B
what kinds of citizens use them. The biggest fac legitimized by the elections. Secondly, the local
tor that causes uncertainty is the anonymity of the councilors hesitate regarding the eparticipation
people participating in edebate. The mayor says tools because of the anonymity of the people par
O
in the interview: ticipating in the edebate, which may introduce
L
more aggression and make people less responsible
I am not addicted to the new tools of participa for what they say online. Thirdly, the local coun
tion. For example I don’t have a blog because the cilors are less likely to participate in an online
G
comments that can be made are anonymous. I find debate because they cannot anticipate what the
I
that it is some kind of perversion. However, I am public will have gathered from of their computer
on Facebook because there I can see more clearly screens during the debate.
G
who is writing. (Mayor, personal communication, I would argue that, a recommendation that
I
4 June, 2010) could be formulated regarding this problem is a
further institutionalization of eparticipation. The
The idea of anticipating who participates is formulation of some judicial rules, the normalisa
also an important factor for the participation of tion of the debate could provoke a higher level of
the local councilors in the town hall meetings. The the acceptance of the new tool. In order to validate
leader of the project reveals in the interview that this recommendation, some further research is
requested. The suggested hypothesis could be
Some local councilors were asking me before the tested in other cases, in the municipalities with
meetings who usually comes. Then they decide different levels of eparticipation and of different
whether to participate or not. (CEO of the ICT political opinion.
department, personal communication, May, 31,
2010)
525
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
CONCLUSION one case. However, this choice can be defended

by the exploratory character of the research which
This exploratory research aimed at signaling a new tries to answer the main question without being
perspective of the measurement of the local gov exhaustive. In order to understand the analyzed
ernments readiness to accept the new référentiel problem in its specific aspects, it was decided to
F
which is the idea of citizeneparticipation in the do the specific literature review in order to study
policymaking process. Based on the cognitive the chosen case in its context. Secondly, the study
O
approach to public policy, it permits, contrary is based only on qualitative data which should
to the statistical measurements, to estimate the be completed by the quantitative data based on
readiness of the local councilors as individuals the metrics allowing measurement of the local
O
and to highlight the main beliefs that may cause councilors readiness to accept the eparticipation
the refusal of eparticipation. tools. It will possibly be the next step of the larger
R
The presented case study shows that there are research.
three main categories of reasons of acceptance or To conclude, after having analysed the main
P
refusal of the new référentiel by local councilors. reasons of the municipal actors to accept or to
Firstly, it depends on their own vision of local refuse the eparticipation tools it is possible to
L
democracy. Those in favor of the broader citizen say that the majority of them strongly believe in
participation are more likely to accept it. However, the traditional citizen participation through for
A
and this is my second point, even if in the official example the town hall meetings. That is why the
discourse all the local councilors declare in favour eparticipation tools, even if they may be accepted
B
of a broader citizen participation in the public by the majority, they would rather see them used
life of the municipality, their perceptions of the in parallel to the traditional devices of the public
role of the citizen and of the local representative debate. This combination might lead to a greater
O
vary . The local councilors who have a tendency population eager to get involved in public life.
L
to limit citizen engagement in public life because
of the citizens’ incompetence, the incapacity to
express or little interest for public debate are REFERENCES
G
more likely to refuse the eparticipation tools.
I
Finally, local councilors are more likely to accept Barabel, M. (2010). Les médias sociaux au service
the eparticipation if they have the impression of du marketing territorial: Une approche explor
atoire . Management & Avenir, 2(32), 233–253.
G
controlling the device. Those, who use ICT in
I
their professional or personal environment, are doi:10.3917/mav.032.0233
more likely to use it also for enhancing citizen Blatrix, C. (2009). La démocratie participative en
engagement in public debate. Also, it is more représentation. Sociétés Contemporaines, 74(2),
probable for an eparticipation tool to be accepted 97–119. doi:10.3917/soco.074.0097
if the stakeholders get involved in the design of
this device. They are also more eager to accept it Bouquillion, P., & Pailliart, I. (2006). Le déploy
if they can predict with whom they will deal in ement des TIC dans les territories. Grenoble,
the eparticipation process and what topics will France: Presses Universitaires de Grenoble.
be proposed to be discussed. This belief of control
Loiseau, G. (2000). La démocratie numéri
on the device makes them feel more concerned by
que municipale française: Audelà des pa
the debate and keener to get involved.
rangons de vertu . Hermes, 2627, 213–232.
Of course the presented case study has its limits.
doi:10.4267/2042/14777
First, it is based on French literature and only on
526
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
Loiseau, G. (2003). L’assujettissement des sites Wright, S., & Street, J. (2007). Democracy, delib
internet municipaux aux logiques sociétales. Sci eration and design: The case of online discussion
ence and Society, 60, 86–105. forums. New Media & Society, 9(5), 849–869.
doi:10.1177/1461444807081230
Loiseau, G., & Wojcik, S. (2004). La démocratie
F
électronique municipale ou la captation contrariée Yin, R. K. (1981). The case study crisis: Some
. In Cochoy, F. (Ed.), La captation des publics answers. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26(1),
(pp. 209–235). Toulouse, France: Presses Uni 58–65. doi:10.2307/2392599
O
versitaires du Mirail.
Maigret, E., & Monnoyer, L. (2000). Des caméras
O
dans un Conseil municipal. Portée et limites de ADDITIONAL READING
l’expérience d’IssylesMoulineaux. Hermes, 26
R
27, 141–158. doi:10.4267/2042/14771 Benvegnu, N., & Brugidu, M. (2008). Prendre la
parole dur l’Internet. Des dispositifs sociotech
P
Muller, P. (1995). Les politiques publiques comme niques aux grammaires de la discussion . Reseaux,
construction d’un rapport au monde. In A. Faure, 4(150), 51–82.
G. Pollet & P. Warin (Eds.), La construction du
L
sens dans les politiques publiques: Débats autour Brown, M. M., & Brudney, J. L. (2004). Achiev
de la notion de référentiel (pp. 153179). Paris, ing Advanced Electronic Government Services:
A
France: L’Harmattan. Opposing Environmental Constraints. Public Per
formance & Management Review, 28(1), 96–113.
B
Muller, P. (2008). Les politiques publiques (Que
saisje?). Paris, France: PUF. Burger, N., Ebbers, W., & Meijer, A. (2009). Citi
zens4Citizens: Mapping Participatory Practices on
O
Sabatier, P. A., & Schlager, E. (2000). Les ap the Internet. Electronic . Journal of EGovernment,
proches cognitives des politiques publiques:
L
7(1), 99–112.
perspectives américaines. Revue Francaise de
Science Politique, 2, 209–234. doi:10.3406/ Carrizales, T. (2008). Critical Factors in an
G
rfsp.2000.395465 Electronic Democracy: a Study of Municipal
Managers. Electronic . Journal of EGovernment,
I
Surel, Y. (2000). L’intégration Européenne vue par 6(1), 23–30.
l’approche cognitive et normative des politiques
Chadwick, A., & May, C. (2003). Interaction be
G
publiques. Revue Francaise de Science Politique,
I
2, 235–254. doi:10.3406/rfsp.2000.395466 tween states and citizens in the age of the Internet:
“e government” in the United States, Britain
Westling, M. (2007). Expanding the public sphere: and the European Union. Governance: An Inter
The impact of Facebook on the political communi national Journal of Policy, Administration and
cation. Retrieved June 11, 2010, from http://www. Institutions, 16(2), 271–300. doi:10.1111/1468
thenewvernacular.com/ projects/facebook_and_ 0491.00216
political_communication.pdf
Coleman, S., & Gøtze, J. (2001). Bowling To
Wojcik, S. (2003). Les forums électroniques gether: Online Public Engagement in Policy
municipaux. Espaces de débat démocratique? Deliberation. London: Hansard Society.
Science and Society, 60, 107–125.
527
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
H"G./%B+ L?B+ z+ y(%<1"8FB+ L?+ QdoomR?+ a())"%1+ O’Looney, J. (2002). Wiring governments: Chal
State of eGovernment in Slovenian Municipali lenges and possibilities for public managers.
ties. Electronic . Journal of EGovernment, 3(3), Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
117–128.
Parvez, Z. (2006). Examining edemocracy
F
Fletcher, P., Holden, S., & Norris, D. (2003). Elec through a double structuration loop. Electronic
tronic Government at the Local Level: Progress Government, 3(2), 329–346. doi:10.1504/
to Date and Future Issues. Public Performance EG.2006.009602
O
& Management Review, 7(4), 325–344.
Schwester, R. (2009). Examining the barriers to
Gibert, G. (2009). Case Study: eYouth City Coun egovernment adoption. Electronic Journal of
O
cil Project an Alternative eGovernment for Young e Government, 7(1), 113122.
People. Electronic . Journal of EGovernment,
R
TatKei Ho, A. (2002). Reinventing local
7(4), 359–370.
governments and the egovernment initiative.
P
Hands, J. (2005). Edeliberation and local gover Public Administration Review, 62(4), 434–444.
nance: The role of computer mediated commu doi:10.1111/00333352.00197
nication in local democratic participation in the
L
Tomkova, J. (2009). Econsultations: New tools
United Kingdom. First Monday, 10 (7). Retrieved
for civic engagement or facades for political cor
June 13, 2010, from http://131.193.153.231/www/
A
rectness? European Journal of ePractice, 7, 110.
issues/issue10_7/hands/index.html.
Van Dijk, J., & Hacker, K. L. (2000). Digital de
B
Ho, A. T. (2002). Reinventing local governments
mocracy: Issues of theory and practice. London,
and the egovernment initiative. Public Adminis
UK: SAGE Publications Ltd.
tration Review, 62(4), 434–444. doi:10.1111/0033
O
3352.00197
L
Komito, L. (2005). Eparticipation and gover
nance: Widening the net. Electronic . Journal of
G
EGovernment, 3(1), 39–48. Belief: Psychological state in which an indi
I
Macintosh, A., & Whyte, A. (2002). Analysis and vidual holds a proposition or premise to be true.
evaluation of econsultations. eService Journal, Cognitive Approach to the Public Policy: Its
main assumption is that the public policies are the
G
2(1) 9 34.
I
fruits of the interactions between the policy mak
Millerand, F., Proulx, S., & Rueff, J. (Eds.). (2010). ers and other involved actors. These interactions
Web social. Mutation de la communication. Qué produce some ideas, becomeing frameworks for
bec, Canada: Presse de l’Université du Québec. the interpretation of the world.
Moon, M. J. (2003). The evolution of egovern Référentiel: Representation, image of the real
ment among municipalities: Rhetoric or reality? ity on which the policymakers want to intervene.
Public Administration Review, 62(4), 424–433. It helps the policy makers to organize their percep
doi:10.1111/00333352.00196 tion of the problem and to define the solutions.
528
R"7/1"+$%+:;R"7/1"
Facetoface participation: Citizens’ par ENDNOTES

ticipation in public life based on the presence of
these citizens in the same place at the same time.
1
Speech given by René Balme, the mayor of
Online Participation: Citizens’ participation Grignythe 16th of June 2010.
in public life based on an electronic device.
2
http://www.slideshare.net/azizhaddad/ifop
F
Participatory Democracy: Process empha observatoirerseauxsociauxjanvier2010
sizing the broad participation of citizens in the
3
According to Cécile Blatrix, the participa
tion is a deviation, ordinary people do not
O
direction and operation of political systems.
Representative Democracy: Form of govern pârticipate. (Blatrix, 2009)
ment founded on the principle of elected individu
O
als representing the people.
P R
A L
OB
G L
G I
I
529
530
Chapter 27
Conceptualization of Trust in
the e-Government Context:
O F
O
A Qualitative Analysis
Hisham Alsaghier
?*.5C3<'01.+2*,.34/'A#,3*87.8
Rahim Hussain
P R
L
University of Dubai, United Arab Emirates
ABSTRACT
B A
A73<&#B<'3*#,3'8,$2G3,'<8+2'6221'.1+2,3.B832)'.1'2EG&==2*G2'G&132D3/'3<2'2EB&+2*1=213'C27)'.,',3.77',.B
O
1.CG81374'78G-.1B'5*&='2=$.*.G87',3#).2,'3<83'2D$7&*2'3*#,3'.1'2EB&+2*1=213'5*&='3<2'G.3.H21S,'$2*,$2G3.+2I'
L
The lack of trust in egovernment in developing countries is another persuasive impetus for conducting
this study. The few recent studies investigating citizens’ trust in egovernment are conducted in developed
countries. This study employed a qualitative approach (focus groups) to gain in depth understanding of
G
the citizen’s perception of egovernment adoption. Egovernment initiative in Saudi Arabia is the main
I
focus of this research. Based on the literature review, the key antecedent factors that affect citizen trust
.1'2EB&+2*1=213'8*2'.)213.C2)/'81)'8'*2,28*G<'=&)27'.,'6#.7)I'h8,2)'&1'3<2'*2,#73,'&5'3<2'81874,.,'&5'
three focus groups, managerial recommendations are provided.
I
INTRODUCTION
G
In response to the fast development of Information
and Communication Technology (ICT), many gov
Nearly all countries across the globe, from the
poorest to the most advanced nations, have some
sort of Internet presence.
The UN egovernment survey (Unpan, 2008)
ernments around the world have sought to move showed that more countries are using informa
to adopt electronic government solutions. This tion and communication technologies to provide
resulted in an increasing number of government information to their citizens with the possibility of
websites as well as a variety of services offered. online financial transactions. Of the 192 countries
that are members in the UN, only 3 are not provid
ing any services online. The UN report showed
DOI: 10.4018/9781466601161.ch027
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
also that most of the countries are beginning to The lack of trust in egovernment in develop
enter into a more advanced phase of egovernment, ing countries was another persuasive impetus
and are adding more eservices and eapplications for conducting the study. The few recent studies
in order to respond to the needs of their citizens. investigating citizens’ trust in egovernment were
However, the report did warn about the lack of conducted in developed countries (e.g., Belanger
F
citizens’ participant and usage of egovernment & Carter, 2008; Carter & Belanger, 2005). The
services by stating that: study employed a qualitative approach (focus
O
groups) to gain in depth understanding of the
“In some instances, governments have spent vast citizens’ perception of egovernment adoption.
amounts of money building online systems and EGovernment initiative in Saudi Arabia is the
O
products only to observe that their citizens do not main focus of our research. Therefore, the main
fully utilize them. This could be due to a lack of objectives of the chapter are as follows:
R
willingness and/or interest in understanding the
needs of the people they serve.” (Unpan, 2008, 1. To understand trust issues from the citizen
P
p. 13) point of view in egovernment environment;
2. To identity the critical factors which affects
L
The above statement has motivated us to citizens’ trust in egovernment;
investigate how the citizens’ perceived the e 3. To empirically examined the effect of these
A
government initiatives. Over the past few years, an factors and the relationships between them;
increasing amount of research attention has been and
B
focused on egovernment. Past research studies 4. To provide a comprehensive guide to
in egovernment have provided a great deal of governments on how to improve citizens
knowledge regarding the factors and variables trust and enhance their engagement in the
O
that influence the adoption of egovernment. More egovernment initiatives.
L
recently, research attention has shifted towards
empirical studies that focus on the factors and Therefore, the focus of this research is to
processes that influence the acceptance, diffusion, investigate citizens’ trust in egovernment con
G
and implantation of egovernment initiatives (Al text. This report is divided into six sections. The
I
Omari & AlOmari, 2006; Allen, Juillet, Paquet, first section discuss the definition and semantic
& Roy, 2001; Basu, 2004; Clark, 2003). Previous of the trust. The second section identifies the
G
empirical studies that have researched the success antecedent factors of the trust. The third section
I
and failure of egovernment adoption confirm that formulates the research methodology. The fourth
there are many obstacles, lack of citizen acceptance section performs the data analysis, and the fifth
and/or interest. Among the many factors studied, section provides implications for the government.
trust has constantly identified as critical factor that The sixth session provides guidelines for future
affects egovernment adoption (see, for example, research, and concludes the chapter.
Carter & Belanger, 2004; Horst, Kuttschreuter, &
Gutteling, 2007; Welch, Hinnant, & Moon, 2005).
Although trust aspects have been investigated in DEFINITION AND SEMANTIC
ecommerce context, egovernment field is till OF THE TRUST
significantly lacking from empirical studies that
explore trust in egovernment from the citizen’s The notion of trust has been studied in a many
perspective. disciplinary fields including psychology (Deutsch,
1958), sociology (Rotter, 1980), social psychol
531
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
ogy (Luhmann, 1988), economics (Williamson, may suffer more if the baby sitter does not confirm
1993), political science (Braithwaite & Levi, the mother’s expectation; therefore, the negative
1998), management (Gulati, 1995), applied fields consequences of the unconfirmed expectation is
of marketing (Anderson & Weitz, 1989), and greater (the baby sitter may harm the baby) than
management information systems (Mcknight, positive consequences of the confirmed expecta
F
Cummings, & Chervany, 1998). The existence of tion (mother may go for dinner with her husband).
the trust concept in these research areas makes trust Kee and Knox (1970) criticise Deutsch’s defini
O
a multidisciplinary and multidimensional concept. tion of trust and they argue that this definition is
Although the concept of trust has been inten an operational definition and does not constitute
sively studied in a wide variety of disciplines, a definition of trust as a concept. They proposed
O
there is still a lack of an agreed definition of a concept of subjective trust, which is subjective
trust. Hosmer (1995), for instance, argues that probability or certainty about the trustee’s trust
R
trust has never been precisely defined and states worthiness. The subjective trust is influenced by
that ‘’there appears to be widespread agreement the truster’s perception of the trustee’s motives
P
on the importance of trust in human conduct, but and/or competence. They argue that behavioural
unfortunately there also appears to be equally trust depends on the subjective trust.
L
widespread lack of agreement on a suitable defi A widely used definition of trust was proposed
nition of the concept” (p. 380). The review of the by Rotter (1971). He defined trust from a socio
A
literature on trust has shown that there is no single logical perspective as “an expectancy held by an
definition applicable for all types of trust involved individual or a group that the word, promise,
B
in different contexts. Nevertheless, each definition verbal, or written statement of another individual
of trust that has been proposed by researchers or group can be relied on” (Rotter, 1971, p. 444).
from different school, adds useful understanding, Another simple definition has been suggested by
O
dimensions, and boundaries to the concept of trust Schlenker et al. (1973) when they defined inter
L
(Hosmer, 1995; Lewicki, Tomlinson, & Gillespie, personal trust as “a reliance upon information
2006). Therefore, in the following paragraphs an received from another person about uncertain
attempt is made to synthesise multidisciplinary environment states and their accompanied out
G
definitions of trust in order to develop a suitable comes in a risky situation” (p. 419). However,
I
definition that can be used in the current research. these two definitions focus only on the truster’s
One of the earliest attempts to investigate the reliance on the other party.
G
phenomena of trust was carried out by Morton From a philosophical perspective, Baier (1986)
I
Deutsch in 1958 within a psychological context. suggests that trust is allowing other persons to take
Deutsch argues that trust involves the notion of care of something that the truster cares about, in
motivational relevance and the notion of expec such a way that this “caring for” involves some
tation. He explains that trust on occurrence of “exercise of discretionary powers”.
an event occurs when an individual expects the Mayer et al. (1995) developed a definition of
occurrence of an event and his expectation leads trust which seems to accommodate most of the
him to a particular behaviour. Deutsch (1958) notions that appear in the above definitions. They
adds another condition to trust situations: the define trust as “the willingness of a party to be
individual’s perception that if his expectation is vulnerable to the actions of another party based
not confirmed then the negative consequences on the expectation that the other will perform a
are greater than the positive consequences if the particular action important to the truster, irrespec
expectation is confirmed. For example, a mother tive of the ability to monitor or control that other
who trusts a baby sitter to take care of her baby party”. (p. 712). Another similar definition of trust
532
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
has been proposed by McAllister (1995) from a trustee. In the trust literature, personal factors are
management perceptive. McAllister (1995) com considered as dispositionalbased trust (Kramer
bines several trust definitions from psychological, & Isen, 1994; Rotter, 1980) and social factors
sociological, and organisational perspectives in are considered as situationalbased trust (Aulakh,
one definition. He defines trust as “the extent to Kotabe, & Sahay, 1996; Dibben, Morris, & Lean,
F
which a person is confident in, and willing to act 2000). Furthermore, in the information system
on the basis of, the words, actions, and decisions literature, particularly regarding online and vir
O
of another” (p. 25). tual environments, institutionbased factors were
From the above definitions it can be deduced characterised as antecedent factors of trust beliefs
that trust is a multidimensional concept. Di (Gefen, Karahanna, & Straub, 2003a; Mcknight,
O
mensions include: expectation (Dasgupta, 1998; Choudhury, & Kacmar, 2002a).
Deutsch, 1958), vulnerability (Zand, 1972), Within the element of “antecedent factors to
R
perception of trusted party’s competence (Kee & trust”, the model proposes six key constructs:
Knox, 1970), reliance (Rotter, 1971; Schlenker Disposition to trust (DS), Familiarity (FM),
P
et al., 1973), uncertainty and risk taking (Barber, InstitutionBased Trust (IBS), Perceived Website
1983; Luhmann, 1979), cooperation (Baier, 1986), Quality (BWQ), Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU),
L
willing to act in uncertain situation (Mayer et and Perceived Usefulness (PU). Each of these
al., 1995; Mcallister, 1995), and dependability constructs is shown in Figure 1, and is explained
A
(Gambetta, 1988). Therefore, trust is a complex in the next section.
notion that is required to be investigated in order
B
to understand its antecedents and outcomes. Disposition to Trust
According to McKnight & Chervany (2001),
O
ANTECEDENT FACTORS OF TRUST disposition to trust affects trust in others when a
L
novel situation arises in which the object of trust
Antecedent factors to trust are those groups of and the situation are unfamiliar. They conceptu
factors that influence the truster’s belief and alised this effect in the context of ecommerce
G
perception about the trustee’s characteristics and and argued that disposition to trust influences
I
also the trust intention toward the trustee. The consumers’ trusting beliefs regarding online ven
antecedent factors to trust found in the literature dors. Followup empirical research by McKnight
G
are multidimensional. That is, they can be defined et al. (2002a), confirmed the positive correlation
I
as personal and sociological factors that affect between disposition to trust and trusting beliefs
the individuals’ perception of the trustee’s char in the ecommerce context.
acteristics and their willingness to depend on the
Figure 1. Antecedent factors of citizen trust in egovernment
533
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
Faith in humanity and trust stance, which are lowing McKnight et al. (2002), institutionbased
the two dimensions that represent disposition to trust is defined as “the belief that needed structural
trust, reflect personal tendencies across situations conditions are present (e.g., in the Internet) to
(Mcknight, Kacmar, & Choudhury, 2004). Faith in enhance the probability of achieving a successful
humanity is most likely to affect a person’s initial outcome in an endeavour like ecommerce” (p.
F
trusting beliefs because it reflects the degree to 339). Institutionbased trust is generated when the
which a person believes that people in general truster believes that safety, guarantee, insurance,
O
are trustworthy (Kramer & Isen, 1994). In a new and other performance structures are presented
situation, such as egovernment, faith in humanity to secure a situation (Pavlou et al., 2003b; Shap
will facilitate trusting beliefs to be high (Mcknight iro, 1987). McKnight et al. (2002a) defined two
O
& Chervany, 2001). A trust stance influences the dimensions (subconstructs) of institutionbased
individual to be purposely willing to depend on trust: structural assurance and situation normal
R
another party, despite of their beliefs about the ity. Structural assurance is related to structures
other party. A person with a high trust stance most that exist to promote success such as guarantees,
P
likely believes that better results can be achieved regulation, and legal resources. Situation normal
when one is willing to depend on another party, ity is the belief that success is expected as the
L
even though the other party may or may not be environment is normal and in appropriate order.
trustworthy (Mcknight & Chervany, 2001). An example of situation normality in the Internet
A
The interrelationship between disposition to environment is the expectation that infrastructure
trust and trust beliefs is recognised and concep of the communication is secure, i.e. security
B
tually proposed in different trust models in the mechanisms and techniques (encryption) are
eservice context (Bhattacherjee, 2002; Cofta, employed to secure the communication channel.
2006; Gefen, 2000; Gefen, Rao, & Tractinsky, The institutional view of trust has been
O
2003b; Gefen & Straub, 2004; Pavlou, Tan, & widely conceptualised by ecommerce researchers
L
Gefen, 2003a). In the egovernment context, (Mcknight et al., 2002a; Pavlou, 2002; Pavlou et
Warkentin et al. (2002) conceptualised the effect al., 2003b). Recent empirical studies in the e
of dispositional trust on trust in egovernment. commerce context have supported the idea that
G
Similarly, Belanger and Carter (2008) found a institutionbased trust has a positive influence on
I
positive impact of citizens’ general propensity to truster belief regarding online trustees. Pavlou
trust on their trust in online governmental trans (2002) found a positive relationship between
G
actions. Accordingly, the following proposition institutionbased trust and trust in the seller in
I
is proposed: B2B ecommerce context. Pavlou’s study provided
empirical support for the previous theoretical
P1: The disposition of citizens to trust is positively work of McKnight and Chervany (2002) on trust
associated with their trust in egovernment. formation in the ecommerce context, which had
suggested a positive link between institutionbased
InstitutionBased Trust trust and trusting beliefs. More specifically, the
results of Palvou’s study support the notion that
Institutionbased trust is the truster’s confidence institutionbased trust directly leads to trust in
that the situation structures exist to facilitate online transactions.
success of the trusting behaviour (Pavlou, Tan, McKnight et al. (2002a) also identified a
& Gefen, 2003b) and more impotently to impose positive and significant correlation between
sanctions when trust is breached (Humphery & institutionbased trust and online consumers’
Schmitz, 1998; Lane & Bachmann, 1996). Fol trusting beliefs regarding online vendors. In their
534
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
study, institutionbased trust was represented by appropriate frameworks within which trusters can
measures of situational normality (perceptions of place their beliefs about the trustee and know what
Web vendors in general) and structural assurance to expect. An earlier study by Gefen (2000) empiri
(underlying safeguards, protections, privacy, and cally supported the positive correlation between
security provided by the Web vendors). familiarity and trust beliefs in ecommerce. In his
F
In the egovernment context, the effect of study, Gefen (2000) extended Luhmann’s (1988)
institutionbased trust on citizen’s trust in e social trust theory, which considers familiarity
O
government has been posited by egovernment as a precondition for trusting ecommerce. The
researchers (Carter & Belanger, 2005; Warkentin result of a survey of 217 potential online users
et al., 2002; Welch et al., 2005). Belanger and supported the proposition of the positive impact
O
Carter (2008) argue that institutionbased trust of familiarity on trusting beliefs regarding the
is basically trust in the Internet, i.e. trust in the online vendors.
R
security measures, safety nets and performance Although several recent studies in the context
structures of the electronic channel. In their re of egovernment hypothesise the notion that citi
P
cent study of the impacts of the citizens’ trust in zen’s familiarity or experience with egovernment
the Internet on their adoption of egovernment, websites positively contributes to their trust in
L
Belanger and Carter (2008) conclude that citizens’ egovernment systems (Parent, Vandebeek, &
trust in egovernment is contingent upon citizens’ Gemino, 2005; Tassabehji & Elliman, 2006;
A
belief that the Internet is a dependable medium, Warkentin et al., 2002), the familiarity effect on
capable of providing assurance information and the citizens’ trust in egovernment has not been
B
secure transactions. Accordingly, the following empirically investigated. Therefore, to assess this
proposition is proposed: effect, the present study proposes the following
proposition:
O
P2: The InstitutionBased Trust of citizens posi
L
tively affects trust in egovernment P3: The familiarity of citizens with egovernment
positively affects their trust in egovernment
Familiarity
G
Perceived Website Quality
I
Familiarity is a stage where people use their pre
vious experience (Luhmann, 1979), interactions, Website quality as it is perceived by online con
G
and learning to understand what, where, why, and sumers has been identified in many ecommerce
I
when people do what they do (Gefen, 2000). It studies as an important construct that affect
has been argued that familiarity is a precondition consumers’ attitude toward conducting online
for trust (Luhmann, 1979) and that trust occurs in transactions with evendors (Stephens, 2004;
a familiar world, and the familiar features of the Studio Archetype/Sapient & Cheskin Research,
world may be changed which in turn may impact 1999; Wang & Emurian, 2005; Yang, Hu, & Chen,
on the possibility of developing trust in human 2005; Zhang & Zhang, 2005). Previous research
relations (Luhmann, 1988). Familiarity has been has defined the construct of Perceived Website
identified as main construct in different online Quality as the perceived quality of graphics,
trust models (e.g., Bhattacherjee, 2002; Gefen, structure, and content of the website(Wang &
2000; Pavlou et al., 2003a). Emurian, 2005; Yang et al., 2005). In the pres
Pavlou et al.’s (2003a) analysis of the role of ent research, the construct of Perceived Website
familiarity in the online environment provided Quality is defined as a citizen’s perception of the
support that familiarity affects trust by creating quality of egovernment websites. Two dimen
535
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
sions are identified for this construct: presenta included within the websites. The result of this
tion and navigation. The presentation dimension experiment revealed that quality of the website
deals with the citizen’s perception of the textual, design is significantly related to trust.
graphical, and layout presentation of egovernment Perceived website quality has been conceptu
websites. The navigation presentation deals with alised in different online trust models as a main
F
the structure and searchability of the content of factor affecting a truster’s belief and willingness
egovernment Websites. to be involved with an online trustee (Corbitta,
O
Several studies have been conducted to @5/%/</%3*1B+z+w*B+ doo_c+ W8/>*/%B+ N(*%/8u(B+z+
identify the design elements that engender trust Gurrea, 2006; Jones & Leonard, 2008; Kim &
in ecommerce websites. The Studio Archetype Tadisina, 2004; Mcknight & Chervany, 2002;
O
and Sapient study (1999) is the earliest and one Mcknight et al., 2002a; Wang & Emurian, 2005).
of the most significant studies investigating trust Nevertheless, empirical evidence to support the
R
in ecommerce from the HCI perspective. They interaction between perceived website quality and
identified different types of forms that communi trusting beliefs in the context of egovernment is
P
cate consumers’ trust in an ecommerce website. lacking. Hence, this study fills this gap by propos
Navigation and Presentation of the ecommerce ing the following proposition:
L
websites have been identified in the Studio
Archetype and Sapient study as very important P4: Perceived website quality positively affects
A
design elements that facilitate the users’ trust in e the citizen’s trust in egovernment
commerce websites. Similarly, a qualitative study
B
by Karvonen (1999) has also shown a clear positive Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU)
relationship between website design quality and and Perceived Usefulness (PU)
user trust in online vendors. In another study, Nah
O
and Davis (2002) also recognised the importance Other important components that are included
L
of the quality of the user interface design of e in the research model are: Perceived Usefulness
commerce website as a critical antecedent of trust. (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU). PU and
Recent empirical studies have supported the PEUO are two main components in the Technol
G
idea that perceived website quality has a positive ogy Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989;
I
influence on a consumers’ trust in ecommerce Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1989), which is an
vendors. From the HCI perspective, Egger (2003) adaptation of the theory of reasoned action (TRA)
G
investigated the role of website design elements (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). Perceived usefulness
I
that communicate trust in ecommerce websites. is the degree to which the user believes that the
He identified two main design properties that most using of the system enhances his or her task per
likely affect user trust perception: website visual formance. Perceived ease of use is the degree to
design and website usability. which the user believes that using the system is
Stephens (2004) also found that the navigation easy and free of hard effort. In the present research,
system and the graphical presentation of websites the perceived usefulness construct is defined as
have a significant impact on users’ trust in the the degree to which a citizen believes that using
online firms. In his study, a research experiment egovernment services is more effective than
was conducted on 217 online users where they traditional ways of getting government services.
were asked to visit and compare four different The perceived ease of use construct is defined as
websites. These websites were selected based the degree to which a citizen believes that using
on the percentage of the existence of design ele egovernment services is easy and free of hard
ments, such as navigation and graphical features, effort. Although, the PU contrast is considered
536
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
in the present research as a consequence of trust environment, where citizens’ interaction with
beliefs, it is defined here because it is being another government departments and agencies is through
dimension with PEOU to the same theory, which egovernment websites, perceived ease of use
is the TAM. While neither of these constructs may in term of functionality of these websites, will
appear to be an obvious component of trust, they positively affect on citizens’ trust in the provided
F
both are likely to affect people’ s trust beliefs services. When citizens find that requesting gov
and intention. ernment services via egovernment websites is
O
The two constructs of the Technology Accep straightforward and easier than requesting those
tance Model (TAM) have been intensively tested services in traditional ways, they will conclude
in many empirical ecommerce studies. In their that government departments and agencies are
O
integration of TAM and trust theory in evendors, investing in the relationship, which will conse
Gefen et al. (2003a) provided empirical evidence quently affect their trusting beliefs egovernment
R
that trust in evendors is influenced by the website services. Conversely, egovernment websites that
perceived ease of use by the online shoppers. They are unnecessarily hard to use do not suggest ability
P
found also that perceived usefulness of the website or caring, let alone benevolence. Therefore, the
has a direct affect on intention to use the website. following proposition is proposed:
L
Similarly, a survey of 212 potential online
users, Koufaris & HamptonSosa (2004) found P6: Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) positively
A
that both perceived ease of use and perceived affects trust in egovernment.
usefulness of an online company’s website are
B
significant antecedents of customers’ trust in Consequences of Trust
online vendors. Similarly, Chau, Hu, Lee, and
Au (2007) developed an online trust model that The final result of truster and trustee relationships
O
conceptualised the effect of perceived ease of is truster behaviour (Mcknight, Choudhury, &
L
use and perceived usefulness of the website on Kacmar, 2002b). The present study focuses on
customers’ trust in an online vendor. behavioural intention instead of actual behaviour.
In the egovernment context, PU should also Some researchers have proposed this research ap
G
increase citizen trust in egovernment services proach (e.g., Agarwal & Paras, 1998; Karahanna,
I
through the perception that government depart Straub, & Chervany, 1998; Mcknight et al., 2002a;
ments and agencies are investing in the relation Venkatesh & Davis, 2000). Previous research has
G
ship, and in so doing they signal commitment also confirmed a strong correlation between behav
I
to the relationship. When citizens perceive that ioural intention and actual behaviour (Mcknight
requesting government services via egovernment et al., 2002b; Sheppard, Hartwick, & Warshaw,
websites is effective, faster, and more convenient 1988; Venkatesh & Davis, 2000).
than the traditional way of receiving government Behavioural intention is defined in terms of
services delivery, their trust in egovernment ser the citizens’ intention to use egovernment ser
vices will increased. Accordingly, the following vices. In the context of GovernmenttoCitizen
proposition is proposed: egovernment, there are two major objectives:
providing citizens with effective access to in
P5: Perceived Usefulness positively affects trust formation and providing citizens with access
in egovernment. to a full range of egovernment services online
(National Research Council, 2002). The basic
PEOU is expected also to affect citizen’s trust idea behind egovernment is to allow citizens to
in egovernment services. In the egovernment interact with their government through the Inter
537
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
net; for example, they ask questions and receive P7: citizen trust in egovernment positively influ
answers, get updated government regulations, ences intention to engage in egovernment.
obtain government official documents, fill ap
plications, pay tax and bills, receive payments, RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
and forth. In the present research, two forms of
F
citizens’ engagement in egovernment are defined: The study employed a focus group research
receiving egovernment information and request method. A focus group analysis can provide the
O
ing egovernment service. researcher an opportunity to explore complex at
According to Mayer et al. (1995) and McK titudes, beliefs, feelings, motivation, experiences,
night and Chervany (2001), trusting beliefs have a reactions, and behaviours of egovernment users
O
significant effect on trusting intention. McKnight (Walden, 2006) in a way that is not viable with
et al. (2002a) found a strong correlation between other methods, such as observation and onetoone
R
trusting beliefs and trusting intention (willingness interview (Litoselliti, 2003). Moreover, due to the
to depend). In their empirical study of online us complex nature of trust phenomenon, focus group
P
ers, they found that if online users believe that an was considered to be an appropriate method for
evendor is benevolent, competent, and honest this study (Mcknight & Chervany, 2001).
L
they are likely to form a trusting intention towards The technique used for the focus group analysis
engagement in online transaction with this even was purposive sampling. Purposive sampling, as
A
dor. Similarly, McKnight and Choudhury (2006) opposed to statistical sampling techniques that
employed a questionnaire with 751 subjects and are based on sampling errors and population, is
B
found a clear positive impact of trusting beliefs on a technique that guided the researcher to recruit
the online users’ willingness to share information, participants for the focus group based on their
follow advice, and purchase from Web vendors. experience with egovernment system in Saudi
O
Pavlou and Fygenson (2006) also support the idea Arabia. According to Patton (2002) and Sharts
L
that a trusted Web vendor must have competence, Hopko (2001), purposive sampling provides
integrity, benevolence. They suggest that for rich and indepth information regarding research
online transactions of product purchasing, trust issues.
G
describes the belief that the vendor will properly The study concentrated primarily on egovern
I
deliver and stand behind it products. ment in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, Saudi citizens and
In the egovernment context, Warkentin et al. residents were requested to participate in the focus
G
(2002) conceptually propose that citizens’ inten groups. Three focus groups were conducted in this
I
tion to engage in egovernment is influenced study. These three groups are expert, experienced,
by their trusting beliefs. The citizens’ intention and nonexperienced egovernment users. Each
to receive and provide information through an group contains participants having different levels
egovernment online channel is dependent on of egovernment engagement and experiences.
their trusting beliefs that egovernment is com It is recommended that all participants in each
petent, honest, and able to provide them with group share similar levels of engagement on the
the governmental services (Carter & Belanger, topic under investigation (ShartsHopko, 2001);
2005). Similarly, Schaupp and Carter (2005) otherwise, those who notably have less opinions
found that citizens’ perception of trustworthiness and experiences to share with others may not
of egovernment impacts their intention to use speak and participate on the focus group at all
egovernment services. Accordingly, the present (Morgan & Scannell, 1998). Thus, researchers
research proposes the following proposition: may be at risk of missing a chance to learn about
the opinions and experience of all participants
538
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
if they are not sharing similar levels of opinions ticipants in this group is suggested to be
and experiences. Indeed, the characteristics of at least ten in an ideal situation (Morgan
the participants related to the research need to & Scannel, 1998). Although seven non
be considered carefully to obtain accurate and experienced users participated as it was
effective results. not possible to recruit ten people, it is an
F
Therefore, three focus groups were conducted acceptable sample size for the focus group
in this study. Each group contained participants analysis (Kruger & Casey, 2000).
O
having different levels of egovernment engage
ment and experiences: Each of these groups is separately presented
and analysed in the following sections in order to
O
P+ Expert: Internet users who were both ex compare similarity and differences of opinions,
perienced with egovernment transactions feelings, and attitudes between these participants.
R
and wellinformed about Internet tech
nology. They were expected to be knowl
P
edgeable of technical issues such as se ANALYSIS OF THE
curity and cybercrime. Also, they would FOCUS GROUP ONE
L
have many opinions and much experience
to share with others in the focus group. The data collected from this group cover a vari
A
Therefore, a small number of participants ety of issues in egovernment from four experts
such as three or four are required in this labelled A1, A2, A3, and A4 to meet the Ethics
B
group (Greenbaum, 2000; Krueger, 1998). Committee requirements. The themes that were
Accordingly, four experts were invited to emerged from the focus group analysis are re
participate in the focus group. spectively discussed below.
O
P+ Experienced egovernment users: Internet
L
users who were accustomed to egovern Disposition to Trust
ment transactions. They were expected to
possess relatively little knowledge about Two of the four participants (A1 and A3) argued
G
technical issues in egovernment transac that their general tendency to trust others have a
I
tions. Since participants in this group may significant influence on their trust in the Internet.
not have experienced as much as those They explained that they assumed professional
G
in the expert group, a standardsize fo people can handle security issues properly. One
I
cus group is required, which is between participant (A4) said that his personal trusting
six to eight participants (May, 2001). strategy is to assume the integrity and benevolence
Accordingly, six experienced egovern of others until they proved to be untrustworthy.
ment users were recruited to participate in He added that he applies this strategy with e
the focus group. government websites. However, one participant
P+ NonExperienced egovernment users: (A2) argued that he has bad experiences in the past
Internet users who had not conduced e with people he trusted and that they misused this
government services but have visited e trust and acted not as expected. He argued that his
government websites. They were expected experience made him suspicious not only when
to lack knowledge about technical issues dealing with people but with things such as the
and precise judgment about egovernment Internet websites because they were developed
services trustworthy. Since they would not and operated by people. Some of the participants’
have many opinions about egovernment statements supporting the above summary are:
websites, the appropriate number of par
539
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
“I usually trust specialised people or professional “I rely more on websites I am familiar with” (A1)
more because they are simply professional and they
will take care of my security in the Internet”. (A1) “I agree that experience has direct affect on trust...
people trust known people and if you meet stranger
“I always tell my friends and family to be careful it gets quite time to trust them...and this is same
F
when dealing with strangers and when dealing for websites I trust Amazon because I know them
with the Internet”. (A3) and I trust Ministry of Higher Education because
O
I know their websites very well. (A2).
Based on the analysis of this focus group, there
is evidence indicating that citizens’ disposition to Based on the analysis of this focus group, there
O
trust positively affects trust in the Internet (which is evidence indicating that familiarity positively
is institutionbased trust); therefore, the proposi affects trust in egovernment. Moreover, positive
R
tion that disposition to trust positively affects past experience increases the positive effect of
trust is supported. familiarity on trust in egovernment.
Familiarity
All participants in this focus group demonstrated
L P
InstitutionBased Trust
There was agreement between all participants
A
high level of familiarity with egovernment ser that institutionbased trust is the most important
vices in Saudi Arabia. The participants indicated trusting belief that critically impacts the citizens’
B
that they have many years of experience with e trust in egovernment. Every participant agreed
government websites. However, their experiences that feeling that the existing security structure and
vary, as two participants (A1 and A2) explained situation is normal significantly affects the build
O
that their experiences with egovernment websites ing of trust. Three participants (A2, A3, and A4)
L
are limited only to obtaining some information stated that they would not feel secure if a secure
such as contacts, addresses, or downloading connection (such as HTTPS) was not presented in
forms. One participant (A4) exhibited extensive the URL when requesting egovernment services.
G
engagement with egovernment services as he had Another participant (A3) expressed his opinion
I
requested several government services and paid that he needs to read about the security technology
for these services via an eservice called SADAD employed in egovernment websites before he trust
G
(which connects the egovernment services with these websites. This participant also expressed a
I
online banking). The participants in this focus similar opinion about digital certificates. However,
group expressed their opinions that they tend to one participant (A1) disagreed with using digital
trust egovernment websites that are familiar to certificates with every online transaction and
them. They argued that they need to familiarise argued that digital certificates could be used only
themself with new egovernment websites before with critical transactions such as those involving
they conduct egovernment services. Two the payment. He justified his opinion based on the
participants (A3 and A4) also further explained complexity of using digital certificates which may
that their trust in egovernment transactions is make citizens resistant when using these types
dependent on their past positive experience with of security technology. In addition to these argu
these particular egovernment websites. Some of ments, two participants mentioned that using the
the participants’ statements supporting the above national digital ID card, which includes a digital
summary are: token, provides a higher level of security which
in turn affects citizens’ confidence and trust in e
540
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
government transactions. Some of the participants’ “If they cannot deign a reasonably professional
statements supporting the above summary are: website, then I do not have any faith in their ability
in providing online services”. (A1)
“If there is they cannot provide a security server,
then how can I trust them at all?” (A4) “I will not do online transaction with ministries
F
that have broken links, it comes down to compe
“Digital certificates can solve the authentication tence. ... it is a great way for me not to continue
O
and security issue, so they should be used when going any further in the process”. (A4)
citizens apply for government services online”
(A3) Based on the analysis of this focus group,
O
there is evidence indicating that highquality Web
An interpretive analysis of the above responses design positively affects trust in egovernment.
R
indicates that institutionbased trust is critical for Specifically, simple and clean navigation on
egovernment to gain trust from citizens. Security egovernment websites reflects competency of
P
structure was mentioned as the most important egovernment.
dimension in institutionbased trust, in particular,
L
supporting a secure connection and utilisation of Perceived Usefulness
digital certificates. These findings support the
A
positive effect of institutionbased trust on trust All participants recognised the usefulness of
in egovernment. egovernment websites. They expressed their
B
opinion that using egovernment services is more
Perceived Websites Quality convenient to them and accelerates their transac
tions with government entities. However, one
O
All participants expressed that website design participant (A2) differentiated between assumed
L
quality plays a vital role in indicating competency egovernment usefulness and actual egovernment
behind egovernment websites. They tend to trust usefulness. For instance, he stated that egovern
egovernment websites that are simple and easy ment should make transactions quicker and more
G
to navigate and that allow them to move from one efficient, but based on his experience he found
I
page to another with ease. Two of them (A1 and that using egovernment websites increases the
A3) further explained that they had difficulty in numbers of steps to request government services
G
trusting egovernment websites that are difficult because he still needs to visit the ministries’ physi
I
to navigate. Moreover, one participant (A1) stated cal locations to authenticate copies of paperwork
that he suspects the legitimacy of egovernment with originals. Therefore, he preferred only to print
websites that are poorly designed. All participants and download forms and then submit physically
stated that website quality affects their perception to government departments. Nevertheless, other
about trust in egovernment websites, especially participants (A1 and A4) stated that egovernment
a broken link. In particular, they would not tol usefulness has encouraged them to use egovern
erate any broken link since it is so simple that ment websites to request government services.
such a mistake should not be made. Some of the Some of the participants’ statements supporting
participants’ statements supporting the above the above summary are:
summary are:
“It is obvious that the egovernment usefulness
makes me use it”. (A4)
541
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
“If the egovernment is not usefulness I wouldn’t by the participants. Two participants (A1 and A4)
use it” (A1) confirmed the importance of trust in egovernment
services, and explained the difficulty building
From the above statements, there is evidence citizens’ trust in egovernment. They expressed
showing that egovernment usefulness affects their opinion that trust is a significant prerequisite
F
citizens’ intention to use egovernment services for egovernment websites usage. One participant
and the achievement of egovernment usefulness (A3) elaborated more on the importance of trust
O
is important. in citizens’ engagement with egovernment by
highlighting several outcomes of trust beliefs. The
Egovernment Websites Ease of use main outcome of citizens’ trust in egovernment,
O
he said, was acceptance and willingness to pay
All participants except one (A2) stated that they for government services. He also indicated that
R
found egovernment websites easy to use. Three trusting citizens will convey their trusting beliefs
participants (A1, A3, and A4) expressed their among their peers. Three participants (A1, A3, and
P
opinion that egovernment ease of use improved A4) stated that their feelings about the competence
their trust in egovernment services. One par of egovernment websites affects their intention to
L
ticipant (A1) argued that required the steps to use these websites. One participant (A2) expressed
request government services using egovernment his concern about the credibility and integrity of
A
websites were not clear. He added that a feedback the information in some egovernment websites
mechanism was not implemented properly which because he found the information out of date and
B
affected his trust to complete transactions suc not updated regularly. So, he believes he still needs
cessfully. Some of the participants’ statements to call government agencies and departments to
supporting the above summary are: get updated information. Some of the participants’
O
statements supporting the above summary are:
L
“I will return back to my horrible experience with
(ministry name was removed)...they did not tell “Without trust, it is useless to develop and build
me if my application has been received, a while websites because people will not use it...trust is
G
blank just appeared...so what, did transactions crucial”. (A4)
I
went through or not...”. (A2)
“Yes...I will pay my bill and pay my fines and
G
“for me it was easy and straightforward, I entered services through website if I trust it...and if this
I
my ID number and I got my sponsorship decision work I will help government by telling my friends,
and I trust this decision because I saw my complete family and neighbours about these services” (A3)
name”. (A3)
According to the responses above, there is
According to the findings from this focus evidence that trust in egovernment websites sig
group, there is evidence that perceived ease of nificantly affects intention to use these websites.
use of egovernment websites positively affects
trust in egovernment services. EGovernment use
Trust in EGovernment Participants in this group exhibited a variety of

egovernment uses. One participant demonstrated
The discussion of trust issues in egovernment ser a highlevel knowledge of egovernment services
vices was critical and different opinions were given (A1). He stated that egovernment websites are the
542
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
first places he visits when he is planning to conduct over the Internet. The second focus group was
a transaction with government departments and conducted to further explore how normal citizens
agencies. Two participants (A3 and A4) explained without great technical knowledge would trust
that they use the websites of the Ministry of Inte egovernment websites.
rior, including the department of transportation,
F
department of passports, and department of civil
affairs. They also expressed their frequent visits ANALYSIS OF THE
O
to the Ministry of Education to find about news FOCUS GROUP TWO
and the latest information about education in Saudi
Arabia and to help their children in their learning The data recorded in this group encompass a
O
process. All participants agreed that they have number of trust issues from six experienced Saudi
visited and will continue visiting egovernment citizens, labelled B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, and B6 for
R
websites to download government forms. Two privacy purpose.
participants (A3 and A4) agreed that they will
P
provide personal information to egovernment Disposition to Trust
websites to finish their government transactions.
L
However, only one participant (A4) stated that he During the discussion, one participant (B1)
has paid for government services online and that expressed his opinion that he believed people’s
A
he is still willing to pay for government services tendency to trust shapes their trust in egovernment
via egovernment websites. websites. He mentioned that he trusted people
B
easily and that this personality characteristic
Conclusion affected his trust in egovernment. Another par
ticipant (B4) agreed and mentioned that people
O
The discussion in this group was geared towards who tend to accept uncertainty will tend to trust
L
a technical point of view, especially security, the Internet websites. One participant (B3) stated
website design principles and usability, and risks. that he still needed to evaluate the competency of
The issues that emerged in this focus group were egovernment websites before he could trust them.
G
expected since all participants were experts and One of the participant’s statements supporting the
I
knowledgeable about technical aspects. Also, above summary is:
while the participants were talking about non
G
technical aspects such as disposition to trust and “Risk takers in their life lean to take risk in the
I
familiarity, they tended to link back and compare Internet”. (B4)
these issues with security and website design
quality. In addition, based on the researcher’s Based on the finding of this group, there is
observation, all participants appeared to be quite evidence that citizens’ disposition to trust posi
comfortable and confident about their opinions. tively affects institutionbased trust.
They also revealed that they normally searched
for information about government services on Familiarity
the Internet before actually making any govern
ment transaction. This indicates that the experts Four participants (B1, B2, B3, and B5) agreed
believe they are capable of judging trustworthi that their familiarity with egovernment websites
ness of egovernment websites. However and has slightly affected their trust in these websites.
surprisingly, three of the four experts were found Most participants demonstrated a high level of
not to be willing to pay for government services experience with egovernment websites. This
543
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
experience mainly related to passive use, that is, Based on the above responses, there is evidence
downloading forms and obtaining government that instructionbased trust positively impacts trust
updates and news. Two participants (B1 and B5) in egovernment. It also supports the idea that
argued that their intensive use of egovernment institutionbased trust consists of two dimensions:
websites made them trust egovernment services structural assurance and situation normality. The
F
as they were successful. One of the participant’s existence of structural assurance seems to be the
statements supporting the above summary is: more important dimension for effect on trust in
O
egovernment.
“I think that familiarity has correlation with trust
as you trust familiar websites more than new EGovernment Websites Quality
O
websites”. (B1)
Several participants reported that the quality of
R
Based on the finding of this group, there is website design influences their trust in egovern
evidence that familiarity positively affects citizens’ ment services. The ease of website navigation and
P
trust in egovernment. The evidence also indicates the professionalism of the website design were
that familiarity with positive past experiences mentioned frequently in the discussion as the
L
significantly increases the trust in egovernment. main drivers for trust in egovernment websites.
Some participants (B1, B2, B6) stated that a high
A
InstitutionBased Trust quality of website design signifies professional
ism that enhances their trust in egovernment
B
Two participants (B1 and B5) talked about the websites. Other participants (B5 and B6) argued
importance of the existence of structural assurance that clear and easy navigation of egovernment
and its impact on their trust in egovernment. They websites indicated that the government respects
O
considered that their perception of security in e it citizens and therefore will perform their best to
L
government websites was for them a foundation succeed in online transactions. Moreover, some
for trust in egovernment. Two participants (B4 participants (B1, B3 and B4) mentioned that they
and B6) agreed with this opinion and one of them would feel safe when conducting online transac
G
(B6) added that a third party seal of trust should tions with government departments and agencies
I
be presented in egovernment websites to accredit if egovernment websites are well designed and
its security assurance. Situation normality was free of broken links. One of the participant’s state
G
recognised by most participants during the discus ments supporting the above summary is:
I
sion. They also argued that egovernment should
not request information that is not needed for the “Professionally design website gives impression
online transactions. They stated that making such that this ministry respects its clients and as a
strange request for unneeded information would results they will perform as expected to make
make them suspicious about the benevolence and clients happy” (B2)
sincerity of the websites. One of the participant’s
statements supporting the above summary is: Based on the above conversation, there is evi
dence that good quality website design positively
“...When I see trusted seals such as Visa or Veri affects trust in egovernment. In particular, par
Sign; this is telling me about security of informa ticipants use this factor to gauge professionalism
tion of my credit card”. (B6) and feelings of benevolence and competence of
egovernment websites.
544
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
EGovernment Usefulness dimension that would help them trust egovern

ment websites. They argued that when citizens
Several participants in this focus group confirmed are able to trace their transactions, they will trust
that egovernment can benefit both government egovernment websites. One of the participant’s
and citizens if implemented properly. Two par statements supporting the above summary is:
F
ticipants (B1 and B4) expressed their opinion that
egovernment can solve many problems related “I cannot trust websites that are difficult to use
O
to rigid routine and long processing time. Other because it will be useless for me and it gives me
participants think that the egovernment useful bad impression about the ministries developing
ness contributes to citizens’ quick adoption of them” (B4)
O
egovernment. Three participants (B3, B4, and
B5) stated that egovernment usefulness can af Based on the findings from this group, the
R
fect not only the citizens’ acceptance and use of proposition that perception of ease of use affects
egovernment services but also their trust in e citizens’ trust in egovernment is strongly sup
P
government because the feeling of egovernment ported. Furthermore, transparency was identified
benevolence and sincerity. One of the participant’s in this focus group as very important issue that are
L
statements supporting the above summary is: related to the citizens’ perception of egovernment
websites ease of use.
A
“I think breaking the government bureaucracy and
routine is the main advantage of egovernment, in Trust in EGovernment
B
addition to shortening of transactions processing
time, these advantages increase the possibility of All participants agreed with the opinion that
using online government services.” (B1) trust affects their intention to use egovernment
O
websites. Three participants (B1, B2, and B4)
L
Based on the findings from this focus group, expressed their opinion that their belief in govern
there is evidence that perceived usefulness posi ment competence to provide services electroni
tively affects intention to use egovernment ser cally is the main belief affecting their intention
G
vices. Also, perceived usefulness positively affects to use egovernment services. However, one
I
citizens’ trust in egovernment. The perception of participant (B5) stated that he has stopped visiting
the usefulness of egovernment varied between egovernment websites because he does not have
G
participants. However, the majority of the partici faith in the competence of egovernment websites
I
pants agreed that the most important advantage as they do not have the ability to provide many
of using egovernment websites is the shortening government services. He attributed this mistrust
of time for government transaction processing. to his perception of poor website quality. Four
participants (B1, B2, B3, and B6) agreed that the
EGovernment Websites Ease of use concerns about privacy and security are reduced
significantly if they trust egovernment websites.
Some participants recognised that ease of use is an Some of the participants’ statements supporting
important factor that would affect most citizens’ the above summary are:
trust and acceptance of egovernment services.
One participant (B4) added that difficult to use “Government is trustworthy and risk is not a big
egovernment websites are not worth of citizens’ issue”. (B6)
trust. Three participants (B1, B3, and B6) and
suggested that transparency is a very important
545
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
“I trust government official websites and risk is Conclusion

very minimum because they are different from
normal commercial websites and I am not afraid The direction of the discussion in this focus
to give them my personal details because they group was wellbalanced between technical and
already have it in their systems and their motives nontechnical perspectives. For example, one of
F
are to help us”. (B6) the participants stated that trusted Web seals such
as VeriSign are need on egovernment websites
O
Based on above responses, there is evidence to ensure the security of Credit Card payment.
that trust in egovernment positively affects Furthermore, they also mentioned a possible risk
the intention to use egovernment services and which could happen if they believed too much in
O
negatively affects perceived risk. The beliefs of whatever they came across in egovernment web
benevolence and competence of egovernment sites. However, only one participant seemed to trust
R
websites are the main beliefs contributing to egovernment completely and expect minimum
citizens’ trust in egovernment. risks when dealing with egovernment websites.
P
All participants agreed that the navigation and
Use of EGovernment presentation of egovernment websites are the
L
main factors that affect their trust in egovernment.
Most participants in this group used egovernment This group suggested that governments need to
A
websites to check for latest government updates. provide them with some assurance to foster their
Three participants (B2, B4, and B6) confirmed trust and to reduce their risk perception. Based
B
that they are willing to provide personal infor on the researcher’s observation, the majority of
mation to egovernment websites. Two of these the participants in this focus group were quite
participants (B2 and B6) agreed that they would confident in their opinions while the rest were
O
pay for government services via egovernment somewhat unsure about whether or not their
L
websites. Two participants (B1 and B3) claimed comments were correct. The analysis of the focus
that although they visit egovernment websites group three is presented next.
regularly to obtain the latest information, they still
G
feel reluctant to believe or follow the advice and
I
procedures presented in egovernment websites. ANALYSIS OF THE FOCUS
They explained this reluctance by their percep GROUP THREE
G
tion of insufficient intention being paid to these
I
websites by government entities. They added that In Focus Group Three, seven Saudi citizens who
government entities develop their websites just for have visited egovernment websites but did not
complementary purposes, not to solve citizens’ conducted any egovernment services, are invited,
problems. One of the participant’s statements and are labelled C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, and C6 for
supporting the above summary is: privacy purpose. The themes emerged from the
conversation of this group are respectively dis
“Recently many ministries started to direct citi cussed below.
zens to their websites to download government
documents and to get information...I used these Disposition to Trust
websites for this purpose.” (B2)
The issues that are related to the disposition to trust
construct were not discussed directly in the con
versations of this focus group. Nevertheless, one
546
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
participant (C6) targeted the theme of disposition they have not had experience with egovernment
to trust indirectly when he expressed his opinion services. One participant explained (C5) that his
that Saudi citizens have no choice but to trust e familiarity with egovernment websites is lim
government websites. He justified his argument ited to getting new government regulations and
by saying that the government has the power to information. One of the participant’s statements
F
enforce the citizens to use eservices. He further supporting the above summary is:
explained that if people are hesitant to trust people;
O
this is not applicable to the government. Another “This question is very important, how can some
participant (C2) disagreed with this argument and one evaluate egovernment websites if he is not
claimed that the government cannot enforce all of familiar with them” (C2)
O
its citizens to use egovernment websites instead
of traditional services delivery. He believes that Based on the findings from this group, there
R
three quarters of the Saudi citizens do not have is evidence that familiarity is antecedent factor
Internet access and are not familiar with Internet for trust in egovernment. This finding support
P
technology. Therefore, he concluded, government H2, that familiarity positively affects trust in e
needs to educate its citizens before they can enforce government. The lack of familiarity in these group
L
them to use egovernment websites to conduct participants negatively affects their decision to
government transactions. One participant (C1) trust egovernment websites.
A
argued that many citizens would have no concern
about trusting egovernment websites because they InstitutionBased Trust
B
would assume that the government is responsible
for helping citizens and is interested in its citizens’ Two participants (C1 and C5) strongly insisted
well being. Some of the participants’ statements that security is the most important requirement
O
supporting the above summary are: to trust egovernment websites. One participant
L
(C4) explained that, based on his experience with
“There is no point for government to harm the ecommerce websites, he trusts that security is
citizens, because they are here to help us, this can now sophisticated and that you can be assured of
G
be applied for egovernment” (C1) security in egovernment websites. Although the
I
participants did not demonstrate a high level of
Based on the findings from this group, there is knowledge of security technologies used in the
G
an evidence that disposition to trust has a positive Internet, they suggested that the padlock graphic
I
effect on trust in egovernment. presented in some egovernment websites makes
them feel secure and increases their level of trust.
Familiarity Some of the participants’ statements supporting
the above summary are:
The participants in this group showed very low
familiarity with egovernment services. All partici “I have paid to subscribe in some websites and I
pants agreed that they assumed their online trans bought books, it is safe and secure, egovernment
actions with different government departments websites wouldn’t be less secure than these web
would fail. Two participants (C1 and C4) put the sites” (C4)
blame on their insufficient skills to conduct the e
government services. Another two participants (C2 Based on the above responses, it is interpreted
and C3) explained that they cannot decide whether that, even for nonexperienced egovernment
egovernment websites are trustworthy because users, security assurance positively affects trust
547
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
in egovernment. This finding supports that “What benefits you are asking about if the govern
institutionbased trust positively affects trust in ment itself did not tell us about benefits of using
egovernment. online services”. (C2)
Perceived Website Quality Based on above responses, it can be interpreted
F
that this group is not aware of the usefulness of e
All participants agreed that the quality of egovern government services. However, some participants
O
ment websites is an important factor that influences supported the idea that their perception of the
their trust. One participant (C7) explained that he usefulness of egovernment services would affect
would not trust websites that do not show their their intention to use egovernment. This finding
O
physical contact details. Another participant (C2) supports that perceived usefulness positively af
argued that navigation and websites maps would fects intention to engage in egovernment. The
R
help him to trust egovernment websites. One participants in this group gave a strong recom
participant (C5) stated that good egovernment mendation for education and training programs
P
websites need to have effective search capability by the government to increase citizens’ awareness
to increase their quality. Some of the participants’ of the benefits of using egovernment services.
L
statements supporting the above summary are:
Perceived Ease of use
A
“How you can use websites you cannot navigate
through, let alone to trust them”. (C2) The participants in this focus group agreed that the
B
ease of use of egovernment websites is the most
Based on the above responses, there is evidence important factor that would affect their trusting
that perceived website quality has a positive effect these websites. Three participants (C2, C4, and
O
on trust in egovernment. Navigation and search C5) explained that the steps required to request
L
capability are the most important aspect in the egovernment services should be equivalent to the
quality of egovernment websites. steps required to request government services in
a traditional way. Some of the participants’ state
G
Perceived Usefulness ments supporting the above summary are:
I
The majority of the participants in this group “In my opinion, tasks and steps should be clear
G
did not see the usefulness of egovernment. One and simple even for all citizens, including old,
I
participant (C2) stated that he is not aware of beginners, and less educated people.” (C2)
government services provided in egovernment
websites. Two participants (C2 and C3) criticised Based on the above responses, there is evidence
the government for not advertising or educating that perceived ease of use significantly affects
people about egovernment websites. Neverthe trust in egovernment.
less, all participants agreed that the most useful
feature of using egovernment websites is 24 Trust in EGovernment
hours availability. One participant (C5) explained
that he would not hesitate to use egovernment All participants agreed that government should
websites if he was convinced of their usefulness. build citizens’ trust in egovernment in order to
Some of the participants’ statements supporting successfully adopt an egovernment solution.
the above summary are: One participant (C2) argued that his use of e
government websites is dependent on his level of
548
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
trust in the government competence of providing they agreed that it was difficult to imagine how
secure and effective services. Two participants (C2 they could determine egovernment trustworthi
and C4) ensured the importance of trust in their ness and make etransactions on their own. To
engagement in egovernment. Another participant counter this problem, some of these participants
recognised the challenge and difficulty of building stated that education and training programs about
F
and maintaining citizens’ trust in egovernment. government services could help to overcome the
Four participants (C1, C2, C4, and C6) agreed difficulties stemming from lack of experience.
O
that governments need to build trust in order to Also, some participants recommended advertising
reduce the influence of perceived risk. Some of campaigns to increase citizens’ awareness about
the participants’ statements supporting the above egovernment. The majority of the participants
O
summary are: expressed that they were not entirely confident
in their opinions about egovernment. This is
R
“For me, security and privacy risks are the main expectable since they did not have actual experi
obstacles for using egovernment services, I will ence in making any interactive online transactions.
P
trust websites that protect my personal privacy Despite a lack of experience, they recognised that
and take this matter seriously, security is trust security, perceived ease of use, and perceived
L
and trust is security, they are two faces for one website quality are imperative to gain trust in
coin”(C1) egovernment.
A
Based on the analysis of the responses in this
B
focus group, trust has been found to influence COMPARATIVE ANALYIS
citizens’ intention to engage in egovernment. OF THE GROUP THREE
O
Conclusion The analysis shows that people having different
L
level of experience in using egovernment services,
The identification of the issues related to the perceive things to be trustworthy differently. For
lack of skills needed to decide whether to trust example, the experts recognised critical issues that
G
egovernment indicates that the participants were affect their trust in egovernment such as utilisa
I
certainly the representatives of nonexperienced tion of secure connection (HTTPS) and digital
egovernment users. The discussion in this focus certificates. By piecing together the evidence on
G
group was largely directed towards concepts the differences of responses between the three
I
related to the responsibility of government to focus groups in a logical way, it was possible to
build trust in egovernment services. Based on the reach the conclusion that findings support the fac
responses and the researcher’s observation, the tors addressed in the research model differently.
participants mixed trust in government with trust As a result, conversation of the three focus groups
in egovernment because they have insufficient provides fruitful, diverse viewpoints of citizens
information about how egovernment websites about trust issues in egovernment context.
work and of possible benefits and advantages of By combining the findings from the three
egovernment websites. The participants blame focus groups, it can be said that citizens become
the government for not to advertising enough or more independent and confident over time with
educating the citizens about new online services. increased online government experience. This
The participants also put some blame on their lack independency and confidence are conditioned
of experience in egovernment websites and tech with positive online experience in egovernment
nical knowledge such as security; consequently, websites. The analysis of the responses in the focus
549
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
groups showed that citizens’ knowledge increases the egovernment strategies and practices
by learning about egovernment services and by by assessing their role in utilising adopted
browsing egovernment websites. Consequently, egovernment solutions.
they perceive less uncertainty and more trust in 2. Government departments/agencies should
egovernment services. This finding is supported focus on how they can make citizens fa
F
by the response from different participants in miliar with their online presence. Citizens
the three groups who showed that their trust in have asserted that awareness is an important
O
egovernment services gradually increased and aspect of trusting and using egovernment
their perceived risk is gradually decreased as they websites, particularly at the initial stages of
learn more about egovernment services and as egovernment initiative.
O
they experienced positive outcome of their dealing 3. In developing countries where the digital
with egovernment websites. divide is high, citizens should be aware of
R
The responses from the participants of the focus the benefits of using egovernment systems.
groups identified and recommended several issues In this way, citizens’ intention to use these
P
that are needed to be addressed in order to enhance systems is increased.
their trust in egovernment. These requirements 4. To develop trust in egovernment systems,
L
include: transparency, education and training pro governments should implement the nine
grams, advertisements and promotions, feedback requirements of trust in egovernment:
A
mechanisms, and insurance. security, privacy protection, effective feed
back mechanism, transparency, professional
B
Web design, effective usability, necessary
IMPLICATIONS FOR GOVERNMENTS education and training for citizens, proper
advertising and promotion of egovernment
O
Apart from theoretical contributions, this study services, and assurance of quality service
L
also provides practical contributions to govern delivery.
ments, especially to the Saudi Arabian govern
ment. As a main outcome of this study, the Governments need to take identified trust
G
empirical model, which was derived from rigor requirements very seriously in order to build and
I
ous assessment and validation processes, could facilitate their citizens’ trust in egovernment.
serve as a framework for governments seeking to
G
diagnose the effectiveness of their egovernment P+ Security:+ ["#()*19+ *<+ *;"%1*&";+ /<+ /+ ./*%+
I
policies and strategies for citizen adoption of dimension in the institutionbased trust and
egovernment solutions. In particular, the model in perceived risk. Participants in the focus
offers a number of implications that could help groups felt sure that the existence of secu
guide governments to devise strategies that serve rity structure in egovernment websites is
to foster citizens’ trust and, ultimately, encourage a requirement for their institutionbased
citizens to engage in egovernment. Each of these 1)(<1?+ @5"9+ /8<$+ *;"%1*&";+ 15/1+ 5*'5+ =")
implications is presented below. ception of security risk negatively affects
their intention to use egovernment web
1. In order for governments to foster their sites. Therefore, governments should sup
citizens’ trust in egovernment, they should port reliable security to illustrate that they
take into consideration the factors that af have the ability to conduct egovernment
fect citizens’ trust in egovernment. The services safely. The security requirements
identified factors should be addressed in that need to be addressed include deploy
550
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
ing sophisticated authentication systems P+ Transparency: The participants in the

(for example, twofactor authentication, focus groups felt that transparent egov
threedigit security codes, and biometric ernment websites are more trustworthy.
<#/%RB+(<*%'+;*'*1/8+#")1*&#/1"<B+<(==$)1*%'+ Transparency in egovernment websites in
connection (e.g. HTTPS), and investing in creases citizens’ perception of the compe
F
secure services. tence and integrity of egovernment which
P+ Privacy: During the discussions in the fo in turn increases their intention to utilise
O
cus groups, privacy has been seen as an im egovernment services. The main transpar
portant requirement for institutionbased ency requirement is the traceability of on
trust. The privacy risk associated with e line transactions with egovernment web
O
'$>")%."%1+ <")>*#"<+ 4/<+ /8<$+ *;"%1*&";+ sites. Egovernment websites should also
as one of the main dimensions in the per provide citizens with the progress of their
R
ceived risk construct. Governments should transactions.
provide privacy of citizens’ information P+ Web Design: egovernment websites
P
*%#8(;*%'+&%/%#*/8+;"1/*8<+Q"?'?+#)";*1+#/);+ should be professionally designed with
numbers), account details (e.g. usernames a high quality interface, easy navigation,
L
and passwords), identity details (e.g. names and no broken links. High quality Web
and addresses), and contact details (e.g., design not only fosters citizens’ trust in e
A
email addresses). Egovernment websites government websites but also makes them
need also to have clear privacy statements perceive a higher level of safety in these
B
that describe how citizens’ information is websites.
handled to ensure their privacy. P+ Usability: The usability of egovernment
P+ Feedback: egovernment websites should 4"7<*1"<+ 5/<+ 7""%+ *;"%1*&";+ *%+ 15*<+ )"
O
provide effective feedback. The feedback search as one of the main requirement for
L
requirement comprises responsiveness citizens’ trust in egovernment. Usability
(that is, be quick in responding to citizens’ affects trust through the citizens’ percep
enquires), message format (that is, reply tion of the ease of use of egovernment
G
ing messages should be professional de websites. Therefore, egovernment web
I
signed), information accuracy (i.e. reply sites should be easy to use by applying
ing content should be relevant to citizens’ the usability principles. User interfaces in
G
enquiries), transactions receipt (i.e. the egovernment websites should take into
I
successful submission of citizens’ online account tasks and focus on enabling citi
1)/%</#1*$%+ <5$(8;+ 7"+ $-&#*/889+ /#3%$48 zens to complete them quickly and easily.
";'";R?+6+#8"/)+#$%&)./1*$%+15/1+/%+/#1*$%+ Interface design that prioritises and high
has either succeeded or failed helps build lights alternative routes to completing e
1)(<1+ /%;+ #$%&;"%#"?+ 2*3"4*<"B+ 4/*1*%'+ government transactions will enable differ
time should be accompanied by progress ent type of users to achieve their goals in a
indicators. These requirements are identi way that suits their needs. Egovernment
&";+ 7/<";+ $%+ 15"+ ;*<#(<<*$%+ *%+ 15"+ -$#(<+ websites should also use an effective in
groups. The participants in these focus terface that supports citizens by providing
groups stated that the existence of the feed a variety of prompts and a frame of refer
back requirements increased their trusting ence which builds awareness of the user’s
beliefs in egovernment services. current position and available options. This
helps citizens through tasks and processes
551
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
and facilitates understanding of the inter privacy statement (i.e. to guarantee privacy
face structure. of citizens’ information), a service delivery
P+ Education and Training: Since egovern policy (i.e. to guarantee service quality
ment initiatives are new for citizens, espe and citizen satisfaction), and a trusted seal
cially in developing counties, governments (i.e. to guarantee egovernment websites’
F
<5$(8;+ =)$>*;"+ <(-&#*"%1+ ";(#/1*$%+ -$)+ identities, security, reliability, and privacy
their citizens to be able to use egovern practices). In particular, assurance infor
O
ment websites to search and request gov mation can provide citizens with a sense of
ernment services. The participants in the control and safety through egovernment
focus groups, especially the participants websites.
O
in nonexperienced group, felt that it is
the government’s responsibility to provide
R
them with adequate education or training FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS
so they can successful use egovernment
P
websites. Governments can provide the Being crosssectional research, the study did not
necessary education and training through consider the time factor, which is one important
L
schools, universities, and the private sec element in trust theories. It is recommended that
tor. Also, each ministry or government de future research should employ a longitudinal re
A
partment/agency can provide free training search design whereby the study is conducted at
for its employees. Governments can also different points of time in order to better assess
B
print booklets or provide selftrainings the relationships between the model constructs.
computer training CDs/DVDs that include Alternatively, future research may adopt the
necessary information so citizens can use citizen trust model developed in this study but
O
them to gain skills needed to use egovern further explore the relationships among the model
L
ment services. construct by employing the System Dynamic
P+ Advertising and Promotion:+15"+&%;*%'<+ approach (SD). This is a technique that can be
of the focus groups showed that many citi used to understand the behaviour of complex
G
zens are not aware of egovernment and systems over time (Sterman, 2001). By applying
I
*1<+ 7"%"&1<?+ @5")"-$)"B+ '$>")%."%1<+ %"";+ a system dynamic concept, the model would be
to advertise regularly in the public media able to represent the process of interaction and
G
about egovernment websites and how citi feedback among the model constructs, thus better
I
C"%<+#/%+7"%"&1<+15".?+6;>")1*<*%'+*%+15"+ addressing the realtime dynamic of trust factors
public media increases the citizens’ famil and processes.
iarity with egovernment websites which Constrained by the available resources, this
in turn can help to foster their trust in these study was limited to a specific geographical
websites. Government can also promote region (i.e. Saudi Arabia). The results obtained
citizens’ use of egovernment by promo may have been influenced by Saudi’s national
tion and free services for the citizens. culture. To reach a greater generalisability, and
P+ Assurance: assurance is another impor to enable wider application of the proposed trust
tant requirement that increases citizens’ model, future research would benefit from a larger
institutionbased trust and decreases risk sample size, as well as greater diversity of cultural
perception. Governments should make as context. For instance, future research may adopt
surance information available on their e the herein developed empirical model to conduct
government websites. There should be a comparative analyses between Saudi Arabian
552
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
citizens’ perceptions regarding egovernment and Allen, B. A., Juillet, L., Paquet, G., & Roy, J.
those in other countries. The results may shed ad (2001). Egovernance & government online in
ditional light on how cultural differences affect Canada: Partnerships, people & prospects. Gov
citizens’ trust in egovernment and intention to ernment Information Quarterly, 18(2), 93–104.
engage in egovernment. doi:10.1016/S0740624X(01)000636
F
Anderson, E., & Weitz, B. (1989). Determinants
of continuity in conventional industrial dyads.
O
CONCLUSION
Marketing Science, 8(4), 310–323. doi:10.1287/
mksc.8.4.310
Trust is an important factor that has been inten
O
sively argued to have a significant effect on citizen Aulakh, P., Kotabe, M., & Sahay, A. (1996).
intention to engage in egovernment. The chapter Trust and performance in crossborder marketing
R
identified the key factors that affect citizen trust partnerships: A behavioural approach. Journal of
in egovernment. Based on critical literature re International Business Studies, 27(5), 1005–1032.
P
view a conceptual model was developed in order doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490161
to delineate how these factors influence citizens
Baier, A. (1986). Trust and antitrust. Ethics, 96(2),
L
trust in egovernment. In order to explain the pro
231–260. doi:10.1086/292745
posed effects of antecedent factors of citizen trust
A
in egovernment, focus group methodology was Barber, B. (1983). Logic and limits of trust. New
employed. The chapter discussed the focus groups Jersey: Rutgers University.
B
responses in light of these identified factors. Based
Basu, S. (2004). Egovernment and developing
on the identified key factors affecting citizens’ trust
countries: An overview. International Review of
in egovernment and based on the analysis of the
O
Law Computers & Technology, 18(1), 109–132.
focus groups, actionable guidelines for govern
doi:10.1080/13600860410001674779
L
ments were established. The issues discussed by
citizens in the focus groups were analysed and Belanger, F., & Carter, L. (2008). Trust and risk in
formed into nine components that make up the
G
egovernment adoption. The Journal of Strategic
requirements for trust in egovernment. Information Systems, 17, 165–176. doi:10.1016/j.
I
jsis.2007.12.002
Bhattacherjee, A. (2002). Individual trust in
REFERENCES
G
online firms: scale development and initial trust.
I
Agarwal, R., & Paras, J. (1998). A conceptual Journal of Management Information Systems,
and operational definition of personal innovative 19(1), 213–243.
ness in the domain of Information Technology. Braithwaite, V. A., & Levi, M. (1998). Trust
Information Systems Research, 9(2), 204–215. and governance. New York, NY: Russell Sage
doi:10.1287/isre.9.2.204 Foundation.
AlOmari, A., & AlOmari, H. (2006). Egov Carter, L., & Belanger, F. (2004). Citizen adop
ernment readiness assessment model. Journal of tion of electronic government initiatives. In The
Computer Science, 2(11), 841–845. doi:10.3844/ Proceedings of the 37th Hawaii International
jcssp.2006.841.845 Conference on System Sciences.
553
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
Carter, L., & Belanger, F. (2005). The utiliza Dibben, M. R., Morris, S., & Lean, M. E. J. (2000).
tion of egovernment services: Citizen trust, Situational trust and cooperative partnerships be
innovation and acceptance factors. Information tween physicians and their patients: A theoretical
Systems Journal, 15(1), 2–25. doi:10.1111/j.1365 explanation transferable from business practice.
2575.2005.00183.x The Quarterly Journal of Medicine, 93(1), 55–61.
F
doi:10.1093/qjmed/93.1.55
Chau, P. Y. K., Hu, P. J.H., Lee, B. L. P., & Au,
A. K. K. (2007). Examining customers’ trust in Egger, F. N. (2003). From interactions to transac
O
online vendors and dropouts: An empirical study. tion: Designing the trust experience for business
Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, toconsumer electronic commerce. Unpublished
O
6(2), 171–182. doi:10.1016/j.elerap.2006.11.008 Ph.D. Thesis, Technische University.
Clark, E. (2003). Managing the transformation to Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude,
R
egovernment: An Australian perspective. Thun intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory
derbird International Business Review, 45(4), and research. Reading, MA: AddisonWesley.
P
377. doi:10.1002/tie.10087
W8/>*/%B+a?B+N(*%/8u(B+L?B+z+N())"/B+!?+Qdoo^R?+
Cofta, P. (2006). Convergence and trust in ecom The role played by perceived usability, satisfaction
L
merce. BT Technology Journal, 24(2), 214–218. and consumer trust on website loyalty. Informa
doi:10.1007/s1055000600634 tion & Management, 43(1), 1–14. doi:10.1016/j.
A
im.2005.01.002
Corbitta, B. J., Thanasankit, T., & Yi, H. (2003).
B
Trust and ecommerce: A study of consumer Gambetta, D. (1988). Can we trust trust? In
perceptions. Electronic Commerce Research and Gambetta, D. (Ed.), Trust: Making and breaking
Applications, 2(3), 203–225. doi:10.1016/S1567 cooperative relations. Basil Blackwell Ltd.
O
4223(03)000243
Gefen, D. (2000). Ecommerce: The role of fa
L
Dasgupta, P. (1998). Trust as a commodity. In miliarity and trust. The international Journal of
D. Gambetta (Ed.), Trust: Making and break Management Science, 28, 725737.
G
ing cooperative relations (electronic ed.). Basil
Gefen, D., Karahanna, E., & Straub, D. (2003a).
Blackwell Ltd.
I
Trust and TAM in online shopping: An integrated
Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, model. Management Information Systems Quar
G
perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of terly, 27(1), 51–90.
I
Information Technology. Management Infor
Gefen, D., Rao, V. S., & Tractinsky, N. (2003b).
mation Systems Quarterly, 13(3), 319–340.
The conceptualization of trust, risk and their re
doi:10.2307/249008
lationship in electronic commerce: The need for
Davis, F. D., Bagozzi, R. P., & Warshaw, P. R. clarifications. Paper presented at the The 36th
(1989). User acceptance of computer technology: Hawaii International Conference on System Sci
A comparison of two theoretical models. Man ences, Hawaii, USA.
agement Science, 35(8), 982–1003. doi:10.1287/
Gefen, D., & Straub, D. (2004). Consumer trust
mnsc.35.8.982
in B2C ecommerce and the importance of social
Deutsch, M. (1958). Trust and suspicion. The presence: experiments in eproducts and eser
Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2(4), 265–279. vices. The international Journal of Management
doi:10.1177/002200275800200401 Science, 32, 407424.
554
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
Greenbaum, T. L. (2000). Moderating focus Kim, E., & Tadisina, S. (2004). Factors impacting
groups: A practical guide for group facilitation. customers’ initial trust in ebusinesses: An em
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. pirical study. In Proceedings of the 38th Annual
Hawaii International Conference on System Sci
Gulati, R. (1995). Does familiarity breed trust?
ences (HICSS’05) (p. 170b). Big Island, Hawaii.
F
The implications of repeated ties for contractual
choices in alliances. Academy of Management Koufaris, M., & HamptonSosa, W. (2004). The
Journal, 38(1), 85–112. doi:10.2307/256729 development of initial trust in an online company
O
by new customers. Information & Management,
Horst, M., Kuttschreuter, M., & Gutteling, J. M.
41(3), 337–397. doi:10.1016/j.im.2003.08.004
(2007). Perceived usefulness, personal experi
O
ences, risk perception and trust as determinants Kramer, R. M., & Isen, A. M. (1994). Trust and
of adoption of egovernment services in The distrust: Its psychological and social dimen
R
Netherlands. Computers in Human Behavior, sions. Motivation and Emotion, 18(2), 105–107.
23(4), 1838–1852. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2005.11.003 doi:10.1007/BF02249395
P
Hosmer, L. T. (1995). Trust: The connecting link Krueger, R. A. (1998). Moderating focus groups.
between organizational theory and philosophical Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
L
ethics. Academy of Management Review, 20(2),
Lane, C., & Bachmann, R. (1996). The social con
379–403.
A
stitution of trust: Supplier relations in Britain and
Humphery, J., & Schmitz, H. (1998). Trust and Germany. Organization Studies, 17(3), 365–395.
B
inter firm relations in developing and transition doi:10.1177/017084069601700302
economies. The Journal of Development Studies,
Lewicki, R. J., Tomlinson, E. C., & Gillespie, N.
34(4), 32–61. doi:10.1080/00220389808422528
O
(2006). Models of interpersonal trust development:
Jones, K., & Leonard, L. N. K. (2008). Trust in Theoretical approaches, empirical evidence, and
L
consumertoconsumer electronic commerce. future directions. Journal of Management, 32(6),
Information & Management, 45(2), 88–95. 991–1022. doi:10.1177/0149206306294405
G
doi:10.1016/j.im.2007.12.002
Litoselliti, L. (2003). Using focus groups in re
I
Karahanna, E., Straub, D., & Chervany, N. L. search. London, UK: Continuum.
(1998). Information Technology adoption across
Luhmann, N. (1979). Trust and power. Great
G
time: A crosssectional comparison of pre
Britain: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
I
adoption and postadoption beliefs. Management
Information Systems Quarterly, 9(2), 183–207. Luhmann, N. (1988). Familiarity, confidence,
trust: Problems and alternatives . In Gambetta,
Karvonen, K. (1999). Creating trust. In Proceed
D. (Ed.), Trust: Making and breaking cooperative
ings of the Fourth Nordic Workshop on Secure IT
relations. Basil Blackwell Ltd.
Systems (Nordsec ’99) (pp. 2136). Kista, Sweden.
May, T. (2001). Social research: Issues, methods
Kee, H. W., & Knox, R. E. (1970). Concep
and process (3rd ed.). Buckingham, UK: Open
tual and methodological considerations in
University Press.
the study of trust and suspicion. The Jour
nal of Conflict Resolution, 14(3), 357–266. Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., & Schoorman, F. D.
doi:10.1177/002200277001400307 (1995). An integrative model of organizational
trust. Academy of Management Review, 20(3),
709–734.
555
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
McAllister, D. J. (1995). Affect and cognition Morgan, D. L., & Scannell, A. U. (1998). Plan
based trust as foundations for interpersonal coop ning focus groups. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
eration. Academy of Management Journal, 38(1), Publications.
24–59. doi:10.2307/256727
Nah, F. F.H., & Davis, S. (2002). HCI research
F
McKnight, D., Cummings, L. L., & Chervany, N. issues in electronic commerce. Journal of Elec
L. (1998). Initial trust formation in new organi tronic Commerce Research, 3(3), 98–113.
zational relationships. Academy of Management
O
National Research Council. (2002). Information
Review, 23(2), 473–490.
Technology research, innovation, and egover
McKnight, D. H., & Chervany, N. L. (2001). nemnt. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
O
Conceptualizing trust: A typology and ecommerce
Parent, M., Vandebeek, C. A., & Gemino, A. C.
customer relationships model. Paper presented
R
(2005). Building citizen trust through egovern
at the 34th Hawaii International Conference on
ment. Government Information Quarterly, 22(4),
System Sciences.
P
720–736. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2005.10.001
McKnight, D. H., & Chervany, N. L. (2002). What
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and
trust means in ecommerce customer relation
L
evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks,
ships: an interdisciplinary conceptual typology.
CA: Sage Publications.
International Journal of Electronic Commerce,
A
6(2), 35–53. Pavlou, P. (2002). Institutionbased trust in inter
organizational exchange relationships: The role
B
McKnight, D. H., & Choudhury, V. (2006).
of online B2B marketplaces on trust formation.
Distrust and trust in B2C ecommerce: Do they
The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 11,
differ? Paper presented at the 8th International
O
215–243. doi:10.1016/S09638687(02)000173
Conference on Electronic Commerce: The new
L
ecommerce: Innovations for Conquering Current Pavlou, P., & Fygenson, M. (2006). Understand
Barriers, Obstacles and Limitations to Conducting ing and predicting electronic commerce adoption:
G
Successful Business on the Internet. an extension of the theory of planned behavior.
Management Information Systems Quarterly,
McKnight, D. H., Choudhury, V., & Kacmar, C.
I
30(1), 115–143.
(2002a). Developing and validating trust mea
sures for ecommerce: An integrative typology. Pavlou, P., Tan, Y.H., & Gefen, D. (2003a).
G
Information Systems Research, 13(3), 334–359. Institutional trust and familiarity in online in
I
doi:10.1287/isre.13.3.334.81 terorganizational relationships. Paper presented
at the 11th European Conference on Information
McKnight, D. H., Choudhury, V., & Kacmar,
Systems, ECIS 2003, Naples, Italy.
C. (2002b). The impact of initial consumer
trust on intentions to transact with a web site: Pavlou, P., Tan, Y.H., & Gefen, D. (2003b). The
trust building model. The Journal of Strategic transitional role of institutional trust in online
Information Systems, 11, 297–323. doi:10.1016/ interorganizational relationships. Paper presented
S09638687(02)000203 at the 36th Hawaii International Conference on
System Sciences (HICSS’03).
McKnight, D. H., Kacmar, C., & Choudhury, V.
(2004). Dispositional trust and distrust distinc Rotter, J. B. (1971). Generalized expectancies for
tions in predicting high and lowrisk Internet interpersonal trust. The American Psychologist,
expert advice site perceptions. eService Journal, 26(5), 443–452. doi:10.1037/h0031464
3(2), 3555.
556
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
Rotter, J. B. (1980). Interpersonal trust, trustwor Tassabehji, R., & Elliman, T. (2006). Generating
thiness, and gullibility. The American Psycholo citizen trust in egovernment using a trust veri
gist, 35(1), 1–7. doi:10.1037/0003066X.35.1.1 fication agent: a research note. Paper presented
at the European and Mediterranean Conference
Schaupp, L. C., & Carter, L. (2005). Evoting:
on Information Systems (EMCIS), Costa Blanca,
F
from apathy to adoption. Journal of Enterprise
Alicante, Spain.
Information Management, 18(5), 586–601.
doi:10.1108/17410390510624025 UNPAN. (2008). United Nations egovernment
O
survey 2008: From egovernment to connected
Schlenker, B. R., Helm, B., & Tedeschi, J. T.
governance. New York, NY: United Nations
(1973). The effects of personality and situational
O
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Divi
variables on behavioral trust. Journal of Person
sion of Public Administration and Development
ality and Social Psychology, 25(3), 419–427.
R
Management.
doi:10.1037/h0034088
Venkatesh, V., & Davis, F. D. (2000). A theo
P
Shapiro, S. P. (1987). The social control of im
retical extension of the technology acceptance
personal trust. American Journal of Sociology,
model: Four longitudinal field studies. Manage
93(3), 623–658. doi:10.1086/228791
L
ment Science, 46(2), 186–204. doi:10.1287/
ShartsHopko, N. C. (2001). Focus group meth mnsc.46.2.186.11926
A
odology: When and why? The Journal of the As
Walden, G. R. (2006). Focus group inter
sociation of Nurses in AIDS Care, 12(4), 89–91.
viewing in the library literature: A selective
B
doi:10.1016/S10553290(06)602203
annotated bibliography 1996–2005. RSR.
Sheppard, B. H., Hartwick, J., & Warshaw, P. Reference Services Review, 34(2), 222–241.
O
R. (1988). The theory of reasoned action: A doi:10.1108/00907320610669461
metaanalysis of past research with recommenda
L
Wang, Y. D., & Emurian, H. H. (2005). Trust
tions for modifications and future research. The
in ecommerce: Consideration of interface de
Journal of Consumer Research, 15(3), 325–343.
G
sign factors. Journal of Electronic Commerce
doi:10.1086/209170
in Organizations, 3(4), 42–60. doi:10.4018/
I
Stephens, R. T. (2004). A framework for the iden jeco.2005100103
tification of electronic commerce design elements
Warkentin, M., Gefen, D., Pavlou, P., & Rose, G. M.
G
that enable trust within the small hotel industry.
(2002). Encouraging citizen adoption of egovern
I
In Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Southeast
ment by building trust. Electronic Markets, 12(3),
Regional Conference (pp. 309314). Huntsville,
157–162. doi:10.1080/101967802320245929
AL: ACM.
Sterman, J. D. (2001). System dynamics modeling:
(2005). Linking citizen satisfaction with e
Tools for learning in a complex world. California
government and trust in government. Journal
Management Review, 43(4), 8–25.
of Public Administration: Research and Theory,
Studio Archetype/Sapient, & Cheskin Research. 15(3), 371–391. doi:10.1093/jopart/mui021
(1999). Ecommerce trust study.
Williamson, O. E. (1993). Calculativeness, trust,
and economic organization. The Journal of Law &
Economics, 36(1), 453–486. doi:10.1086/467284
557
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
Yang, Y., Hu, Y., & Chen, J. (2005). A Web trust Chen, Y.H. H., & Corkindale, D. (2008).
inducing model for ecommerce and empirical Towards an understanding of the behavioral
research. Paper presented at the 7th international intention to use online news services: An explor
conference on Electronic commerce. atory study. Internet Research, 18(3), 286–312.
doi:10.1108/10662240810883326
F
Zand, D. E. (1972). Trust and mangagerial problem
solving. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17(2), Grandison, T. (2007). Conceptions of trust:
229–239. doi:10.2307/2393957 Definition, constructs, and models . In Song, R.,
O
Korba, L., & Yee, G. (Eds.), Trust in eservices:
Zhang, X., & Zhang, Q. (2005). Online trust form
Technologies, practices, and challenges (pp.
ing mechanism: Approaches and an integrated
O
1–28). Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing.
model Paper presented at the 7th international
doi:10.4018/9781599042077.ch001
conference on Electronic commerce, Xi’an, China.
R
Han, L., & Jin, Y. (2009). A review of technology
acceptance model in the ecommerce environment.
P
In 2009 International Conference on Management
ADDITIONAL READING
of eCommerce and eGovernment (pp. 2831).
L
Alsaghier, H., Ford, M., Nguyen, A., & Hexel, Nanchang, China.
R. (2009a). Conceptualising citizen’s trust in Horst, M., Kuttschreuter, M., & Gutteling, J. M.
A
egovernment: Application of Q methodology (2007). Perceived usefulness, personal experi
Electronic Journal of eGovernment (EJEG), ences, risk perception and trust as determinants
B
7(4), 295310. of adoption of egovernment services in The
Alsaghier, H., Ford, M., Nguyen, A., & Hexel, R. Netherlands. Computers in Human Behavior,
O
(2009b). Development of an instrument to measure 23(4), 1838–1852. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2005.11.003
L
theoretical constructs of a model of citizens’ trust Jaeger, P. T., & Matteson, M. (2009). Egovern
in egovernment. University of Westminster. In ment and technology acceptance: The case of
Proceedings of the 9th European Conference on
G
the implementation of section 508 guidelines for
eGovernment (pp. 6577). London, UK. websites. Electronic . Journal of EGovernment,
I
BarzilaiNahon, K., & Scholl, H. J. J. (2007). 7(1), 87–98.
Similarities and differences of ecommerce and Jones, K., & Leonard, L. N. K. (2008). Trust in
G
egovernment: Insights from a pilot study. In The consumertoconsumer electronic commerce.
I
Proceedings of the 40th Hawaii International Information & Management, 45(2), 88–95.
Conference on System Sciences. doi:10.1016/j.im.2007.12.002
Belanger, F., & Carter, L. (2008). Trust and risk in Kong, W.c., & Hung, Y.T. C. (2006). Modeling
egovernment adoption. The Journal of Strategic initial and repeat online trust in B2C Ecommerce.
Information Systems, 17, 165–176. doi:10.1016/j. In The Proceedings of the 39th Hawaii Interna
jsis.2007.12.002 tional Conference on System Sciences.
CheeWee, T., Benbasat, I., & Cenfetelli, R. T. Lam, W. (2005). Barriers to egovernment
(2008). Building citizen trust towards egovern integration. Journal of Enterprise Infor
ment services: Do high quality websites matter? mation Management, 18(5/6), 511–530.
In Proceedings of the 41st Hawaii International doi:10.1108/17410390510623981
Conference on System Sciences.
558
D$%#"A1(/8*O/1*$%+$-+?)(@1+*%+15"+";<$=")%."%1+D$%1"Q1
McKnight, D. H., & Choudhury, V. (2006). Tang, T.W., & Chi, W.H. (2005). The role of trust
Distrust and trust in B2C ecommerce: Do they in customer online shopping behavior: Perspective
differ? Paper presented at the 8th International of technology acceptance model. Paper presented
Conference on Electronic Commerce: The new at the NAACSOS Conference 2005 Indiana, USA.
ECommerce: Innovations for Conquering Current
F
Teo, T. S. H., & Liu, J. (2007). Consumer trust in
Barriers, Obstacles and Limitations to Conducting
ecommerce in the United States, Singapore and
Successful Business on the Internet.
China. The international Journal of Management
O
McKnight, D. H., & Kacmar, C. (2006). Factors of Science, 35, 2238.
information credibility for an Internet advice site.
Tolbert, C., & Mossberger, K. (2006). The effects
O
Paper presented at the 39th Hawaii International
of egovernment on trust and confidence in gov
Conference on System Sciences 2006.
ernment. Public Administration Review, 66(3),
R
Misra, D. C. (2006). Defining egovernment: A 354–369. doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2006.00594.x
citizencentric criteriabased approach. Paper
P
Wang, Y. D., & Emurian, H. H. (2005). An over
presented at the 10th National Conference on
view of online trust: Concepts, elements, and
eGovernance.
implications. Computers in Human Behavior, 21,
L
Riegelsberger, J., Sasse, M. A., & McCarthy, J. 105–125. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2003.11.008
D. (2005). The mechanics of trust: A framework
A
Wangpipatwong, S., Chutimaskul, W., & Papasra
for research and design. International Journal
torn, B. (2008). Understanding citizen’s continu
of HumanComputer Studies, 62, 381–422.
B
ance intention to use e government website: A
doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2005.01.001
composite view of technology acceptance model
Schwester, R. (2009). Examining the barriers to and computer selfefficacy. Electronic . Journal
O
egovernment adoption. Electronic . Journal of of EGovernment, 6(1), 55–64.
L
EGovernment, 7(1), 113–122.
Seifert, J. W. (2008). A primer on egovernment: (2005). Linking citizen satisfaction with e
G
Sectors, stages, opportunities, and challenges of government and trust in government. Journal
online governance . In Ventura, R. B. (Ed.), E of Public Administration: Research and Theory,
I
government in high gear. New York, NY: Nova 15(3), 371–391. doi:10.1093/jopart/mui021
Science Publishers.
G
Zhang, J., Ghorbani, A. A., & Cohen, R. (2007). A
I
Srivastava, S. C., & Teo, T. S. H. (2009). Citizen familiaritybased trust model for effective selec
trust development for egovernment adoption and tion of sellers in multiagent ecommerce systems.
usage: Insights from young adults in Singapore. International Journal of Information Security,
Communications of the Association for Informa 6(5), 333–344. doi:10.1007/s102070070025y
tion Systems, 25, 359–378.
559
560
Compilation of References
O F
O
A survey of new media, what sort of revolution? (2006, ActionWorks. (2008). ActionWorks, the action technolo
April 20). The Economist. Retrieved November 20, 2010, gies business process analysis and redesign methodology,
R
from http://www.economist.com/ node/6794256 and the business interaction model. Action Technologies
Inc. Retrieved June 5, 2008, from http://www.actiontech.
P
Aberdeen Group. (2005). Best practices in eprocurement:
com
Reducing costs and increasing value through online
buying. Boston. Adamic, L., & Glance, N. (2005). The political blogo
L
sphere and the 2004 U.S. election: Divided they blog.
Abrahams, L., & Burke, M. (2010). Observing evolution
Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Link
of the information society and eGovernment in Gauteng
A
Discovery. Chicago, IL: ACM SIGKDD
province (vol. 1). (June 2010 Report). LINK Center,
Graduate School of Public and Development Manage Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange . In
B
ment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Berkovitz, L. (Ed.), Advances in experimental social
psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 267–299). New York, NY: Aca
Abrahams, L., & Reid, L. (2008). eGovernance for social
O
demic Press.
and local economic development. Gauteng City Region
L
Perspective, Public Policy Research Paper No 9, LINK Adi, O. N. (2009). Menkominfo: Awal 2010 seluruh
Center, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. desa terjamah internet (Minister of information: in the
beginning of 2010 all of the villages will be connected to
G
Abrahams, L. (2010). Gauteng telecommunications and
internet translated). Jakarta, Indonesia: Detik.
ICT sector 2010. Input paper to the OECD territorial
I
review of Gauteng province. Johannesburg: Gauteng Adler, R. P., & Goggin, J. (2005). What do we mean by
CityRegion Observatory. “civic engagement”? Journal of Transformative Educa
tion, 3(3), 236–253. doi:10.1177/1541344605276792
G
Abramson, J. B., Arterton, F. C., & Orren, G. R. (1988).
I
The electronic commonwealth: The impact of new media Agarwal, S. (2009, April 25). General elections 2009 –
technologies on democratic politics. New York, NY: Steroids for digital media industry. Retrieved October 20,
Basic Books. 2009, from http://www.watblog.com/2009/04/25/ general
elections2009steroidsfordigital mediaindustry/
Ackland, R., & Gibson, R. (2006). Hyperlinks and hori
zontal political communication on the WWW: The untold Agarwal, R., & Paras, J. (1998). A conceptual and op
stories of parties online. Unpublished research. Centre erational definition of personal innovativeness in the
for Social Research, Research School of Social Science, domain of Information Technology. Information Systems
National University of Australia. Research, 9(2), 204–215. doi:10.1287/isre.9.2.204
Ahmed, R. (2008). The state IT master plan. State of

Louisiana. Office of Information Technology.
Ahuja, M. L., & Paul, S. (1992). The 198991 general

elections in India. New Delhi, India: Associated.
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Aichholzer, G., & Westholm, H. (2009). Evaluating e Allen, B. A., Juillet, L., Paquet, G., & Roy, J. (2001). Egov
participation projects: Practical examples and outline of ernance & government online in Canada: Partnerships,
an evaluation framework. European Journal of ePrac people & prospects. Government Information Quarterly,
tice, 7. Retrieved December 14, 2009, from http://www. 18(2), 93–104. doi:10.1016/S0740624X(01)000636
epractice.eu
Alliance for Regional Stewardship. (2001). Empowering
F
Aichholzer, G., & Burkert, H. (2004). Public sector regions: Strategies and tools for community decision
information in the digital age: Between markets, public making. Palo Alto, California. Retrieved from www.
management and citizens’ rights. Northampton, MA: regionalstewardship.org
O
Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.
Almarabeh, T., & AbuAli, A. (2010). A general frame
Aiyar, M. S. (2010, November 24). The dilemma of work for egovernment: definition maturity challenges,
O
development and democracy in India. Address at Nehru opportunities, and success. from http://www.eurojournals.
Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. com/ejsr.htm. European Journal of Scientific Research,
R
39(1), 29–42. Retrieved June 7, 2010
Åkerström, M. (2010). Den kosmetiska demokratin. En
P
studie av den politiska diskursiva praktiken i Sjöbo och AlOmari, A., & AlOmari, H. (2006). Egovernment
Ystad. PhD Dissertation. Lund Studies in Media and readiness assessment model. Journal of Computer Sci
Communication 15. Lund, Sweden: Medie och kom ence, 2(11), 841–845. doi:10.3844/jcssp.2006.841.845
L
munikationsvetenskap.
Alshair, S., & Geray, O. (2005). Dubai egovernment
AlaMutka, K., Broster, D., Cachia, R., Centeno, C., initiative: Concept, achievements and the future pillars
A
Feijóo, C., & Haché, A. (2009). The impact of social of success . In Mishra, S., & Mukherjee, A. (Eds.), E
computing on the EU information society and economy governance in developing nations. Egovernance in de
B
(Tech. Rep. No. EUR 24063 EN). Luxembourg: European veloping nations (pp. 103–130). New Delhi, India: ICFAI.
Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Prospec
Ames, B. (1987). Political survival. Berkeley, CA: Uni
O
tive Technological Studies.
versity of California Press.
L
Albirini, A. (2006). Cultural perceptions: The missing
Ammons, D. (1995). Accountability for performance:
element in the implementation of ICT in developing
Measurement and monitoring in local government.
countries. International Journal of Education and De
G
Washington, DC: International City/County Management
velopment using ICT, 2(1) 4965.
Association.
I
Albrecht, S. (2006). Whose voice is heard in online
Ammons, D. N., & Rivenbark, W. C. (2008). Factors
deliberation? A study of participation and repre
influencing the use of performance data to improve
sentation in political debates on the Internet. Infor
G
municipal services: Evidence from the North Carolina
mation Communication and Society, 9(1), 62–82.
I
Benchmarking Project. Public Administration Review,
doi:10.1080/13691180500519548
68(2), 304–318. doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2007.00864.x
Alexander, J. A., Weiner, B. J., & Griffith, J. (2006).
Andersen, B. R. O. G. (1972). The idea of power in
Quality improvement and hospital financial performance.
Javanese culture . In Holt, C., Andersen, B. R. O. G., &
Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(7), 1003–1029.
Siegel, J. (Eds.), Culture and politics in Indonesia (pp.
doi:10.1002/job.401
1–70). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
AlKhatib, H. (2009). A citizen oriented EGovernment
Andersen, B. R. O. G. (1990). Language of Indonesian
maturity model. Retrieved from http://www.brunel.
politics, language power: Exploring political cultures in
ac.uk/329/BBS%20documents/ PHD%20Doctoral%20
Indonesia. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Symposium% 2009/HalaAlKhatib0632085.pdf
Andersen, K. V. (2004). Egovernment and public sector
process rebuilding (PPR): Dilettantes, wheelbarrows, and
diamonds. Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
561
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Andersen, K. V., & Henriksen, H. Z. (2006). Egovernment Arab Media Outlook. (2010). Dubai, UAE: Dubai Press
maturity models: extension of the Layne and Lee model Club.
. Government Information Quarterly, 23(2), 236–248.
Ashby, R. (1964). An introduction to cybernetics. London,
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2005.11.008
UK: Chapman and Hall.
Andersen, W. K. (1990). Elections in India: The dawn
F
Aspray, W. (Ed.). (2004). Chasing Moore’s law: Informa
of coalition politics. Asian Survey, 30(June), 106–142.
tion technology policy in the United States. Raleigh, NC:
Anderson, E., & Weitz, B. (1989). Determinants of conti Scitech Publishing, Inc.
O
nuity in conventional industrial dyads. Marketing Science,
Astuti, R. S. (2009). 78 Warung masyarakat informasi
8(4), 310–323. doi:10.1287/mksc.8.4.310
didirikan, sosialisasi kurang (trans.: Establishment of
O
Andrejevic, M. (2007). I spy: Surveillance and power 78 information access cafe: lack of socialization) [Elec
in the interactive era. Lawrence, KS: University Press tronic Version]. Kompas. Retrieved from http://tekno.
R
of Kansas. kompas.com
Anduiza, E. (2009). The Internet, election campaigns and Aulakh, P., Kotabe, M., & Sahay, A. (1996). Trust and
P
citizens: State of affairs. Quaderns del CAC, December, performance in crossborder marketing partnerships: A
512. behavioural approach. Journal of International Busi
L
ness Studies, 27(5), 1005–1032. doi:10.1057/palgrave.
Anghern, A. (1997). Designing mature Internet busi
jibs.8490161
ness strategies: The ICDT model. European Manage
A
ment Journal, 15(4), 361–368. doi:10.1016/S0263 Axelrod, R., & Cohen, M. D. (1999). Harnessing complex
2373(97)000169 ity: Organizational implications of a scientific frontier.
B
New York, NY: The Free Press, Simon & Schuster.
Annamalai, V. (2009). Egovernance at Panchayat level:
Role of infrastructure in ICT development . In Misra, Azab, N. A. (2009). Assessing electronic government
O
H. (Ed.), Governance of rural information and com readiness of public organizations. Communications of
munication technologies: Opportunities and challenges the IBIMA, 8, 95–106.
L
(pp. 217–227). New Delhi, India: Academic Foundation.
Bachen, C., Raphael, Ch., Lynn, K. M., McKee,
Anstead, N., & Chadwick, A. (2007). Parties, election K., & Philippi, J. (2008). Civic engagement, peda
G
campaigning and the Internet: Toward a comparative gogy, and Information Technology on websites for
institutional approach. Politics and International Rela youth. Political Communication, 25(3), 290–310.
I
tions working paper. Retrieved February 16, 2008, from doi:10.1080/10584600802197525
http://newpolcom.rhul.ac.uk
Backus, M. (2001). EGovernance in developing coun
I G
Anton, J., & Yao, D. (1989). Split awards, procurement tries. Research Brief No.1. London, UK: McGraw Hill.
and innovation. The Rand Journal of Economics, 30.
Bagga, R. K., Keniston, K., & Mathur, R. R. (Eds.). (2005).
Anttiroiko, A.V. (2003). Building strong edemocracy — The state, IT and development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
The role of technology in developing democracy for the
Baier, A. (1986). Trust and antitrust. Ethics, 96(2),
information age. ACM Communications, 46(9).
231–260. doi:10.1086/292745
Anttiroiko, A.V., & Malkia, M. (Eds.). (2006). Encyclo
Baker, D. L. (2004). Egovernment: Website usability of
pedia of digital government. Hershey, PA: Idea Group
the most populous counties. Unpublished doctoral dis
Reference (IGI) Publishing.
sertation, Arizona State University.
AP Report. (2008, 12 April). Ummo Youth candidates
Baker, C. E. (2001). Media, markets and democracy. Cam
told: No Blog, no post. The Straits Times. SPH, Singapore.
bridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/
CBO9780511613227
562
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Baker, D. L. (2006). Website usability of the most populous Baum, C. H., & Di Maio, A. (2000). Gartner’s four phases
counties in the United States. Journal of EGovernment, of eGovernment model. Gartner Group, Research note.
3(3), 65–89. doi:10.1300/J399v03n03_04 Retrieved from http://www.gartner.com
Baker, D. L. (2009). Advancing egovernment perfor Baum, C., & Maio, D. (2000). Gartner’s four phases of
mance in the United Sates through enhanced usability egovernment model. Gartner’s group.
F
benchmarks. Government Information Quarterly, 26(1),
Bauman, Z. (2001). The individualized society. Cam
82–88. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2008.01.004
bridge, UK: Polity Press.
O
Ball, A., Bowerman, M., & Hawksworth, S. (2000). Bench
Baumgartner, J. C., & Morris, J. S. (2010). MyFaceTube
marking in local government under a central government
politics: Social networking sites and political engagement
agenda. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 7(1),
O
of young adults. Social Science Computer Review, 28(1),
20–34. doi:10.1108/14635770010314927
24–44. doi:10.1177/0894439309334325
R
Bang, H. (2003). Governance as social and political com
Bauwens, M. (2005a). P2P and human evolution. Peer
munication . In Bang, H. (Ed.), Governance as social and
to peer as the premise of a new mode of civilization.
P
political communication. Manchester, UK: Manchester
Retrieved from http://integralvisioning.org/ article.
University Press.
php?story=p2ptheory1
L
Banisar, D. (2004). The freedominfo.org global survey:
Beckett, J., & King, C. (2002). The challenge to improve
Freedom of information and access to government records
citizen participation in public budgeting: A discussion.
laws around the world. Retrieved from http://www.free
A
Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & . Financial
dominfo.org/ documents/ global_survey2004.pdf
Management, 14(3), 463–485.
B
Barabel, M. (2010). Les médias sociaux au service du mar
Beck, U. (1998). Risksamhället: På väg mot en andra
keting territorial: Une approche exploratoire . Management
modernitet. Göteborg, Sweden: Daidalos.
& Avenir, 2(32), 233–253. doi:10.3917/mav.032.0233
O
Bedi, A. S., Manda, D. K., Nafula, N. N., & Kimalu, P.
Barber, B. (1983). Logic and limits of trust. New Jersey:
L
K. (2001). Primary school enrolment in Kenya. Draft
Rutgers University.
KIPPRA Discussion Paper.
Barber, B., Mattson, K., & Peterson, J. (1997). The state
G
Beer, S. (1984). The viable system model: Its provenance,
of “electronically enhanced democracy”: A survey of the
development, methodology and pathology. The Journal
Internet. New Brunswick, NJ: Walt Whitman Center for
I
of the Operational Research Society, 35(1), 7–25.
the Culture and Politics of Democracy, Rutgers University.
Behn, R. D. (2008). What all mayors would like to know
Barbiero, A., Osimo, D., & Spagnolo, L. (2001). L’e
G
about Baltimore’s CitiStat performance strategy. Wash
I
procurement nella pubblica amministrazione. Guida
ington, DC: IBM Center for The Business of Government.
pratica all’acquisto on line di beni e servizi. Rimini,
Italy: Maggioli. Bekkers, V. J. J. M., & Zouridis, S. (1999). Electronic
service delivery in public administration: Some trends
Barnard, F. M. (2003). Democratic legitimacy: Plural
and issues. International Review of Administrative Sci
values and political power. California: McGill.
ences, 65(2), 183–196. doi:10.1177/0020852399652004
Barney, D. (2004). The network society. Malden, MA:
Béland, D. (2007). The social exclusion discourse: Ideas
Polity Press.
and policy change. Policy and Politics, 35(1), 123–139.
Basu, S. (2004). Egovernment and developing countries: doi:10.1332/030557307779657757
An overview. International Review of Law Computers
Belanger, F., & Carter, L. (2008). Trust and risk in e
& Technology, 18(1), 109–132. doi:10.1080/13600860
government adoption. The Journal of Strategic Informa
410001674779
tion Systems, 17, 165–176. doi:10.1016/j.jsis.2007.12.002
563
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Bélanger, F., & Carter, L. (2009). The impact of the Berman, E., & Wang, X. (2000). Performance measure
digital divide on egovernment use. Communications of ment is U.S. counties: Capacity for reform. Public Ad
the ACM, 52(4), 132–135. doi:10.1145/1498765.1498801 ministration Review, 60(5), 409–420. doi:10.1111/0033
3352.00104
Bellamy, R. (2008). Citizenship: A very short introduction.
New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Bertalanffy, L. V. (1976). General system theory: Foun
F
dations, development, applications. George Braziller.
Bell, D. (1973). The coming of postindustrial society: A
venture in social forecasting. New York, NY: Basic Books. Bertilsson, T. M. (2004). The elementary forms of
O
pragmatism: On different types of abduction. Eu
Bench Marks Foundation. (2009). Action voices. moni
ropean Journal of Social Theory, 7(3), 371–389.
toringACTION project. Johannesburg: The Bench Marks
doi:10.1177/1368431004044199
O
Foundation.
Bertot, J. C., & Jaeger, P. T. (2006). Usercentered e
Benedicto, J. (2008). La juventud frente a la política:
R
government: Challenges and benefits for government Web
¿Desenganchada, escéptica, alternativa o las tres cosas
sites. Government Information Quarterly, 23, 163–168.
a la vez? Revista de Estudios de Juventud. Monográfico
P
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.02.001
Jóvenes y participación política: investigaciones Euro
peas, 81, 1328. Retrieved August 14, 2009, from http:// Bevir, M. (2009). Key concepts in governance. London,
L
www.injuve.mtas.es/injuve/ contenidos.downloadatt. UK: Sage.
action? id=1583601195
Bhatnagar, D., Rathore, A., Torres, M. M., & Kanungo,
A
Benedicto, J., & López, A. (Eds.). (2008). Jóvenes y par P. (2003). Participatory budgeting in Brazil. Case study
ticipación política: Investigaciones Europeas. Revista de prepared for World Bank, September 2003. Retrieved from
B
Estudios de Juventud. Monográfico, 81. Retrieved August http://siteresources.worldbank.org/ INTEMPOWER
14, 2009, from http://www.injuve.mtas.es/injuve/ conteni MENT/Resources/ 14657_ParticBudgBrazilweb.pdf
dos.item.action?id=1809373756& menuId=1223021499
O
Bhatnagar, S. (2004). Egovernment from vision to imple
Benkler, Y. (2006). The wealth of networks. How social mentation. New Delhi, India: Sage.
L
production transforms markets and freedom. New Haven,
Bhattacherjee, A. (2002). Individual trust in online firms:
CT: Yale University Press.
scale development and initial trust. Journal of Manage
G
Bennett, L. (1998). The uncivic culture: Communication, ment Information Systems, 19(1), 213–243.
identity, and the rise of lifestyle politics. Political Science
I
Bicking, M., & Wimmer, M. (2009). Evaluation frame
and Politics, 31(4), 740–761. doi:10.2307/420711
work to assess eparticipation projects in Europe. In E.
Bennett, W. L. (2008). Changing citizenship in the cigital Tambouris & A. Macintosh (Eds.), Proceedings of the
I G
age . In Bennett, W. L. (Ed.), Civic life online: Learning DEXA ePart2009 Conference, (pp. 6775). Linz, Austria:
how digital media can engage youth (pp. 1–24). Cam Trauner Verlag.
bridge, MA: The MIT Press. The John D. and Catherine
Bies, R. J., & Shapiro, D. L. (1987). Interactional fair
T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and
ness judgments: The influence of causal accounts. Social
Learning.
Justice Research, 1, 199–218. doi:10.1007/BF01048016
Bentivegna, S. (2006). Rethinking politics in the world
Bimber, B. (1998). The Internet and political transforma
of ICTs. European Journal of Communication, 21(3),
tion: Populism, community, and accelerated pluralism.
331–343. doi:10.1177/0267323106066638
Polity, 31, 133–160. doi:10.2307/3235370
Berman, B. J. C. (2006). The voices of the people: Miss
Bimber, B. (1999). The Internet and citizen com
ing links in performance measurement and management.
munication with government: Does the medium
Government Finance Review, 22(3), 16–20.
matter? Political Communication, 16(4), 409–428.
doi:10.1080/105846099198569
564
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Bimber, B. (2001). Information and political engage Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism: Perspective
ment in America: The search for effects of information and method. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: PrenticeHall.
technology at the individual level. Political Research
Blumler, J. G. (1987). Election communication and
Quarterly, 54(1), 53–67.
the democratic political system . In Paletz, D. L. (Ed.),
Bimber, B. (2003). Information and American Democracy: Political communication research Approaches, studies,
F
Technology in the evolution of political power. Cam assessments. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
Bonet, E., Martín, I., & Montero, J. R. (2007). Las actitudes
CBO9780511615573
O
políticas de los españoles . In Montero, J. R., Font, J., &
Bimber, B., & Davis, R. (2003). Campaigning online: Torcal, M. (Eds.), Ciudadanos, asociaciones y partici
The Internet in U.S. elections. New York, NY: Oxford pación en España (pp. 105–132). Madrid, Spain: CIS.
O
University Press.
Borgonovi, E. (2002). Quando razionalizzazione, priva
R
Bingham, L., Nabatchi, T., & O’Leary, R. (2005). The new tizzazione, aziendalizzazione fanno rima con confusione.
governance: Practices and processes for stakeholder and Mecosan, 42, 2–6.
P
citizen participation in the work of government. Public
Borgonovi, E. (2004). Eprocurement in sanità: dalla logica
Administration Review, 65(5), 547–558. doi:10.1111/
di modello alla logica di processo. Mecosan, 41, 2–5.
j.15406210.2005.00482.x
L
Borneo Bulletin. (2010, 22 October). eGovernment and
Biocca, F., Harms, C., & Burgoon, J. K. (2003). Toward a
IT usage unsatisfactory. Borneo Bulletin. Retrieved from
more robust theory and measure of social presence: Review
A
http://www.brudirect.com/index.php/ 2010102131687/
and suggested criteria. Presence (Cambridge, Mass.),
FirstStories/eGovernmentandit usageunsatisfactory.
12(5), 456–480. doi:10.1162/105474603322761270
B
html
Bird, S. M., Cox, D., Farewell, V. T., Goldstein, H., Holt,
Bos, N., Olson, J. S., Gergle, D., Olson, G. M., & Wright,
T., & Smith, P. C. (2005). Performance indicators: Good,
O
Z. (2002). Rich media helps trust development. In Pro
bad, and ugly. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society.
ceedings of CHI 2002 (pp. 135140). New York, NY:
L
Series A (General), 168(1), 1–27.
ACM Press.
Bititci, U. S., Turner, T., & Begemann, C. (2000). Dynam
Boulianne, S. (2009). Does internet use affect engagement?
G
ics of performance measurement systems. International
A metaanalysis of research. Political Communication,
Journal of Operations & Production Management, 20(6),
26(2), 193–211. doi:10.1080/10584600902854363
I
692–704. doi:10.1108/01443570010321676
Bouquillion, P., & Pailliart, I. (2006). Le déployement
Blatrix, C. (2009). La démocratie participative en
des TIC dans les territories. Grenoble, France: Presses
G
représentation. Sociétés Contemporaines, 74(2), 97–119.
I
Universitaires de Grenoble.
doi:10.3917/soco.074.0097
Bourdieu, P. (1985). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson
Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life.
(Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology
New York, NY: Wiley.
of education, (pp. 241258). Greenwood Press.
Blomgren Bingham, L., Nabatchi, T., & O’Leary, R.
Bowerman, M., Ball, A., & Francis, G. (2001). Benchmark
(2005). The new governance: Practices and processes
ing as a tool for the modernisation of local government.
for stakeholder and citizen participation in the work of
Financial Accountability & Management, 17(4), 321–329.
government. Public Administration Review, 65(5), 1–12.
doi:10.1111/14680408.00136
Blossom, J. (2009). Content nation. Surviving and thriv
boyd, D. & Heer, J. (2006). Profiles as conversation: Net
ing as social media changes our work, our lives and our
worked identity performance on Friendster. In, Proceed
future. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing.
ings of the Hawaii International Conference on System
Sciences, HICSS39, IEEE, Kauai, HI, January 4 – 7.
565
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
boyd, D. (2006). Social network sites: My definition. Brennan, G., & Lomasky, L. E. (1993). Democracy and
Retrieved March 2007, from http://many.cornate.com/ decision: The pure theory of electoral preference. Cam
archives/ 2006/11/12/ social_network_sites_my_defini bridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
tion.php.
Brinck, T., Gergle, D., & Wood, S. D. (2002). Designing
Boyd, D. M. (2007). Why youth (heart) social network web sites that work: Usability for the web. San Francisco,
F
sites: The role of networked publics in teenage social CA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
life. In D. Buckingham (Ed.), Youth, identity, and digital
Bringué, X., & Sádaba, C. (2009). La generación interac
Media (pp. 119142). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
O
tiva en España. Niños y adolescentes ante las pantallas.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Se
Madrid, Spain: Ariel. Colección Fundación Telefónica.
ries on Digital Media and Learning. boyd, D. M. (2008).
Retrieved August 14, 2010, from http://www.generacio
O
Taken out of context. American teen sociality in networked
nesinteractivas.org/ ?page_id=1678
publics. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of
R
California, Berkeley. Retrieved August 14, 2010, from Brinkerhoff, D. W., & Crosby, B. L. (2002). Managing
http://www.danah.org/papers/ TakenOutOfContext.pdf policy reform: concepts and tools for decision makers
P
in developing and transition countries. Bloomfield, CT:
boyd, D., & Scott, G., & Gilad, L. (2010). Tweet, Tweet,
Kumarian Press.
Retweet: Conversational aspects of retweeting on Twitter.
L
HICSS43, IEEE, Kauai, HI, January 6. Brint, S., & Levy, C. (1999). Professions and civic en
gagement: Trends in rhetoric and practice 18751995 .
Boyne, G. A. (1997). Comparing the performance of
In Skocpol, T., & Fiorina, M. (Eds.), Civic engagement
A
local authorities: An evaluation of the Audit Commis
in American democracy (pp. 163–210). Washington, DC:
sion indicators. Local Government Studies, 23(4), 7–43.
Brookings Institution Press.
B
doi:10.1080/03003939708433884
Brito, J., & Perraut, D. (2010). Transparency and perfor
Boyne, G. A., & Chen, A. A. (2007). Performance tar
mance in government. North Carolina Journal of Law
O
gets and public service improvement. Journal of Public
and Technology, 161. Retrieved from http://cite.ncjolt.
Administration: Research and Theory, 17(3), 455–477.
L
org/ 11NCJOLTOnlineEd161
doi:10.1093/jopart/mul007
Bromley, C., Curtice, J., & Seyd, P. (2004). Is Britain
Boyne, G. A., Meier, K. J., O’Toole, L. J. J., & Walker, R.
G
facing a crisis of democracy?London, UK: UCL Con
M. (2006). Public management and organizational perfor
stitution Unit.
mance: An agenda for research . In Boyne, G. A., Meier,
I
K. J., O’Toole, L. J. J., & Walker, R. M. (Eds.), Public Brown, S. P., & Peterson, R. A. (1994). The effect of ef
service performance: Perspectives on measurement and fort on sales performance and job satisfaction. Journal of
G
management (pp. 295–311). New York, NY: Cambridge Marketing, 58, 70–80. doi:10.2307/1252270
I
University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511488511.016
Bruère, H. (1915). The budget as an administra
Bradley, A. (2008). Five major challenges organiza tive program. The Annals of the American Acad
tions face regarding social software. (Tech. Rep. No. emy of Political and Social Science, 62, 176–191.
G00154985). Stamford, CT: Gartner, Inc. doi:10.1177/000271621506200118
Braithwaite, V. A., & Levi, M. (1998). Trust and gover Brunei EGovernment National Centre. (2010). Retrieved
nance. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation. October 12, 2010, from http://www.egnc.gov.bn/ Pages/
default.aspx website
Brants, K. (2005). Guest editor’s introduction: The Internet
and the public sphere. Political Communication, 22(2), Brunelle, E. (2009). Introducing media richness into an
143–146. doi:10.1080/10584600590933133 integrated model of consumers: Intentions to use online
stores in their purchase process. Journal of Internet Com
merce, 8(3), 222–245. doi:10.1080/15332860903467649
566
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Bruns, A. (2009). Social media: Tools for usergenerated Calista, D., & Melitski, J. (2007). Egovernment and
content. Social drivers behind growing consumer partici egovernance: Converging constructs of public sector
pation in userled content generation: Vol. 2. User engage information and communications technologies. Public
ment strategies. Everleigh, Australia: Smart Services CRC. Administration Quarterly, 31(1).
Buchsbaum, T. M. (2004). Evoting: International devel Camerer, C., Loewenstein, G., & Prelec, D. (2004).
F
opments and lessons learnt . In Prosser, A., & Krimmer, Neuroeconomics: Why economics need brains. The
R. (Eds.), Electronic voting in Europe Technology, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 106(3), 555–579.
law, politics and society (pp. 31–42). Bonn, Germany: doi:10.1111/j.03470520.2004.00377.x
O
Gesellschaft für Informatik.
Cannon, W. (1932). The wisdom of the body. New York,
Burcher, N. (2009, December 31). Facebook usage sta NY: Norton.
O
tistics by country – December 31st 2009. Retrieved March
Capgemini (2007). The user challenge Benchmarking
5, 2010, from http://www.nickburcher.com/ 2009/12/
R
the supply of online public services. 7th Measurement,
facebookusagestatisticsbycountry.html
September 2007. Prepared by Capgemini for the Euro
P
Burmester, M., & Magkos, E. (2003). Towards secure pean Commission, Directorate General for Information
and practical eelections in the new era . In Gritzalis, D. Society and Media. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/
(Ed.), In Secure electronic voting (pp. 63–76). Berlin, information_society/ eeurope/i2010/docs/benchmarking/
L
Germany: Springer. doi:10.1007/9781461502395_5 egov_benchmark_2007.pdf
Buss, T. F., Redburn, F. S., & Guo, K. (Eds.). (2006). Carey, J. W. (1992). Communication as culture. Essays
A
Modernizing democracy: Innovations in citizen participa on media and society. New York, NY: Routledge.
tion. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
B
Carlson, J. R., & Zmud, R. W. (1999). Channel expan
Buss, T., & Tribble, M. (2006). Broadening citizen par sion theory and the experiential nature of media richness
ticipation processes in federal programs: HUD’s CDBG perceptions. Academy of Management Journal, 42(2),
O
programs . In Buss, T., Redburn, F. S., & Guo, K. (Eds.), 153–170. doi:10.2307/257090
L
Modernizing democracy: Innovations in citizen participa
Carmody, P. (2005). Making sense of governance:
tion (pp. 138–155). Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
Empirical evidence from 16 developing countries.
G
Button, G. (2008). Against ‘distributed cogni Perspectives on Politics, 3(2), 100–401. doi:10.1017/
tion’. Theory, Culture & Society, 25(87), 87–105. S153759270566015X
I
doi:10.1177/0263276407086792
Carmona, S., & Gronlund, A. (2003). Measures vs
Bwalya, K. J., & Healy, M. (2010). Harnessing e actions: The balanced scorecard in Swedish law
G
government adoption in the SADC region: A conceptual enforcement. International Journal of Operations
I
underpinning. Electronic . Journal of EGovernment, & Production Management, 23(12), 1475–1496.
8(1), 23–32. doi:10.1108/01443570310506722
C. Fraser, N. L. (2006). DEMOnet: Deliverable 5.1 Carrizales, T. (2008). Critical factors in an electronic de
Report on current ICTs to enable participation. DEMO mocracy: A study of municipal managers. The Electronic
net Consortium. . Journal of EGovernment, 6(1), 23–30.
Caarls, S. (2010). Evoting handbook Key steps in the Carter, L., & Belanger, F. (2004). Citizen adoption of
implementation of eenabled elections. Strasbourg, France: electronic government initiatives. In The Proceedings
Council of Europe Publishing. of the 37th Hawaii International Conference on System
Sciences.
Cachia, R. (2008). Social computing: Study on the use and
impact of online social networking. IPTS exploratory re
search on the socioeconomic impact of social computing.
Retrieved from http://ftp.jrc.es/EURdoc/JRC48650.pdf
567
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Carter, L., & Belanger, F. (2005). The utilization of Castelnovo, W., & Simonetta, M. (2007). The public
egovernment services: Citizen trust, innovation and value evaluation of egovernment policies. The Electronic
acceptance factors. Information Systems Journal, 15(1), Journal of Information System Evaluation, 11(2), 61–72.
2–25. doi:10.1111/j.13652575.2005.00183.x
Census of India. (2001). Retreived from http://www.
Carvalho, J., Fernandes, M., Lambert, V., & Lapsley, I. censusindia.gov.in/ Census_Data_2001/India_at_glance/
F
(2006). Measuring fire service performance: A compara rural.aspx
tive study. International Journal of Public Sector Manage
Center for Digital Government. (n.d.). Surveys and awards.
ment, 19(2), 165–179. doi:10.1108/09513550610650428
O
Retrieved from http://www.centerdigitalgov.com/ surveys.
Cassell, J., Sullivan, J., Prevost, S., & Churchill, E. (Eds.). php?survey=cdg_bow
(2000). Embodied conversational agents. Cambridge,
O
Center for International Development at Harvard Univer
MA: MIT Press.
sity. (2000). Readiness for the networked world: A guide
R
Cassidy, J. (2008). Enterprise GIS strengthen govern for developing countries.
ment operations. Government Technology. Retrieved
Chadwick, A. (2003). Bringing edemocracy back in:
P
from www.govtech.com/gt/ print_article.php?id=265061
Why it matters for future research on egovernance.
Castelli, A., Dawson, D., Gravelle, H., Jacobs, R., Social Science Computer Review, 21, 443–455.
L
Kind, P., & Loveridge, P. (2007). A new approach to doi:10.1177/0894439303256372
measuring health system output and productivity. Na
Chadwick, A. (2009). The Internet and politics in Flux.
tional Institute Economic Review, 200(1), 105–117.
A
[Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group UK.]. Journal
doi:10.1177/0027950107080395
of Information Technology & Politics, 6(3), 195–196.
B
Castells, M. (1999). Information Technology, globalisa doi:10.1080/19331680903028743
tion and social development. UNRISD Discussion Paper
Chadwick, A., & May, C. (2003). Interaction between
No. 114, United Nations Research Institute for Social
O
states and citizens in the age of the Internet: Egov
Development, Geneva.
ernment in the United States, Britain, and the Euro
L
Castells, M. (1998). End of millennium. Information age: pean Union. Governance: An International Journal of
Economy, society and culture (Vol. 3). Cambridge, MA: Policy, Administration and Institutions, 16(2), 271–300.
G
Blackwell Publishers Ltd, Oxford. doi:10.1111/14680491.00216
Castells, M. (1998). Informationsåldern. Ekonomi, Chandler, S., & Emanuels, S. (2002). Transformation
I
samhälle och kultur.: Vol. 2. Identitetens makt. Göteborg, not automation, (pp. 91102). Paper presented at the 2nd
Sweden: Daidalos. European Conference on eGovernment, St Catherine’s
G
College Oxford, UK.
I
Castells, M. (2000). Informationsåldern. Ekonomi, sam
hälle och kultur.: Vol. 1. Nätverkssamhällets framväxt Chandrashekar, R. (2007). Mgovernment: The new
(2nd ed.). Göteborg, Sweden: Daidalos. frontier in public service delivery. Paper presented at the
eGovWorld, Mobile Government Consortium Interna
Castells, M. (2001). The Internet galaxy: Reflections on
tional, IISRussia, eGov Monitor and the Development
the Internet, business and society. Oxford, UK: Oxford
Gateway, New Delhi.
University Press.
Chand, V. K. (2006). Reinventing public service delivery
Castells, M., FernandezArdevol, M., Qiu, J. L., & Sey,
in India: Selected case studies. New York, NY: Sage.
A. (2005). Electronic communication and sociopolitical
mobilisation: A new form of civil society . In Glasius, Chapman, G., & Greenberg, S. (2010). Texas financial
M., Kaldor, M., & Anheier, H. (Eds.), Global Civil So transparency: Open and online. Austin, TX: LBJ School
ciety 2005/6 (pp. 113–131). London, UK: LSE Global of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin.
Governance.
568
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Chapman, J. (2004). System failure Why governments City of Johannesburg. (2009). City of Johannesburg
must learn to think differently (2nd ed.). London, UK: broadband policy framework. May 2009, City of Johan
DEMOS Report Series. nesburg Department of Economic Development. Retrieved
November 19, 2010, from http://www.joburgarchive.
Charbonneau, É. (2010). Use and sensemaking of per
co.za/2010/ econ_deve/econdev_broadband_policy.pdf
formance measurement information by local government
F
managers: The case of Quebec’s Municipal Benchmark City of Manor. (n.d.). About. Retrieved from http://cityof
ing System. Newark, NJ: School of Public Affairs and manor.org/ wordpress/seeclickfix/about/
Administration, Rutgers University.
O
City of Manor. (n.d.). Labs. Retrieved from http://cityof
Chau, P. Y. K., Hu, P. J.H., Lee, B. L. P., & Au, A. K. manor.org/ wordpress/labs/
K. (2007). Examining customers’ trust in online vendors
O
City of San Francisco. (n.d.). DataSF beta. Retrieved from
and dropouts: An empirical study. Electronic Commerce
http://www.datasf.org/ page.php?page=about
Research and Applications, 6(2), 171–182. doi:10.1016/j.
R
elerap.2006.11.008 CivicWeb. (2009). Young people, the internet and civic
participation. Retrieved August 14, 2010, from http://
P
Checkland, P. (1997). Systems . In Warner, M. (Ed.),
www.civicweb.eu/images/stories/ reports/final_policy
International encyclopedia of business and management.
brief final_.pdf
London, UK: International Thomson Business Press.
L
Clark, A. S. (2005). Revolutionizing the voting process
Checkland, P. (1999). Systems thinking, systems practice:
through online strategies. Online Information Review, 29,
Includes a 30year retrospective. Chichester, UK: Willey.
A
513–530. doi:10.1108/14684520510628909
Checkland, P. S. H. (1997). Information, systems and
Clark, E. (2003). Managing the transformation to e
B
Information Systems: Making sense of the field. Chich
government: An Australian perspective. Thunderbird
ester, UK: Willey.
International Business Review, 45(4), 377. doi:10.1002/
O
Checkland, P., & Scholes, J. (1999). Soft systems meth tie.10087
odology in action. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
L
Clift, S. (2004). Egovernment and democracy: Rep
Cherry, S. (2005). The net effect: as China’s Internet gets resentation and citizen engagement in the information
a muchneeded makeover, will the new network promote age. Based on research provided to the United Nations –
G
freedom or curtail it? Spectrum, IEEE, 42(6), 3844. UNPAN/DESA for the 2003 World Public Sector Report.
Retrieved from http://www.unpan.org/ dpepa_worldpar
I
Choudhury, S., Kala, C., Sarwan, J. P., & Kumar, S.
eport.asp
(2007). Edemocracy and citizen empowerment through
egovernance and other einitiatives in India, Nepal and CNNIC. (2007). 2007 Survey report on the Internet usage
I G
Bangladesh: A case study. Retrieved June 2010 from in Chinese rural area (in Chinese). Retrieved from http://
http://www.iceg.net/2007/ books/1/16 339.pdf research.cnnic.cn/html/ 1245132476d649.html
Christian Fuchs, R. B.R. (2006). Broadening epartic CNNIC. (2008a). CNNIC releases the 22nd statistical re
ipation: Rethinking ICTs and participation. Association port on the Internet development in China. Retrieved from
of Internet Researchers, Internet Research 7.0. Brisbane. http://www.cnnic.net.cn/html/ Dir/2008/07/31/5247.htm
Church, S. H. (2010). YouTube politics: YouChoose and CNNIC. (2008b). 2008 survey report on the Internet usage
leadership rhetoric during the 2008 election. Journal of in Chinese rural area (in Chinese). Retrieved from http://
Information Technology & Politics, 7(2/3), 124–142. research.cnnic.cn/html/ 1245138973d652.html
doi:10.1080/19331681003748933
CNNIC. (2009). 2009 survey report on the Internet usage
Cicchetti, A. (2004). La progettazione organizzativa. in Chinese rural area (in Chinese). Retrieved from http://
Milano, Italy: F. Angeli. research.cnnic.cn/html/ 1245139584d654.html
569
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
CNNIC. (2010). 2010 survey report on the Internet usage Communities and Local Government. (2008). Online
in Chinese rural area (in Chinese). Retrieved from http:// social networks, research report. (Tech. Rep. No. 08
research.cnnic.cn/html/ 1271381826d2072.html RPD 105574/D). London, United Kingdom: Department
of Communities and Local Government.
Cofta, P. (2006). Convergence and trust in ecommerce.
BT Technology Journal, 24(2), 214–218. doi:10.1007/ Compaine, B. M. (2001). The digital divide: Facing a
F
s1055000600634 crisis or myth?Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Cohen, J. (1996). Procedure and substance in delibera Computer Emergency Response Team. (n.d.) Retrieved
O
tive democracy . In Benhabib, S. (Ed.), Democracy and October 12, 2010, from http://www.aecert.ae/aboutus.php
difference of the political. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
Conners, J. (2005). Meetup, blogs, and online involve
University Press.
O
ment: U.S. Senate campaign Web sites of 2004. Paper
Cohen, J. (1998). Democracy and liberty . In Elster, J. presented at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the American
R
(Ed.), Deliberative democracy (pp. 185–231). USA: Political Association.
Cambridge University Press.
CONSIP. (2003). Il Programma di razionalizzazione della
P
Cohen, J. (1999). American civil society talk . In Fullin spesa per beni e servizi della Pubblica Amministrazione.
wider, R. (Ed.), Civil society, democracy and civic renewal Rome, Italy: CONSIP Annual Report.
L
(pp. 55–85). Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
Cooper, T. (2005). Civic engagement in the twentyfirst
Cole, M. (2006). Democracy in Britain. Edinburgh, UK: century: Toward a schoarly and practical agenda. Public
A
Edinburgh University Press. Administration Review, 65(5), 534–535. doi:10.1111/
j.15406210.2005.00480.x
Coleman, S. (2006). African egovernance – Opportuni
B
ties and challenges. University of Oxford, Univ. Press. Cooter, R., Mattei, U., Monasteri, P., Pardolesi, R., & Ulen,
U. (1999). Il mercato delle regole: Analisi economica del
Coleman, S., & Gotze, J. (2001). Bowling together: Online
O
diritto civile. Bologna, Italy: Il Mulino.
public engagement in policy deliberation. London, UK:
L
Hansard Society. Retrieved from www.hansardsociety. Corbitta, B. J., Thanasankit, T., & Yi, H. (2003). Trust and
org.uk ecommerce: A study of consumer perceptions. Electronic
Commerce Research and Applications, 2(3), 203–225.
G
Coleman, S. (2010). Making citizens online. From vir
doi:10.1016/S15674223(03)000243
tual Boyscouts to activist networks . In Olsson, T., &
I
Dahlgren, P. (Eds.), Young people ICTs and democracy. Coy, D., & Dixon, K. (2004). The public accountability
Theories, policies, identities and websites. Göteborg, index: Crafting a parametric disclosure index for annual
Sweden: Nordicom. reports. The British Accounting Review, 36(1), 79–106.
I G
doi:10.1016/j.bar.2003.10.003
Colombo, C., Kunstelj, M., Molinari, F., & Todorovski,
L. (2009). Workflow modeling for participatory policy Craig, G. (2004). The media, politics and public life.
design: Lessons from three European regions. In E. Tam Crows Nest, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
bouris & A. Macintosh (Eds.), Proceedings of the DEXA
Crang, M., Crosbie, T., & Graham, S. (2006). Variable
ePart2009 Conference, (pp. 101111). Linz, Austria:
geometries of connection: Urban digital divides and the
Trauner Verlag.
uses of information technology. Urban Studies (Edin
Comite, U. (2006). Aspetti tecnologici ed efficacia ges burgh, Scotland), 43(12), 2552–2570.
tionale dell’eprocurement in sanità. Il caso Azienda Os
Cruikshank, B. (1999). The will to empower: Demo
pedaliera San Paolo di Milano. Trento, Italy: UNIService.
cratic citizens and other subjects. Ithaca, NY: Cornell
University Press.
570
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
CuadradoRoura, L. R., RubalcabaBermejo, L., & Darzentas, J. (1993). Knowledge systems for island prob
Bryson, J. R. (Eds.). (2002). Trading services in the global lems: Using systems thinking and knowledge formalisms
economy. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. for eliciting and representing task knowledge. Systemic
Practice and Action Research, 6(5), 541–548.
Curran, J. (1991). Rethinking the media as public sphere
. In Dahlgren, P., & Sparks, C. (Eds.), Communication Darzentas, J., & Spyrou, T. (1993). Information Systems
F
and citizenship: Journalism and the public sphere in the for primary health care: The case of the Aegean Islands.
new media age (pp. 27–57). London, UK: Routledge. European Journal of Information Systems, 2, 117–127.
doi:10.1057/ejis.1993.20
O
Daft, R., & Lengel, R. (1984). Information richness: A
new approach to managerial behavior and organization Dasgupta, P. (1998). Trust as a commodity. In D. Gambetta
design . In Staw, B. M., & Cummings, L. L. (Eds.), Re (Ed.), Trust: Making and breaking cooperative relations
O
search in organizational behavior (Vol. 6, pp. 191–233). (electronic ed.). Basil Blackwell Ltd.
Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
R
Datta, P. (2004, July. 03). The great Indian divide. In
Daft, R., & Lengel, R. (1986). Organizational informa Frontline, 36(14). Retrieved from http://www.hinduon
P
tion requirements, media richness and structural de net.com/fline/fl2114/ stories/20040716002009000.htm
sign. Management Science, 32, 554–571. doi:10.1287/
Davies, T., & Cranston, P. (2008). Youth work and social
mnsc.32.5.554
L
networking. Final research report. How can youth work
Daft, R., Lengel, R., & Trevino, L. (1987). Message best support young people to navigate the risks and make
equivocality, media selection, and manager perfor the most of the opportunities of online social network
A
mance: Implications for Information Systems. Man ing? National Youth Agency Information and Research.
agement Information Systems Quarterly, 17, 355–366. Retrieved August 14, 2010, from http://blog.practicalpar
B
doi:10.2307/248682 ticipation.co.uk/ wpcontent/uploads/2009/08/ fullYouth
WorkandSocialNetworking FinalReport.pdf
Dahl, A. R. (1993). a2=&-*8,.'+2'b72c3.*.72*., Çev: Lev
O
"%1+yt3")B+6%3/)/:+@v)3+[*9/<*+*8*.8")+;")%"M*+*8"+@v)3+ Davies, M. (2004). Performance measurement in the UK
L
H".$3)/<*+K/3-u+w/9u%u? public sector: Understanding performance indicators.
Journal of Finance and Management in Public Services,
Dahlgren, P. (2003). Reconfiguring civic culture in the new
3(2), 31–47.
G
media milieu . In Corner, J., & Pels, D. (Eds.), Media and
the restyling of politics (pp. 151–170). London, UK: Sage. Davis, A. (2010). New media and fat democracy: The
I
paradox of online participation. New Media & Society,
Dahlgren, P. (2006). Civic identity and Net activism: The
12(5), 745–761. doi:10.1177/1461444809341435
frame of radical democracy . In Dahlberg, L., & Siapera,
G
E. (Eds.), Radical democracy and the Internet. London, Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease
I
UK: Palgrave MacMillan. of use, and user acceptance of Information Technology.
Management Information Systems Quarterly, 13(3),
Dahlgren, P. (2009). Media and political engagement.
319–340. doi:10.2307/249008
Citizens, communication, and democracy. New York,
NY: Cambridge University Press. Davis, F. D., Bagozzi, R. P., & Warshaw, P. R. (1989).
User acceptance of computer technology: A comparison
Dahl, R. A. (1998). On democracy. New Haven, CT: Yale
of two theoretical models. Management Science, 35(8),
University Press.
982–1003. doi:10.1287/mnsc.35.8.982
Darzentas, J., Darzentas, J., & Spyrou, T. (1994). Defining
Davis, G., & Olson, M. (1985). Management Information
the design “decision space”: Rich pictures and relevant
Systems conceptual foundations, structure and develop
subsystems. AMODEUS Project Document TA/WP 21.
ment. New York, NY: McGrawHill.
Davis, M. H. (1996). Empathy: A social psychological

approach. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
571
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Dawes, S. S. (2009). Governance in the digital age: A Deutsch, K. W. (1963). Nerves of government. Free Press.
research and action framework for an uncertain future.
Deutsch, M. (1958). Trust and suspicion. The
Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2(4), 265–279.
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2008.12.003
doi:10.1177/002200275800200401
de Bruijin, H. (2002). Performance measurement in
F
Devadoss, P. R., Pan, S. L., & Huang, J. C. (2003). Struc
the public sector: Strategies to cope with the risks
turational analysis of egovernment initiatives: A case
of performance measurement. International Journal
study of SCO. Decision Support Systems, 34, 253–269.
of Public Sector Management, 15(6/7), 578–594.
O
doi:10.1016/S01679236(02)001203
doi:10.1108/09513550210448607
DeWitt, T., Nguyen, D., & Marshall, R. (2008). Exploring
de Haan, A. (2001). Social exclusion: Enriching the
O
customer loyalty following service recovery: The mediat
understanding of deprivation. Institute of Development
ing effects of trust and emotions. Journal of Service Re
Studies and Poverty Research Unit, University of Sussex.
R
search, 10(3), 269–281. doi:10.1177/1094670507310767
Sussex. UK. Retrieved November 05, 2009, from www.
sussex.ac.uk/cspt/ documents/issue22.pdf di Gennaro, C., & Dutton, W. (2006). The Internet and
P
the public: Online and offline political participation in the
de LancerJulnes, P. (2006). Performance measure
United Kingdom. Parliamentary Affairs, 59(2), 299–313.
ment: An effective tool for government accountabil
L
doi:10.1093/pa/gsl004
ity? The debate goes on. Evaluation, 12(2), 219–235.
doi:10.1177/1356389006066973 Diamond, E., & Bates, S. (1988). The spot: The rise
A
of political advertising on television. Cambridge, MA:
De Maio, A. (2008). How governments can use social
MIT Press.
networks (Tech. Rep. No. G00157649). Stamford, USA:
B
Gartner, Inc. Dibben, M. R., Morris, S., & Lean, M. E. J. (2000).
Situational trust and cooperative partnerships between
De, R. (2006). The impact of Indian egovernment initia
O
physicians and their patients: A theoretical explanation
tives: Issues of poverty and vulnerability reduction and
transferable from business practice. The Quarterly Journal
L
conflict. Paper presented in Regional Workshop for ‘Ca
of Medicine, 93(1), 55–61. doi:10.1093/qjmed/93.1.55
pacity Building of AsiaPacific eGovernment Initiatives’.
Bangkok, Thailand. Retrieved from http://www.apdip.net/ DiCaterino, A., & Pardo, T. A. (1996). The World Wide
G
projects/egovernment/ capblg/casestudies/IndiaDe.pdf Web as a universal interface to government services.
Retrieved from http://www.ctg.albany.edu/resources/
I
Delli Carpini, M. (2006, December 5). Michael X.
abstract/itt962.html
Delli Carpini’s definitions of key terms. Retrieved from
http://spotlight.macfound.org/ blog/entry/michaeldelli Digital Civil Rights in Europe. (2007, April 25). Evoting
G
carpinis definitionskeyterms/
I
in France After the first round of presidential elections.
Retrieved 10 1, 2010, from http://www.edri.org/book/
Deloitte &Touche. (2001). The citizen as customer. CMA
export/html/1167
Management, 74(10), 58.
Diller, E. C. (2001). Citizens in service: The challenge of
Denhardt, R. B., & Denhardt, J. V. (2000). The new
delivering civic engagement training to national service
public service: Serving rather than steering. Public Ad
programs. Washington, DC: Corporation for National
ministration Review, 60(4), 549–559. doi:10.1111/0033
and Community Service.
3352.00117
Dillow, C. (August 19, 2009). Five cities that got civic
Department for Communities and Local Government.
apps before San Francisco (Sorry, Gavin). Fast Company.
(2008). Online social networks. Research report. Com
Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/ blog/clay
munities and Local Government, UK. Retrieved August
dillow/culturebuffet/ sixcivicappswedseemore
14, 2010, from http://www.communities.gov.uk/ publica
tions/communities/ onlinesocialnetworks
572
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Dimitrova, D., & Chen, Y.C. (2006). Profiling the adopters Eckert, P., & Henschel, PeterP (2000). Supporting
of egovernment information and services: The influence community in the digital age. In T. Ehrlich (Ed.), Civic
of psychological characteristics, civic mindedness, and responsibility and higher education (p. 200). Phoenix,
information channels. Social Science Computer Review, AZ: Oryx Press.
24(2), 172–188. doi:10.1177/0894439305281517
Eco, U. (1983). Horns, hooves, insteps . In Eco, U., &
F
Dina, M. (2009). India elections’09 2.0: Did online Sebeok, T. A. (Eds.), The sign of three (pp. 199–219).
campaigns & social media work? Indian Culture, Partici Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
patory Media, Social Media blog. Retrieved from http://
O
Edensor, T. (2002). National identity, popular culture and
dinamehta.com/blog/ category/indianculture/
everyday life. Oxford, UK: Berg.
District of Columbia. (n.d.). Data.dc.gov. Retrieved from
O
Edwards, A. (1957). Techniques of attitude scale construc
http://data.dc.gov/
tion. New York, NY: AppletonCenturyCrofts.
R
DIT. NCAER. (2004). India ereadiness assessment
Egger, F. N. (2003). From interactions to transaction:
report 2004: For states/union territories. Delhi, India:
Designing the trust experience for businesstoconsumer
P
Department of Information Technology, Government of
electronic commerce. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Tech
India, New Delhi.
nische University.
L
Dobson, A. (2003). Citizenship and the environment. New
Eggers, W. (2005). Government 2.0, using technology
York, NY: Oxford University Press.
to improve education, cut red tape, reduce gridlock, and
A
Donath, J., & boyd, D. (2004). Public displays of con enhance democracy. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield
nection. BT Technology Journal, 22(4). doi:10.1023/ Publishers, INC.
B
B:BTTJ.0000047585.06264.cc
EGov News. (2006). eGovernment in South Africa.
Downey, J., & Fenton, N. (2003). New media,
EGovernment Initiatives. (2004). Egovernment initia
O
counter publicity and the public sphere . In New
tives 2000 – 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2010, from
media & society. London, UK: Sage Publication.
L
http://www.gov.mu/portal/ goc/telecomit/files/ egov%20
doi:10.1177/1461444803005002003
initiatives.pdf
Dreyer, J. T. (2004). Democratization in greater China:
G
EGovernment Media. (2009, November 7). The prog
The limits to China’s growth. Orbis, 48(2), 233–246.
ress of egovernment initiatives in Brunei Darussalam.
I
Dryzek, J. (2000). Deliberative democracy and beyond. Borneo Bulletin, 67.
Liberals, critics, contestations. Oxford, UK: Oxford
eGovernment Unit, DG Information Society and Media
University Press.
G
European Commission. (2007). Breaking barriers to
I
E – readiness index of the States in India. (n.d.). Re egovernment, overcoming obstacles to improving Euro
trieved from http://darpg.nic.in/arpgwebsite/Conference/ pean public services. Modinis study Contract no. 29172.
10thconference/cd/Chap2.pdf
Ehrlich, T. (Ed.). (2000). Civic responsibility and higher
Ebbers, W. E., Pieterson, W. J., & Noordman, H. N. (2008). education. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press.
Electronic government: Rethinking channel manage
Ekelin, A. (2007). The work to make eparticipation work.
ment strategies. Government Information Quarterly, 25,
Blekinge Institute of Technology Doctoral Dissertation
181–201. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.11.003
Series No 2007: 11. Karlskrona, Sweden: Blekinge In
Ebersbach, A., Glaser, M., & Heigl, R. (2006). Wiki Web stitute of Technology.
collaboration. Germany: Springer.
Elebash, C. (1984). The Americanization of British politi
cal communication. Journal of Advertising, 13(3), 50–58.
573
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Electronic Freedom of Information Act. Public Law No. European Commission. (2004a). European Parliament
104231, 110 Stat. 3048. (1996). Directive 2004/18/EC and 2004/17/EC.
Electronic Government and Information Technology. European Commission. (2004b). Eprocurement function
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.usa.gov/Federal_Em alities: State of the art report, volume I, case studies on
ployees/ Electronic_Government.shtml European electronic public procurement projects.
F
Eliasoph, N. (1998). Avoiding politics: How Ameri European Commission. (2005). Europe’s information
cans produce apathy in everyday life. Cambridge, society thematic portal, eGovernment overview. Retrieved
O
UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/ from http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/ tl/soccul/
CBO9780511583391 egov/index_en.htm
O
Ellison, N., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The ben European Commission. (2007). The user challenge bench
efits of Facebook “friends”: Exploring the relationship marking the supply of online public services.
R
between college students’ use of online social networks
Eveland, W. P. (2004). The effect of political discussion
and social capital. Journal of ComputerMediated Com
in producing informed citizens: The roles of information,
P
munication, 12(3), 1. Retrieved July 30, 2007, from http://
motivation, and elaboration. Political Communication,
jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/ issue4/ellison.html
21(2), 177–193. doi:10.1080/10584600490443877
L
Engelen, B. (2006). Solving the paradox: The expres
Executive Office of the President, Office of Management
sive rationality of the decision to vote. Rationality and
and Budget. (2010). Guidance on the use of challenges
Society, 18(3).
A
and prizes to promote open government. Retrieved from
Epstein, S. (1994). Integration of the cognitive and the http://www.scribd.com/doc/28210000/ Guidanceon
B
psychodynamic unconscious. The American Psychologist, theUseofChallengesandPrizes toPromoteOpen
49, 709–724. doi:10.1037/0003066X.49.8.709 Government
O
Epstein, S., Pacini, R., DenesRaj, V., & Heier, H. (1996). Facebook. (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2010, from http://
Individual differences in intuitive–experiential and ana www.facebook.com/#!/ press/info.php?statistics
L
lytical–rational thinking styles. Journal of Personality and
Federici, T. (2005). An integrated approach in heathcare
Social Psychology, 71(2), 390–405. doi:10.1037/0022
eprocurement: The case – study of the ASL of Viterbo.
G
3514.71.2.390
Paper presented at TCGOV EGovernment: Towards
Ereadiness assessment. (n.d.). Retrieved from http:// Electronic Democracy, Bolzano.
I
unpan1.un.org/intradoc/ groups/public/documents/ APC
Federici, T., Bianchini, A., & Morano, T. (2004). Le
ITY/UNPAN014673.pdf
specificità dell’eprocurement in sanità: Le esperienze
I G
Eschenfelder, K. R., & Miller, C. A. (2007). Examining dell’ASL di Viterbo. Mecosan, 51, 41–57.
the role of website information in facilitating differ
Feinberg, L. E. (1997). Open government and freedom
ent citizengovernment relationships: A case study of
of information. Fishbowl accountability? In Cooper, P.
state chronic wasting disease websites. Government
E., & Newland, C. A. (Eds.), Handbook of public law
Information Quarterly, 24(1), 64–88. doi:10.1016/j.
and administration. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass
giq.2006.05.002
Publishers.
Eskelinen, M. (2005). Pelit ja pelitutkimus luovassa
Felstead, A., Jewson, N., Phizacklea, A., & Walters, S.
taloudessa. Sitran Raportteja 51. Helsinki: Edita Prima Oy.
(2001). Working at home: statistical evidence for seven
Espinosa, S., ValdézConca, J., & ManresaMarhuenda, key hypotheses. Work, Employment and Society, 15(2),
E. (2008). Egovernment implementation in Spain: The 215–231. doi:10.1177/09500170122118922
case of the city of Benidorm. Communications of the
IBIMA, 5(23), 198–203.
574
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Ferber, P., Foltz, F., & Pugliese, R. (2005). The in Fountain, J. (2001). Building the virtual state: Information
ternet and public participation: State legislature web Technology and institutional change. Washington, DC:
sites and the many definitions of interactivity. Bul Brookings Institution.
letin of Science, Technology & Society, 25(1), 85–93.
Fraser, M., & Dutta, S. (2008). Throwing sheep in board
doi:10.1177/0270467604271245
room, how online social networking will transform your
F
Fine, G. A., & Harrington, B. (2004). Tiny publics: Small life, work and world. England: Wiley.
groups and civil society. Sociological Theory, 22(3),
FrauMeigs, D. (2007). Convergence, Internet governance
341–356. doi:10.1111/j.07352751.2004.00223.x
O
and cultural diversity . In Storsul, T., & Stuedahl, D. (Eds.),
Finger, F., & Pecaud, G. (2003). From egovernment Ambivalence towards convergence. Digitalization and
to egovernance. In D. Remenyi & F. Bannister (Eds.), media change. Göteborg, Sweden: Nordicom.
O
Proceedings of the 3rd European Conference on eGov
Fraunholz, B., & Unnithan, C. (2006). Egovernance.
ernment, Dublin.
R
inhibitor or facilitator for democracy and citizen empower
Finger, M., & Gaëlle, P. (2003). From egovernment to ment? In Mitra, R. K. (Ed.), Egovernment: Macro issues
P
egovernance? Towards a model of egovernance. The (pp. 1–12). New Delhi, India: Global Institute of Flexible
Electronic . Journal of EGovernment, 1(1), 1–10. Systems Management.
L
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, Freedom of Information Act, Public Law 89554, 80
and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Stat. 383 (1966)
Reading, MA: AddisonWesley.
A
Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic management: A stake
W8/>*/%B+a?B+N(*%/8u(B+L?B+z+N())"/B+!?+Qdoo^R?+@5"+)$8"+ holder approach. Boston, MA: Pittman.
B
played by perceived usability, satisfaction and consumer
Frith, D. (2007). Evoting security: Hope or hype? Network
trust on website loyalty. Information & Management,
Security, 11, 14–16. doi:10.1016/S13534858(08)700412
43(1), 1–14. doi:10.1016/j.im.2005.01.002
O
Froehle, C. M. (2006). Service personnel, technology,
Fogg, B. J. (May 2002). Stanford guidelines for Web cred
L
and their interaction in influencing customer satisfaction.
ibility. A Research Summary from the Stanford Persuasive
Decision Sciences, 37(1), 5–38. doi:10.1111/j.1540
Technology Lab. Stanford University. Retrieved June 19,
5414.2006.00108.x
G
2010, from http://credibility.stanford.edu/ guidelines/
index.html Fryer, K., Jiju, A., & Ogden, S. (2009). Performance
I
management in the public sector. International Jour
Foot, K. (2006). Web sphere analysis and cybercultural
nal of Public Sector Management, 22(6), 478–498.
studies . In Silver, D., & Massanari, A. (Eds.), Critical
doi:10.1108/09513550910982850
G
cyberculture studies (pp. 146–158). New York, NY:
I
NYU Press. Fuchs, C. (2009). The role of income inequality in a
multivariate crossnational analysis of the digital di
Formasi. (2007). Peluncuran program community tech
vide. Social Science Computer Review, 27(1), 41–58.
nology center (Community technology center launching
doi:10.1177/0894439308321628
transl) [Electronic Version]. FORMASI News. Re
trieved from http://www.formasiindonesia.or.id/ index. Fulk, J., & CollinsJarvis, L. (2001). Wired meetings:
php?option=com_content& task=view&id=64&Itemid= Technological mediation of organizational gatherings .
In Putnam, L. L., & Jablins, F. M. (Eds.), New handbook
Foth, M. (2003). Connectivity does not ensure community:
of organizational communication (2nd ed., pp. 624–703).
On social capital, networks and communities of place.
Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
IRiRA 2003 Conference Track: Community Informatics.
Foucault, M. (1994). Power. Essential works of Foucault

19541984 (Faubion, J. D., Ed.). Vol. 3). London, UK:
Penguin Books.
575
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Fung, A., & Weil, D. (2010). The dark side of open govern Gauld, R. (2007). Public sector information system project
ment . In Lathrop, D., & Ruma, L. (Eds.), Open govern failures: Lessons from a New Zealnad hospital organiza
ment collaboration: Transparency, and participation in tion. Government Information Quarterly, 24(1), 102–114.
practice (p. 107). Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.02.010
Fung, C. H., Lim, Y.W., Mattke, S., Damberg, C., & Shek Gauravonomics. (2009, April 15). Ringing in the vote:
F
elle, P. G. (2008). Systematic review: The evidence that Mobile phones in the 2009 Indian elections. Retrieved
publishing patient care performance data improves quality October 20, 2009, from http://www.quickonlinetips.com/
of care. Annals of Internal Medicine, 148(2), 111–123. archives/ 2009/05/indianelections2009/
O
Gagnon, Y.C., Posada, E., Bourgault, M., & Naud, Gauravonomics. (2009, March 22). How Internet and
A. (2010). Multichannel delivery of public services: mobile technologies are transforming election campaign
O
A new and complex management challenge. Interna ing in India. Retrieved from http://www.gauravonomics.
tional Journal of Public Administration, 33(5), 213–222. com/blog/ howinternetandmobiletechnologiesare
R
doi:10.1080/01900690903405535 transformingelectioncampaigninginindia/
P
Gambetta, D. (1988). Can we trust trust? In Gambetta, D. Gautam, V. (2006). Egovernance ‘paradigms’ revisited:
(Ed.), Trust: Making and breaking cooperative relations. Constraints and possibilities . In Sahu, G. P. (Ed.), De
Basil Blackwell Ltd. livering egovernment (pp. 1–5). New Delhi, India: Gift
L
Publishing.
Game, C. (2006). Comprehensive performance assess
ment in English local government. International Journal GCRO. (2009). Gauteng cityregion quality of life survey
A
of Productivity and Performance Management, 55(6), 2009. Johannesburg: Gauteng CityRegion Observatory.
466–479. doi:10.1108/17410400610682497
B
Gefen, D. (2000). Ecommerce: The role of familiarity
Garg, S., Sundar, D. K., & Garg, I. (2005). Mgovernance: and trust. The international Journal of Management Sci
A mobile computing framework for integrated disease ence, 28, 725737.
O
surveillance in India [Electronic Version]. Retrieved 10
Gefen, D., & Straub, D. (2004). Consumer trust in B2C
L
September, 2008, from www.mgovernment.org/resurces/
ecommerce and the importance of social presence: ex
euromgov2005/PDF/21_R357GS.pdf
periments in eproducts and eservices. The international
G
Garson, G. D. (2003). Public Information Technology: Journal of Management Science, 32, 407424.
Policy and management issues. Hershey, PA: Idea Group
Gefen, D., Rao, V. S., & Tractinsky, N. (2003b). The
I
Inc.
conceptualization of trust, risk and their relationship in
Garson, G. D. (2006). Managing information technology electronic commerce: The need for clarifications. Paper
G
and egovernance: Managing the virtual state. Sudbury, presented at the The 36th Hawaii International Conference
I
MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. on System Sciences, Hawaii, USA.
Garson, G. D., & Pavlichev, A. (2004). Digital govern Gefen, D., Karahanna, E., & Straub, D. (2003a). Trust
ment: Principles and best practices. Hershey, PA: Idea and TAM in online shopping: An integrated model. Man
Group Publishing. agement Information Systems Quarterly, 27(1), 51–90.
Gatauts, R., & Vitkauskaite, E. (2009). Towards e in Gefen, D., & Straub, D. W. (2000). Managing user trust
teroperability: Lithuanian case. Journal of EGovernment in B2C eservices . EService Journal, 1, 1.
Studies & Best Practices, 3, 27–35.
Georgescu, M. R., & Greorgscu, I. (2008). Do we need a
Gatti, M. (2002). Eprocurement. Il D.P.R. 101/2002 e gli powerful egovernment? Communications of the IBIMA,
acquisti in rete della p.a. Milano, Italy: Simone. 5(30), 242–249.
576
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
GGIS. (2010). Guidelines on transparency of eenabled Goldenberg, S. (1992). Thinking methodologically. New
elections. Directorate General of Democracy and Political York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
Affairs, Directorate of Democratic Institutions. Project
Goldsmith, A. A. (2007). Is governance reform a catalyst
“Good Governance . In The Information Society”. Stras
for development? Governance: An International Journal
bourg: Council of Europe.
of Policy, Administration and Institutions, 20(2), 165–186.
F
Ghere, R. K., & Young, B. A. (1998). The cybermanage doi:10.1111/j.14680491.2007.00352.x
ment environment: Where technology and ingenuity meet
Goldstuck, A. (2010). Internet access in South Africa 2010:
public purpose and accountability. Public Administration
O
A comprehensive study of the Internet access market in
and Management: An Interactive Journal, 3(1). Retrieved
South Africa. Johannesburg: World Wide Worx.
from http://wfww.pamij.com/ gypaper.html
O
Gomez, J. (2004). Between freedom and censorship:
Ghosh, A., & Arora, N. (2005). Role of egovernance
Asian political parties in cyberspace. Paper presented
frameworks in effective implementation. Paper presented
R
at the Liberal Institute‘s The Fate of Liberty Human
at the 3rd International Conference on EGovernance,
Rights and Civil Liberties in the Age of Global Crime
Lahore.
P
and Terror conference.
Ghosh, N. (2003, January 3). Two Indian states lead egovt
Gouscos, D. (2005). Towards a systemic approach of
revolution. Straits Times. Retrieved from http://it.asia1.
L
electronic government projects. HSSS 2005 Conference.
com.sg/newsdaily/ news002_20030122.html
Greece, May 2005.
Ghyasi, A., & Kushchu, I. (2004). Uses of mobile gov
A
Government Accounting Standards Board. (1987). Con
ernment in developing countries. mGovLab. Retrieved
cepts statement no. 1: Objectives of financial reporting.
December 7, 2010, from
B
Norwalk, CT: Government Accounting Standard Board.
Gibson, (2002). UK political participation online: The
Government of Brunei Darussalam. (2009). The egov
public response. A survey of citizens’ political activity via
O
ernment strategic plan 20092014 Brunei Darussalam.
the internet. Salford, UK: ESRI.
L
Gowda, R. (2007). ICTs and political organizing in India.
Gibson, R. K., Lusoli, W., & Ward, S. (2002, August 28).
Paper presented at the Symposium on Changing politics
Online campaigning in the UK: The public respond?
through digital networks: The role of ICTs in the formation
G
Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American
of new social and political actors and actions, October
Political Science Association, Boston, MA.
56, 2007, Florence, Italy.
I
Gibson, R. K., Lusoli, W., & Ward, S. (2005). Online
GPG. (2007). eGovernment blueprint proposal. Gauteng
participation in the UK: Testing a contextualised model
Provincial Government (GPG), Johannesburg.
G
of Internet effects. British Journal of Politics and Inter
I
national Relations, 7(4), 561–583. doi:10.1111/j.1467 GPG. (2007). Gauteng information society and devel
856X.2005.00209.x opment plan. Gauteng Provincial Government. Johan
nesburg: GPG.
Gichoya, D. (2005). Factors affecting the successful
implementation of ICT projects in government. The GPG. (2007). GPG ICT strategy. Gauteng Provincial
Electronic . Journal of EGovernment, 3(4), 175–184. Government. Johannesburg: GPG.
Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and selfidentity: Self GPG. (2010). Gauteng employment growth and develop
and society in the late modern age. Cambridge, UK: ment strategy. Gauteng Provincial Government. Johan
Polity Press. nesburg: GPG.
Gimmler, A. (2001). Deliberative democracy, the public GPG. (2010). Socioeconomic review and outlook 2010,
sphere and the Internet [London, UK: Sage Publica 2 March 2010, Gauteng Provincial Government. Johan
tion.]. Philosophy and Social Criticism, 27(4), 21–39. nesburg: GPG.
doi:10.1177/019145370102700402
577
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Graham, T. S. (2009). What’s wife swap got to do with Gulati, G. J., & Williams, C. B. (2010). Congressional
it? Talking politics in the Netbased public sphere. PhD candidates’ use of YouTube in 2008: Its frequency and
Dissertation, Amsterdam School of Communication rationale. Journal of Information Technology & Politics,
Research: University of Amsterdam. 7(2/3), 93–109. doi:10.1080/19331681003748958
Greenbaum, T. L. (2000). Moderating focus groups: A Gulati, R. (1995). Does familiarity breed trust? The
F
practical guide for group facilitation. Thousand Oaks, implications of repeated ties for contractual choices
CA: Sage Publications. in alliances. Academy of Management Journal, 38(1),
85–112. doi:10.2307/256729
O
Greenberg, J. (1996). The quest for justice on the job:
Essays and experiments. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Gunkel, D. J. (2003). Second thoughts: Toward a critique
Publications. of the digital divide. New Media & Society, 5(4), 499–522.
O
doi:10.1177/146144480354003
Greenberg, S. (2007). State egovernment strategies
R
(Report to Congressional Research Service). Austin, Gupta, B., Dasgupta, S., & Gupta, A. (2008). Adoption of
TX: LBJ School of Public Affairs, The University of ICT in a government organization in a developing country:
P
Texas at Austin. An empirical study. The Journal of Strategic Information
Systems, 17, 140–154. doi:10.1016/j.jsis.2007.12.004
Greenspan, S., Goldberg, D., Weimer, D. M., & Basso,
L
A. (2000). Interpersonal trust and common ground in Gupta, M. P. (2004). Towards egovernment management
electronically mediated communication. CSCW’00 Pro challenges. New Delhi, India: Tata McGrawHill Publish
ceedings. Philadelphia, PA: ACM Press. ing Company Limited.
A
Grindle, M. S., & Thomas, J. W. (1991). Public choices Gupta, M. P., & Jana, D. (2003). Egovernment evaluation:
B
and policy change: The political economy of reforms A framework and case study. Government Information
in developing countries. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins Quarterly, 20, 365–387. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2003.08.002
University Press.
O
H.R. 5036. (2008). H.R.5036 Emergency Assistance for
Gritzalis, D. (2002). Principles and requirements for a Secure Elections Act of 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2010,
L
secure evoting system. Computers & Security, 21(6), from http://www.opencongress.org/ bill/110h5036/show
539–556. doi:10.1016/S01674048(02)010143
Habermas, J. (1989). The structural transformations of
G
Grönlund, K. (2001, April). Do new ICTs demand more the public sphere: An inquiry into a category of bourgeois
responsive governance? Paper presented at the Joint Ses society. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
I
sions of the European Consortium for Political Research,
Habermas, J. (1996). Kommunikativt handlande: Texter
Grenoble.
om språk rationalitet och samhälle (2nd ed.). Göteborg,
I G
Grönlund, Å. (2001). Democracy in an ITframed society: Sweden: Daidalos.
Introduction. Communications of the ACM, 44(1), 22–26.
Habermas, J. (2010). Kamusal Alan . In Özbek, M.
doi:10.1145/357489.357498
(Ed.), Kamusal Alan+Q==?+]mx\odR?+O<1/%7(8B+@()3"9:+h*8+
Grossman, L. (1995). The electronic republic: Reshaping w/9u%8/)u?
American democracy in the information age. New York,
Hachigian, N. (Ed.). (2003). Political implications of the
NY: Viking.
information revolution in Asia. In N. Hachigian & L. Wu
Grossman, S., & Hart, O. (1986). The costs and benefits (Eds.), The information revolution in Asia (pp. 5591).
of ownership. A theory of vertical and lateral integration. Pittsburgh, PA: RAND.
The Journal of Political Economy, 94.
Hachigian, N., & Wu, L. (2003). The Information revolu
tion in Asia. Santa Monica, CA: RAND.
578
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Halachmi, A. (2005). Performance measurement: Harriss, J. (2001). Politics and povertyalleviation in

Test the water before you dive in. International Re India: Further exploration. A report for ESCOR. United
view of Administrative Sciences, 71(2), 255–266. Kingdom: Department for International Development.
doi:10.1177/0020852305053884
Hartman, R. (October 16, 2009). Ways to make government
Haldenwang, C. V. (2004). Electronic govern data sing. OhMyGov. Retrieved from http://ohmygov.com/
F
ment (eGovernment) and development. European blogs/general_news/ archive/2009/10/16/WaysToMake
Journal of Development Research, 16(2), 417–432. Government DataSingwithmashups.aspx
doi:10.1080/0957881042000220886
O
Hart, O. (1989). An economist’s perspective on the theory
Hall, C. (2005). The trouble with passion. Political theory of the firm. Columbia Law Review, 89.
beyond the reign of reason. New York, NY: Routledge.
O
Harwi, E., & Clark, D. (2001). Shaping the Internet in
Hanapi, M., Larif, A., & Masrek, M. N. (2010). Acces China: Evolution of political control over network in
R
sibility evaluation on Malaysian egovernment websites. frastructure and content. Asian Survey, 41(3), 377–408.
Journal of EGovernment Studies & Best Practices, 2010 doi:10.1525/as.2001.41.3.377
P
(ID number 935272), 11 pages.
Haste, H. (2004). Constructing the citizen. Political
Harbour, J. L., & Marble, J. L. (2005). How performance Psychology, 25(3), 413–440. doi:10.1111/j.1467
L
improves. Performance Improvement, 44(8), 14–19. 9221.2004.00378.x
doi:10.1002/pfi.4140440805
Hauner, D., & Kyobe, A. (2008). Determinants of govern
A
Hardy, C., & Williams, S. P. (2005). Public eprocurement ment efficiency. Unpublished manuscript, Washington,
in action. Policies, practice and technologies. Paper DC.
B
presented at TCGOV EGovernment: Towards Electronic
Hazair, H. P. D. (2007, 20 September). Speed, security
Democracy, Bolzano.
stifling online banking growth. The Brunei Times, p. 1.
O
Hargittai. E. (2002). Secondlevel digital divide: differ
Heeks, R. (2001). Building egovernance for development:
ences in people’s online skills. First monday, 7(4), retrieved
L
A framework for national and donor action. The Univer
from http://firstmonday.org/issues/ issue7_4/hargittai/
sity of Manchester, Institute for Development, Policy
Hargittai, E. (2007). The digital divide and what to do and Management Information, Systems, Technology and
G
about it . In Jones, D. C. (Ed.), New economy handbook. Government: Working Papers Series, Number 12/2001.
San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
I
Heeks, R. (2001). Understanding egovernance for devel
Hargittai, E., & Shafer, S. (2006). Differences in actual opment. Manchester Institute for Development Policy and
and perceived online skills: The role of gender. Social Management. University of Manchester. Retrieved from
I G
Science Quarterly, 87(2), 432–448. doi:10.1111/j.1540
Heeks, R. (2004). Egovernment for development basic
6237.2006.00389.x
definitions page. Retrieved May 25, 2009, from http://
Hargittai, E., & Walejko, G. (2008). The participation www.egov4dev.org/ egovdefn.hml
divide: Content creation and sharing in the digital age.
Heeks, R. (2006). Implementing and managing e
Information Communication and Society, 11(2), 239–256.
government: An international text. Thousand Oaks, CA:
doi:10.1080/13691180801946150
Sage Publications.
Harré, R., & Moghaddam, F. (2003). The self and others:
Heeks, R. (2008). Benchmarking egovernment: Improv
Positioning Individuals and groups in personal, political
ing the national and international measurement evaluation
and cultural contexts. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
and comparison of eGovernment . In Irani, Z., & Love,
Harris, R. (2004). Information and technologies for pov P. (Eds.), Evaluation of information systems. Butterworth
erty alleviation. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: UNDP APDIP. Heinemann. doi:10.1016/B9780750685870.500172
579
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Henriksen, H. Z., Mahnke, V., & Hansen, J. M. (2004). Hill, D. T. (2003). Plotting public participation on Indone
Public eProcurement adoption: Economic and political sia’s Internet. South East Asia Research, 11(3), 297–325.
rationality. Proceedings of the 37th Hawaii International doi:10.5367/000000003772657382
Conference on System Sciences (HICSS37), IEEE Com
Hiller, J. S., & Bélanger, F. (2001). Privacy strategies for
puter Society.
electronic government . In Abramson, M. A., & Means, G.
F
Herman, E. S. (1999). The myth of the liberal media. E. (Eds.), EGovernment 2001 (pp. 162–198). Lanham,
An Edward Herman reader. New York, NY: Peter Lang. MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
O
Hermes, J. (2006). Hidden debates: Rethinking the rela Hindess, B. (1988). Choice, rationality and social theory.
tionship between popular culture and the public sphere. London, UK: Unwin Hyman.
JavnostThe Public, 13(4).
O
Hindman, M. (2008). The myth of digital democracy.
Hermon, R. R. (2009). ICT infrastructure for rural de Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
R
velopment: Issues and priority for application . In Misra,
Hinds, D. (2008). Beyond formal democracy: The dis
H. (Ed.), Governance of rural information and com
course on democracy & governance in the Anglophone
P
munication technologies: Opportunities and challenges
Caribbean. Commonwealth and Comparative Politics,
46(3), 388–406. doi:10.1080/14662040802176558
L
Herrnson, P. S., StokesBrown, A. K., & Hindman,
Ho, A. T. K. (2002). Reinventing local governments and
M. (2007). Campaign politics and the digital divide:
the egovernment initiative. Public Administration Review,
Constituency characteristics, strategic considerations,
A
62(4), 434–444. doi:10.1111/00333352.00197
and candidate Internet use in state legislative elec
tions. Political Research Quarterly, 60(1), 31–42. Hoaglin, D. (1982). Data for decisions: Information
B
doi:10.1177/1065912906298527 strategies for policy makers. Cambridge, MA: Abt Books.
Heryanto, A. (2008). Introduction . In Heriyanto, A. (Ed.), Hof, S. (2004). Evoting and biometric systems? In A.
O
Popular culture in Indonesia: Fluid identities in post Prosser, & R. Krimmer (Eds.), Electronic voting in Eu
L
authoritarian politics. New York, NY: Routledge Media. rope Technology, law, politics and society, (pp. 6372).
Lake of Constance, Austria.
Heryanto, A., & Mandal, S. K. (2003). Challenging au
G
thoritarianism in Southeast Asia: Comparing Indonesia Hoffman, D. L., & Novak, T. P. (1996). Marketing in hy
and Malaysia. London, UK: Routledge. permedia computermediated environments: Conceptual
I
foundations. Journal of Marketing, 60(July).
Heywood, J. B., Barton, M., & Heywood, C. (2001).
Eprocurement: A guide to successful eprocurement Hoffman, L. J., & Cranor, L. (2000). Internet voting for
G
implementation. Financial Times Prentice Hall. public officials. Communications of the ACM, 44(1),
I
69–85. doi:10.1145/357489.357510
Higgins, P. (2005). Performance and user satisfaction in
dicators in British local government. Public Management Hoffmann, M. (1997). Is there a ‘logic’ of abduction?
Review, 7(3), 445–464. doi:10.1080/14719030500181102 In the Proceedings of the 6th Congress of the IASSAIS,
International Association for Semiotic Studies in Gua
Hill, D. T., & Sen, K. (2005). The Internet in Indonesia’s
dalajara, Mexico.
new democracy. New York, NY: Routledge: Taylor &
Francis Group. Hofstede, G. (1991). Organisationer och kulturer. Om
interkulturell förståelser. Lund, Sweden: Studentlitteratur.
Hill, D. T. (2002). East Timor and the Internet: Global
political leverage in/on Indonesia. Indonesia, 73, 25–51. Hollister, R. (2002, Feburary). Lives of active citizenship.
doi:10.2307/3351468 Inaugural lecture for the John DiBiaggio Chair in Citizen
ship and Public Policy. Tufts University. Medford, MA.
580
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Holzer, M., & Kim, S. 2008. Digital governance in mu Hrdinová, J., Helbig, N., & Peters, C. (2010). Designing
nicipalities worldwide (2007): A longitudinal assessment social media policy for government: Eight essential ele
of municipal websites throughout the world. Newark, NJ: ments. New York, NY: Center for Technology in Govern
National Center for Public Performance. ment, University of Albany.
Holzer, M., Manoharna, A., & Kim, Y. (2009). What do http://www.internetworldstats.com/ asia/in.htm
F
CIOs need to know about performance measurement of
http://www.joaag.com/uploads/ 5_Monga2EGov3_2_.pdf
Egovernance? In Shark, A. R. (Ed.), CIO leadership for
cities and counties: Emerging trends and practices (pp.
O
http://www.mgovernment.org/ resurces/mgovlab_afgik.
155–168). Washington, DC: Public Technology Institute. pdf
Homburg, C., & Fürst, A. (2005). How organizational http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/idpm/research/ publica
O
complaint handling drives customer loyalty: An analysis tions/wp/igovernment/igov_wp11.htm
of the mechanistic and the organic approach. Journal of
R
Marketing, 69, 95–114. doi:10.1509/jmkg.69.3.95.66367 Hujiboom, N., Broek, T., Frissen, V., Kool, L., Kotterink,
B., Nielsen, M., et al. (2009). Public services 2.0: The
P
Horrigan, J. B. (2004). How Americans get in touch with impact of social computing on public services (Tech.
government. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Rep. No. EUR 24080 EN2009). Luxembourg: European
Life Project. Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Prospec
L
tive Technological Studies. iStrategy. (2010). Retrieved
Horst, M., Kuttschreuter, M., & Gutteling, J. M. (2007).
July 2, 2010, from http://www.istrategy2010.com/blog/
Perceived usefulness, personal experiences, risk percep
A
socialmediainbusinessfortune100statistics/
tion and trust as determinants of adoption of egovernment
services in The Netherlands. Computers in Human Be Humphery, J., & Schmitz, H. (1998). Trust and inter
B
havior, 23(4), 1838–1852. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2005.11.003 firm relations in developing and transition economies.
The Journal of Development Studies, 34(4), 32–61.
Hosmer, L. T. (1995). Trust: The connecting link between
O
doi:10.1080/00220389808422528
organizational theory and philosophical ethics. Academy
L
of Management Review, 20(2), 379–403. Ibrahim, K. (2007, 23 July). Size of BSB to increase 10
fold. The Brunei Times, p. 1.
Hosni, A. (2009, 27 November). Good response to HSBC
G
online services. Borneo Bulletin, p. 4. Iivari, J. (1991). A paradigmatic analysis of contemporary
schools of IS development. European Journal of Infor
Howard, M. (2009). Egovernment across the globe: How
I
mation Systems, 1, 249–272. doi:10.1057/ejis.1991.47
will ‘e’ change government?Retrieved.
India’s Rural Poor. (2007). Why housing isn’t enough
Howe, J. (2006). The rise of crowdsourcing. Wired
G
to create sustainable communities. Retrieved from
I
Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/wired/
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/ india/article.
archive/14.06/crowds.html
cfm?articleid=4219
Howe, J. (2008). Crowdsourcing. London, UK: Crown
Industry Advisory Council. (March 2005). eGovernment
Business Publishers.
Shared Interest Group, Best Practices Subcommittee.
Howe, N., & Strauss, W. (1991). Generations: The his McLean, Virginia. iStrategyLabs. (n.d.). Apps for Democ
tory of America’s future, 1584 to 2069. New York, NY: racy. Retrieved from http://www.appsfordemocracy.org/
Harper Perennial.
Inglehart, R. (1977). The silent revolution: Changing val
Howe, N., & Strauss, W. (2000). Millennials rising: The ues and political styles among western publics. Princeton,
next great generation. New York, NY: Random House. NJ: Pinceton University Press.
Howe, N., & Strauss, W. (2003). Millennials go to college.

New York, NY: LifeCourse.
581
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Insa, T. (2003, August). Lebarnya Jurang eGovernment Jackson, L. A., Eye, A., Barbatsis, G., Biocca, F., Fitzger
(trans. Wide Disparity of eGovernment). eBizzAsia, 1(10). ald, H. E., & Zhao, Y. (2004). The impact of Internet use
Retrieved from http://www.ebizzasia.com on the other side of the digital divide. Communications
of the ACM, 47(7), 43–47. doi:10.1145/1005817.1005819
Institute for CitizenCentred Service. (2008). Citizens
first 5. Jacobs, R., & Goddard, M. (2007). How do performance
F
indicators add up? An examination of composite indica
Institute for CitizenCentred Service. (n.d.). Benchmark
tors in public services. Public Money & Management,
ing: Benefits and lessons learned. Retrieved June 17,
27(2), 103–110. doi:10.1111/j.14679302.2007.00565.x
O
2010, from http://www.iccsisac.org/ en/cmt/benefits.htm
Jaeger, P. T. (2003). The endless wire: Egovernment as a
Institute for Politics. Democracy & the Internet. (2004,
global phenomenon. Government Information Quarterly,
O
March). Political influentials online in the 2004 presiden
20(4), 323–331. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2003.08.003
tial campaign. Washington, DC: The George Washington
R
University. Retrieved from http://www.ipdi.org/Upload Jaeger, P. T., & Bertot, J. C. (2010). Designing, implement
edFiles/ political%20influentials.pdf ing, and evaluating usercentered and citizencentered e
P
government. International Journal of Electronic Govern
International Telecommunication Union (ITU). (2009,
ment Research, 6(2), 1–17. doi:10.4018/jegr.2010040101
November). Bringing broadband access to rural areas:
L
A stepbystep approach for regulators, policy makers Jaeger, P. T., & Matteson, M. (2009). Egovernment and
and universal access program administrators. Retrieved technology acceptance: The case of the implementation of
from http://www.itu.int/ITUD/treg/Events/ Seminars/ section 508 guidelines for websites. Electronic . Journal
A
GSR/GSR09/ doc/GSR09_ of EGovernment, 7(1), 87–98.
B
Internet World Stats. (2007). Internet usage statisticsthe Jaeger, P. T., Paquette, S., & Simmons, S. N. (2010).
big picture: World Internet users and population stats. Information policy in national political campaigns:
Retrieved 6 June, 2007, from http://www.Internetworld A comparison of the 2008 campaigns for President
O
stats.com/ stats.htm of the United States and Prime Minister of Canada.
L
Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 7, 1–16.
Internet World Stats. (2010). Usage and population sta
doi:10.1080/19331680903316700
tistics. Retrieved on April 17, 2010, from
G
Jansen, E. P. (2008). New public management: Per
Internet World Stats. (June 30, 2009). Asia Internet usage.
spectives on performance and the use of performance
Retrieved March 5, 2010, from http://www.internetworld
I
information. Financial Accountability & Management,
stats.com/ stats3.htm#asia
24(2), 169–191. doi:10.1111/j.14680408.2008.00447.x
Isin, E. F., & Turner, B. S. (2002). Handbook of citizen
G
Janssen, D. (2003). Electronic government Design, ap
I
ship studies. London, UK: Sage.
plications, and management. Information Policy, 8(34).
Islam, R. (2003). Do more transparent governments govern
Janssen, M., & van Veenstra, A. F. (2005). Stages of
better? World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, No.
growth in egovernment: An architectural approach. The
3077, June. Washington, DC: The World Bank Institute.
Electronic . Journal of EGovernment, 3(4), 193–200.
Jaago re. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.jaagore.com/
Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Clinton, K., & Robison, A.
Jackson, N. A., & Lillekar, D. (2010). Building architec J. (2009). Confronting the challenges of participatory
ture of participation? Political parties and the Web 2.0 in culture: Media education for the 21st century. Cam
Britain. Journal of Information Technology and Politics, bridge, MA: The MIT Press. Retrieved January 30, 2009,
6(3). Taylor & Francis Group. from http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/full_pdfs/ Confront
ing_the_Challenges.pdf
582
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Jenning, M. K., & Zeitner, V. (2003). Internet use and Jover, G., & Thoilliez, B. (2009, October). Discontinuities
civic engagement. A longitudinal analysis. Public Opinion in civic and participatory learning. Paper presented at the
Quarterly, 67, 311–334. doi:10.1086/376947 International Conference Youth Participation as Goal and
Method of Citizenship Education in Russia and Europe.
Jensen, M. J., Danziger, J. N., & Venkatesh, A.
St. Petersburg State University.
(2007). Civil society and cyber society: The role of
F
the Internet in community associations and demo Kakabadse, A., Kakabadse, N. K., & Kouzmin, A.
cratic politics. The Information Society, 23(1), 39–50. (2003). Reinventing the democratic governance project
doi:10.1080/01972240601057528 through Information Technology? A growing agenda for
O
debate. Public Administration Review, 63(1), 44–60.
Jiang, M., & Xu, H. (2009). Exploring online structure on
doi:10.1111/15406210.00263
Chinese government portals: Citizen political participation
O
and government legitimation. Social Science Computer Kalakota, R., & Robinson, M. (2001). Ebusiness 2.0:
Review, 27(2), 174–195. doi:10.1177/0894439308327313 Roadmap for success. Boston, MA: AddisonWesley.
R
Johnsen, Å. (2005). What does 25 years of experience tell Kalampokis, E., Tambouris, E., & Tarabanis, K. (2008).
P
us about the state of performance measurement in public A domain model for eparticipation. In Proceedings of
policy and management? Public Money & Management, the 3rd International Conference on Internet and Web
25(1), 9–17. Applications and Services.
L
Johnson, R., Cartee, K. S., & Copeland, G. A. (1991). Kalba, K. (2008). The adoption of mobile phones in emerg
Negative political advertising: Coming of age. Hillsdale, ing markets: Global diffusion and the rural challenge.
A
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. International Journal of Communication, 2, 631–661.
B
Johnson, T., & Kaye, B. (1998). A vehicle for engagement Kam, M., Agarwal, A., Kumar, A., Lal, S., Mathur, A.,
or a haven for the disaffected? Internet use, political alien Tewari, A., & Canny, J. (2008) Designing elearning
ation, and voter participation . In Johnson, T., Hays, C., & games for rural children in India: A format for balancing
O
Hays, S. (Eds.), Engaging the public: How government learning with fun. Paper presented at Designing Interactive
L
and the media can reinvigorate American democracy. Systems Conference 2008, Cape Town. Retrieved from
New York, NY: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Inc. http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/ ~mattkam/publications/
DIS2008.pdf 14.09.2010
G
Jones. S., & Fox, S. (2009). Generations online in 2009.
Pew internet & american life project. Retrieved from Kanishka, K., & Hepu, D. (2010). Exploring the public
I
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/ Generations value of egovernment. 23rd Bled eConference, June
Onlinein2009.aspx 20–23, 2010, Bled, Slovenia.
G
Jones, D. S. (2001). Performance measurement and Kapur, S. (2010). Businesses wake up to social network
I
budgetary reform in the Singapore civil service. Journal ing. Emirates Busienss 24|7. Retrieved July 1 2010,
of Public Budgeting, Accounting & . Financial Manage from http://www.business247.ae/ companiesmarkets/
ment, 13(4), 485–511. technology/ businesseswakeuptosocialnetworking
201004071.103638
Jones, K., & Leonard, L. N. K. (2008). Trust in consumer
toconsumer electronic commerce. Information & Man Karahanna, E., Straub, D., & Chervany, N. L. (1998).
agement, 45(2), 88–95. doi:10.1016/j.im.2007.12.002 Information Technology adoption across time: A cross
sectional comparison of preadoption and postadoption
Joute, E. L. (2006). Internet waits for vernacular pilot in
beliefs. Management Information Systems Quarterly,
India. Retrieved on 13 June, 2010, from http://www.finan
9(2), 183–207.
cialexpress.com/ fe_full_story.php?content_id=137180
583
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Karan, K. (1994). Political communication and the 1991 Karatepe, O. M. (2006). Consumer complaints and
general elections in India. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, organizational responses: The effects of complainants’
London School of Economics & political science, Uni perceptions of justice on satisfaction and loyalty. Inter
versity of London. national Journal of Hospitality Management, 25, 69–90.
doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2004.12.008
Karan, K., & Gimeno, J. D. M. (2010). Networking
F
in India: Interlinking traditional, Internet, and mobile Karvonen, K. (1999). Creating trust. In Proceedings of the
technologies in election campaigns. Paper presented at Fourth Nordic Workshop on Secure IT Systems (Nordsec
the Seventh Annual Conference on Citizenship studies ’99) (pp. 2136). Kista, Sweden.
O
‘Networks’. Center for study of Citizenship, Wayne State
Karwal, A. (2009). Egovernance and citizen’s charter:
University. Detroit, April, 810,2010
An agenda for an effective delivery mechanism – The
O
Karan, K., & Khoo, C. H. M. (2008). Mobile diffusion Ahmedabad experience . In Misra, H. (Ed.), Governance
and development: Issues and challenges of mgovernment of rural information and communication technologies:
R
in India. In J. S. Pettersson (Ed.), Proceedings of the 1st Opportunities and challenges (pp. 67–96). New Delhi:
International Conference on M4D Mobile Communica Academic Foundation.
P
tion for Technology and Development, 1112 December,
Katz, J. E., & Rice, R. E. (2002). Social consequences
2008 Karlstad University, Sweden.
of Internet use: Access, involvement, and interaction.
L
Karan, K., & Mathur, R. R. (2010). Women forge ahead Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
in India: Internet and the public forum. Journal of Com
Kaushik, P. D. (2004). Egovernance: Government initia
A
munity Informatics, a Global EJournal Special Double
tives in India . In Debroy, B. (Ed.), Agenda for improving
Issue, 5(3 & 6).
governance. New Delhi, India: Academic Foundation in
B
Karan, K. (2004). Cyber communities in rural Asia: A Association with Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contempo
study of seven countries. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish. rary Studies.
O
Karan, K. (2006). What’s news in India? In Shoemaker, Kaushik, P. D., & Singh, N. (2004). Information Technol
L
P., & Cohen, A. (Eds.), News around the world: Content, ogy and broadbased development: Preliminary lessons
practitioners and the public (pp. 189–213). London, UK: from North India. World Development, 32(4), 591–607.
Routledge. doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2003.11.002
G
Karan, K. (2009). Political communication in India . In Kee, H. W., & Knox, R. E. (1970). Conceptual and
I
Wilnat, L., & Aw, A. (Eds.), Political communication in methodological considerations in the study of trust and
Asia (pp. 191–215). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis. suspicion. The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 14(3),
357–266. doi:10.1177/002200277001400307
G
Karan, K., Gimeno, J. D. M., & Tandoc, E. C. (2009).
I
Internet and social networking sites in election campaigns: Keeter, S., & Taylor, P. (2009). The millennials. Pew
Gabriela Women’s Party in Philippines wins the 2007 Research Center. Retrieved August 15, 2010, from http://
elections. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, pewresearch.org/pubs/ 1437/millennialsprofile
6(3), 326–339. doi:10.1080/19331680903047420
Kelly, J. M. (2002). Why we should take performance mea
Karan, K., Gimeno, J. D. M., & Tandoc, E. Jr. (2009). The surement on faith (Facts being hard to come by and not terri
Internet and mobile technologies in election campaigns: bly important). Public Performance and Management Re
The GABRIELA women’s party during the 2007 Philip view, 25(4), 375–380. doi:10.1177/15357602025004009
pine elections. Journal of Information Technology &
Politics, 6(3), 326–339. doi:10.1080/19331680903047420
584
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Kelman, S., & Friedman, J. N. (2009). Performance im Kim, J., & Shunk, D. L. (2004). Matching indirect procure
provement and performance dysfunction: An empirical ment process with different B2B eprocurement system.
examination of distortionary impacts of the emergency Computers in Industry, 53, 153–164. doi:10.1016/j.
room waittime target in the English National Health compind.2003.07.002
Service. Journal of Public Administration: Research
Kim, P. S., Halligan, J., Cho, N., Oh, C. H., & Eikenberry,
F
and Theory, 19(4), 917–946. doi:10.1093/jopart/mun028
A. M. (2005). Toward participatory and transparent gov
Keniston, K. (2004). Introduction: The four digital divides ernance: Report on the sixth global forum on reinvent
. In Keniston, K., & Kumar, D. (Eds.), IT experience in ing government. Public Administration Review, 65(6),
O
India. Delhi, India: Sage. 646–654. doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2005.00494.x
Kenski, K., & Stroud, N. J. (2006). Connections be King, R. C., & Xia, W. D. (1997). Media appropri
O
tween Internet use and political efficacy, knowledge, ateness: Effects of experience on communication
and participation. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic media choice. Decision Sciences, 28(4), 877–910.
R
Media, (June). Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/ doi:10.1111/j.15405915.1997.tb01335.x
articles/mi_m6836/ is_6832_6850/ai_n24996015/
P
King, S. F. (2006). Citizens as customers: Exploring the
?tag=content;col24996011.
future of CRM in UK local government. Government
Kettl, D. F., & Fesler, J. W. (2005). The politics of the ad Information Quarterly, 24(1), 47–63. doi:10.1016/j.
L
ministrative process (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: CQ Press. giq.2006.02.012
Kew, J., & Herrington, M. (2009). ICT and entrepre Kjaer, A. M. (2004). Governance. Cambridge, UK: Pol
A
neurship 2009. Research report presented to the Small ity Press.
Enterprise Development Agency, Graduate School of
B
Klemperer, P. (1999). Auction theory: A guide to the
Business. Cape Town: University of Cape Town.
literature. London, UK: Centre for Economics Policy
Keyman, F. (1998). Kamusal Alan ve Cumhuriyetçi Research.
O
Liberalizm Türkiye’de Demokrasi Sorunu (pp. 57–72).
Klotz, R. J. (2010). The sidetracked 2008 YouTube senate
L
6%3/)/:+H$M(+r/1u?
campaign. Journal of Information Technology & Politics,
Kies, R. (2010). Promises and limits of Webde 7(2/3), 110–123. doi:10.1080/19331681003748917
G
liberations. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan.
Kluver, R. (2007). The Internet and national elections:
doi:10.1057/9780230106376
A comparative study of Web campaigning. New York,
I
Kifle, H., & Low, K. C. P. (2009). eGovernment imple India: Routledge.
mentation and leadership – The Brunei case study. Elec
Kluver, R., & Banerjee, I. (2005). The Internet in nine
G
tronic . Journal of EGovernment, 7, 271–282. Retrieved
I
Asian nations. Information Communication and Society,
from www.ejeg.com
8(1), 30–46. doi:10.1080/13691180500066847
Kilpatrick, W. (1936). Classification and measurement
Knight, J., Song, L., & Jia, H. (1999). Chinese rural
of public expenditures. The Annals of the American
migrants in urban enterprises: Three perspectives.
Academy of Political and Social Science, 183(1), 19–26.
The Journal of Development Studies, 35(3), 73–104.
doi:10.1177/000271623618300104
doi:10.1080/00220389908422574
Kim, E., & Tadisina, S. (2004). Factors impacting cus
Kochhar, S., & Dhanjal, D. (2005). Egovernment report
tomers’ initial trust in ebusinesses: An empirical study.
card, Yojna, 49. New Delhi.
In Proceedings of the 38th Annual Hawaii International
Conference on System Sciences (HICSS’05) (p. 170b). Koelkebeck, T. (2010). Transparency inside out . In
Big Island, Hawaii. Lathrop, D., & Ruma, L. (Eds.), Open government, col
laboration, transparency and participation in practice
(p. 11). Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc.
585
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Komiak, S. Y. X., & Benbasat, I. (2006). The impact Kudo, H. (2008). Does Egovernment guarantee account
of personalization and familiarity on trust and adoption ability in public sector? Experiences in Italy and Japan.
of recommendation agents. Management Information Public Administration Quarterly, 32(1), 93–120.
Systems Quarterly, 30(4), 941–960.
Kumar, N., & Benbasat, I. (2002). Parasocial presence
Kooiman, J. (2003). Governing as governance. Thousand and communication capabilities of a website: A theoretical
F
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. perspective, eService Journal, 1(I3), 524.
KoracKakabadse, A., & KoracKakabadse, N. (1999). Kumar, A. (1991). The tenth round: Story of Indian elec
O
Information Technology’s impact on the quality of de tions. Calcutta, India: Press Trust of India.
mocracy: Reinventing the ‘democratic vessel . In Heeks,
Kumar, N., & Benbasat, I. (2006). The influence of rec
R. (Ed.), Reinventing government in the information age:
O
ommendation systems and consumer reviews on evalu
International practice in ITenabled public sector reform.
ations of websites. Information Systems Research, 17(4),
London, UK: Routledge.
R
425–439. doi:10.1287/isre.1060.0107
Koufaris, M., & HamptonSosa, W. (2004). The devel
Kumar, V., Mukerji, B., Butt, I., & Persaud, A. (2007). Fac
P
opment of initial trust in an online company by new
tors for successful egovernment adoption: A conceptual
customers. Information & Management, 41(3), 337–397.
framework. The Electronic . Journal of EGovernment,
doi:10.1016/j.im.2003.08.004
L
5(1), 63–76.
Kraemer, K. L., & Dedrick, J. (1994). Payoffs from invest
Kushchu, I., & Kuscu, M. H. (2004). From egovernment
ment in information technology: Lessons from the Asia
A
to mgovernment: Facing the inevitable [Electronic Ver
Pacific region. World Development, 22(12), 1921–1931.
sion]. Retrieved 10 September, 2008, from http://www.
doi:10.1016/0305750X(94)90183X
B
mgovlab.org
Kramer, R. M., & Isen, A. M. (1994). Trust and distrust:
Kuttan, A., & Peters, L. (2003). From digital divide to
Its psychological and social dimensions. Motivation and
O
digital opportunity. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press Inc.
Emotion, 18(2), 105–107. doi:10.1007/BF02249395
L
Kymlicka, W. (1996). Multicultural citizenship: A liberal
Krimmer, R., Triessnig, S., & Volkam, M. (2007). The
theory of minority rights. Oxford, England: Clarendon.
development of remote evoting around the world: a re
G
view of roads and directions. Lecture Notes in Computer La Porte, T. M., De Jong, M., & Demchak, C. C. (1999).
ScienceProceedings of the 1st International Conference Public organizations on the World Wide Web: Empirical
I
on EVoting and Identity, (pp. 115). correlates of administrative openness. Retrieved De
cember 2, 2010, from http://www.cyprg.arizona.edu/
Krueger, B. S. (2002). Assessing the potential of Internet
publications/correlat.rtf
G
political participation in the United States: A resource
I
approach. American Politics Research, 30(5), 476–498. la Porte, T. M., Demchak, C. C., & de Jong, M.
doi:10.1177/1532673X02030005002 (2002). Democracy and bureaucracy in the age of
the Web: Empirical findings and theoretical specula
Krueger, B. S. (2006). A comparison of conventional and
tions. Administration & Society, 34(4), 411–446.
Internet political mobilization. American Politics Re
doi:10.1177/0095399702034004004
search, 34(6), 759–776. doi:10.1177/1532673X06290911
Lampe, C., Ellison, N., & Steinfeld, C. (2007). A familiar
Krueger, R. A. (1998). Moderating focus groups. Thousand
Face(book): Profile elements as signals in an online social
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
network. Proceedings of Conference on Human Factors
Kuanlai, C. S. (2009). Towards a model of macro E in Computing Systems (pp. 435444). New York, NY:
government portal adoption. Journal of EGovernment ACM Press.
Studies & Best Practices, 10, 140–150.
586
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Lane, C., & Bachmann, R. (1996). The social con Lehrer, J. (2010, May 2). Lost in the detailsHow breaking
stitution of trust: Supplier relations in Britain and everything down to particles blinds scientist to the big
Germany. Organization Studies, 17(3), 365–395. picture. Wired Magazine.
doi:10.1177/017084069601700302
Lehrer, J. (2009). How we decide. Houghton Mifflin Co.
Lara, S., & Naval, C. (2010). Social network site usage
F
Lekorwe, M., Molomo, M., Molefe, W., & Moseki, K.
and social participation. In J. Herrington & B. Hunter
(2001). Public attitudes toward democracy, governance
(Eds.), World Conference on Educational Multimedia,
and economic development in Botswana. Afrobarometer
Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2010 (pp. 2438
O
Paper No.14
2442). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
Lenhart, A., & Madden, M. (2007). Teens, privacy, &
Lara, S., & Naval, S. (2009). Educative proposal of Web 2.0
O
online social networks. Pew Internet and American Life
for encouragement of social and citizenship competence.
Project Report, Washington, D.C. Retrieved July 30, 2007,
In G. Siemens & C. Fulford (Eds.), World Conference
R
from http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/ PIP_Teens_Pri
on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecom
vacy_SNS_Report_Final.pdf
munications 2009 (pp. 4752). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
P
Lenhart, A., Purcell, K., Smith, A., & Zickuhr, K. (2010).
Lasch, C. (1991). The culture of narcissism. American
Social media and mobile internet use among teens and
life in an age of diminishing expectations. New York,
L
young adult. Pew Research Center’s Internet & American
NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
Life Project, Washington, D.C. Retrieved July 30, 2010,
Lathrop, D., & Ruma, L. (Eds.). (2010). Open govern from pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/ 2010/PIP_
A
ment: Collaboration, transparency, and participation in Social_Media_and_Young_ Adults_Report_Final.pdf
practice. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc.
B
Leong, A. (1998). The ICDT model: A framework for
Layne, K., & Lee, J. (2001). Developing fully functional ebusiness. Retrieved from http://www.mediacircus.net/
egovernment: A four stage model. Government Infor icdt.html
O
mation Quarterly, 18, 122–136. doi:10.1016/S0740
Lewicki, R. J., Tomlinson, E. C., & Gillespie, N.
L
624X(01)000661
(2006). Models of interpersonal trust development:
Lead India. (2009) Retrieved from http://www.leadin Theoretical approaches, empirical evidence, and future
G
dia2020.org/ kalam_full_speech.html directions. Journal of Management, 32(6), 991–1022.
doi:10.1177/0149206306294405
Lee, J., & Rao, H. R. (2009). Task complexity and different
I
decision criteria for online service acceptance: A compari Libert, B., & Faulk, R. (2009). Barack, Inc: Winning
son of two egovernment compliance service domains. business lessons of the Obama campaign. Upper Saddle
G
Decision Support Systems, 47, 424–435. doi:10.1016/j. River, NJ: FT Press.
I
dss.2009.04.009
Licari, D. (2006). Serious games: A ‘state of the market’
Lee, M. (2004). Ereporting: Strengthening democratic review. Coventry University, Enterprises for Digital
accountability. Washington, DC: IBM Center for The Central.
Business of Government.
Liestöl, G. (2007). The dynamics of convergence and
Lee, S. M., Tan, X., & Trimi, S. (2006). Mgovernment, divergence . In Storsul, T., & Stuedahl, D. (Eds.), Am
from rhetoric to reality: Learning from leading countries. bivalence towards convergence. Digitalization and media
International Journal of Electronic Government Research, change. Göteborg, Sweden: Nordicom.
3(2), 113–126. doi:10.1504/EG.2006.009213
Lim, M. (2003). From real to virtual (and back again):
Leet, M. (1998). Jurgen Habermas and deliberative Civil society, public sphere, and the Internet in Indone
democracy . In Carter, A., & Stokes, G. (Eds.), Liberal sia . In Ho, K. C., Kluver, R., & Yang, K. C. C. (Eds.),
democracy and its critics. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. Asia.com: Asia encounters the Internet. London, UK:
Routledge Curzon.
587
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Lin, C. A., Salwen, M. B., & Abdulla, R. A. (2005). Uses Livingstone, S., & Markham, T. (2008). The contribution
and gratification of online and offline news: New wine in of media consumption to civic participation. The British
old bottles? In Salwen, M. B., Garrison, B., & Driscoll, Journal of Sociology, 59(2), 351–371. doi:10.1111/j.1468
P. D. (Eds.), Online news and the public. Mahwah, NJ: 4446.2008.00197.x
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Loader, B. D. (2007). Young citizens in the digital age:
F
Lindblom, C. E. (1990). Inquiry and change. New York, Political engagement, young people and new media. New
NY: Yale University Press. York, NY: Routledge.
O
Lindgaard, G., Fernandes, G., Dudek, C., & Brown, Loader, B. D. (Ed.). (2007). Young citizens in the digital
J. (2006, MarchApril). Attention Web designers: You age: Political engagement, young people and new media.
have 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression! London, UK: Routledge.
O
Behaviour & Information Technology, 25(2), 115–126.
Loban, B. (2004). Between rhizomes and trees: P2P
doi:10.1080/01449290500330448
R
Information Systems. First Monday, 9(10).
Lindmark, S. (2009). Web 2.0: Where does Europe stand?
Loiseau, G. (2000). La démocratie numérique municipale
P
Report EUR 23969 EN – Joint Research Centre – Institute
française: Audelà des parangons de vertu . Hermes, 26
for Prospective Technological Studies. Luxembourg:
27, 213–232. doi:10.4267/2042/14777
Office for Official Publications of the European Com
L
munities, 2009. Retrieved from http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa. Loiseau, G. (2003). L’assujettissement des sites internet
eu/ publications/pub.cfm?id=2539 municipaux aux logiques sociétales. Science and Society,
A
60, 86–105.
Lipset, S. M. (1959). Some social requisites of democ
racy: Economic development and political legitimacy. Loiseau, G., & Wojcik, S. (2004). La démocratie électro
B
The American Political Science Review, 53(1), 69–105. nique municipale ou la captation contrariée . In Cochoy, F.
doi:10.2307/1951731 (Ed.), La captation des publics (pp. 209–235). Toulouse,
O
France: Presses Universitaires du Mirail.
Lister, M., Dovey, J., Giddings, S., Grant, I., & Kelly,
L
K. (2002). New media: A critical introduction. London, Longley, P., & Singleton, A. (2009). Linking social
UK: Routledge. deprivation and digital exclusion in England. Urban
Studies (Edinburgh, Scotland), 47(7), 1275–1298.
G
Litoselliti, L. (2003). Using focus groups in research.
doi:10.1177/0042098009104566
London, UK: Continuum.
I
Loveday, B. (2006). Policing performance: The impact
Liu, J., Derzsi, Z., Raus, M., & Kipp, A. (2008). eGovern
of performance measures and targets on police forces
ment project evaluation: An integrated framework. In M.
in England and Wales. International Journal of Police
G
A. Wimmer, H. J. Scholl, & E. Ferro (Eds.), Electronic
I
Science & Management, 8(4), 282–293. doi:10.1350/
government (vol. 5184/2008, pp. 85–97). Berlin, Germany:
ijps.2006.8.4.282
SpringerVerlag.
Low, K. C. P., Rahman, M. H., Almunawar, M. N., Mohid
Livingstone, S., Bober, M., & Helsper, E. J. (2005). Active
din, F., & Ang, S.L. (2010). Core values, egovernment
participation or just more information? Young people’s
implementation and its progress in Negara Brunei Da
takeup of opportunities to act and interact on the Internet.
russalam. eleader CASA: Chinese American Scholars’
Information Communication and Society, 8(3), 287–314.
Association 4 6 January 2010, Singapore.
doi:10.1080/13691180500259103
Luehrs, R., & Molinari, F. (2010). Editorial note. eJournal
Livingstone, S., & Helsper, E. J. (2007). Gradations
of eDemocracy and Open Government (JeDEM), Special
in digital inclusion: Children, young people and the
Issue on Sustainable eParticipation, September.
digital divide. New Media & Society, 9, 671–696.
doi:10.1177/1461444807080335 Luhmann, N. (1979). Trust and power. Great Britain:
John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
588
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Luhmann, N. (1988). Familiarity, confidence, trust: Madden, M. (2010). Older adults and social media:
Problems and alternatives . In Gambetta, D. (Ed.), social networking use among those ages 50 and older
Trust: Making and breaking cooperative relations. Basil nearly doubled over the past year. Washington D.C.: Pew
Blackwell Ltd. Internet and the American Life Project. Retrieved from
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/ 2010/ OlderAdultsand
Lu, Y. (2008). Managing the design of performance
F
SocialMedia.aspx.
measures: The role of agencies. Public Performance
& Management Review, 32(1), 7–24. doi:10.2753/ Madon, S., & Sahay, S. (2000). Democracy & informa
PMR15309576320101 tion: A case study of new local governance structures in
O
Bangalore. Information Communication and Society, 3(2),
Lynch, D. C. (1999). After the propaganda state: Media,
173–191. doi:10.1080/13691180050123695
politics, and “thought work” in reformed China. Stanford,
O
CA: Stanford University Press. Magnani, L. (2004a). Modelbased and manipulative
abduction in science. Foundations of Science, 9(3),
R
Maaten, E., & Hall, T. (2008). Improving the transpar
219–247. doi:10.1023/B:FODA.0000042841.18507.22
ency of remote evoting: The Estonian experience. Lec
P
ture Notes in Informatics3rd International Conference Magnani, L. (2004b). Reasoning through doing. Epistemic
on Electronic Voting 2008, (pp. 3143). Castle Hofen, mediators in scientific discovery. Journal of Applied Logic,
Bregenz, Austria. 2, 439–450. doi:10.1016/j.jal.2004.07.004
L
MacDonald, J., & Tolbert, C. (2008). Something rich Mahadeo, J. D. (2009). Towards an understanding of
and strange: Participation, engagement, and the tempest the factors influencing the acceptance and diffusion
A
of online politics . In Yang, K., & Bergrud, E. (Eds.), of egovernment services. Electronic . Journal of E
Civic engagement in a network society (pp. 271–298). Government, 7(4), 391–402.
B
Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Mahizhnan, A., & Andiappan, A. (2002). Egovernment
Macintosh, A. (2004). Characterizing eparticipation in – The Singapore case study. Tamil Internet 2002, Cali
O
policymaking. In Proceedings of the 37th Hawaii Inter fornia, USA. Retrieved from http://www.infitt.org/ti2002/
L
national Conference on System Sciences. Retrieved April papers/60ARUN.PDF
30, 2008 from http://csdl2.computer.org/comp/proceed
Mahler, J., & Regan, P. M. (2006). Crafting the message:
ings/ hicss/2004/2056/05/205650117a.pdf
G
Controlling content on agency websites. Government
Macintosh, A., & Stephen, C. (2003). Promise and Information Quarterly, 24, 505–552. doi:10.1016/j.
I
problems of edemocracy: Challenges of online citizen giq.2006.06.008
engagement. Paris, France: OECD Publication Service.
Maigret, E., & Monnoyer, L. (2000). Des caméras dans
G
MacManus, S. A. (2002). Understanding the incremental un Conseil municipal. Portée et limites de l’expérience
I
nature of eprocurement. Implementation at the state and d’IssylesMoulineaux. Hermes, 2627, 141–158.
local levels. Journal Public Procurement, 2, 5–28. doi:10.4267/2042/14771
Macueve, G. (2008). Assessment of the outcomes of Malecki, E. J., & Moriset, B. (2008). The digital economy:
egovernment for good governance: A case of the land Business organization, production processes, and regional
management Information System in Mozambique. Inter development. London, UK: Routledge.
national Journal of Electronic Governance, 1(4), 363–384.
Maniatopoulos, G. (2004). Enacting eprocurement
doi:10.1504/IJEG.2008.022067
technologies within UK local authorities. Proceedings
of the IADIS International Conference eSociety, (vol.
2, pp. 850–854).
Manuel, P. (1993). Cassette culture: Popular music and

technology in North India. Chicago, IL: University of
Chicago Press.
589
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Manzar, O. (2002). Rural development through broad Mayntz, R. (2003). New challenges to governance theory
band, wireless and mobiles. Retrieved from http://Www. . In Bang, H. (Ed.), Governance as social and political
Livemint.Com/2010/06/ 20211100/RuralDevelopment communication. Manchester, UK: Manchester University
ThroughBroa.Html?Atype=Tp Press.
March 26, 2009, from http://www.gfoa.org/services/gfr/ May, T. (2001). Social research: Issues, methods and pro
F
archives/2001/08/gfr0801.pdf. cess (3rd ed.). Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.
Margetts, H. (2003). Electronic government: A revolution McAllister, D. J. (1995). Affect and cognitionbased trust
O
in public administration? In Peter, B. G., & Pierre, J. as foundations for interpersonal cooperation. Academy of
(Eds.), Handbook of public administration (pp. 366–376). Management Journal, 38(1), 24–59. doi:10.2307/256727
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
O
McClure, C. R., & Bertot, J. C. (2000). The Chief Infor
Margolis, M., & Resnick, D. (2000). Politics as usual: mation Officer (CIO): Assessing its impact. Government
R
The cyber space revolution. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Information Quarterly, 17, 7–12. doi:10.1016/S0740
624X(99)000210
Marrelli, M. (1997). Acquisto di beni e servizi nella pub
P
blica amministrazione: Esperienze straniere e proposte McGaley, M. (2001). Evoting: An immature technology
per l’Italia. Rome, Italy: Commissione tecnica per la in a critical context. Doctoral Dissertation. Department
L
spesa pubblica. Ricerca n. 9, Ministero dell’Economia of Computer Science. National University of Ireland,
e delle Finanze. Maynooth.
A
Martín, I. (2007). La participación política de los jóvenes McGovern, G. (2009). Volume is the wrong way to measure
universitarios dentro y fuera de la universidad. Panorama Web success. Retrieved June 21, 2010, from http://www.
B
Social, 6, 119–132. gerrymcgovern.com/nt/ 2009/nt20090824Volume
websuccess.htm
Mathison, S. (2003) Digital dividends for the poor: ICT
O
for poverty reduction in Asia. global knowledge partner McGowan, R. P., & Poister, T. H. (1985). Impact
ship. Retrieved on 12 July, 2010, from http://www.glo of productivity measurement systems on municipal
L
balknowledgepartnership.org/gkp/ index.cfm/pageid/259/ performance. Policy Studies Review, 4(3), 532–540.
Home/Programme/Publications/ doi:10.1111/j.15411338.1985.tb00253.x
G
Mattera, P., Mcllavaine, L. C., & Cafas, T. (2010). Show McGuigan, J. (2005). The cultural public sphere.
us the stimulus (again): An evaluation of state government European Journal of Cultural Studies, 8(4).
I
recovery act websites. Washington, DC. doi:10.1177/1367549405057827
Maxham, J. G. III, & Netemeyer, R. G. (2002). Modeling McKnight, D. H., & Chervany, N. L. (2001). Concep
I G
customer perceptions of complaint handling over time: tualizing trust: A typology and ecommerce customer
The effects of perceived justice on satisfaction and intent. relationships model. Paper presented at the 34th Hawaii
Journal of Retailing, 78, 239–252. doi:10.1016/S0022 International Conference on System Sciences.
4359(02)001008
McKnight, D. H., & Choudhury, V. (2006). Distrust and
Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., & Schoorman, F. D. (1995). trust in B2C ecommerce: Do they differ? Paper presented
An integrative model of organizational trust. Academy of at the 8th International Conference on Electronic Com
Management Review, 20(3), 709–734. merce: The new ecommerce: Innovations for Conquering
Current Barriers, Obstacles and Limitations to Conducting
MayerSchönberger, V., & Lazer, D. (Eds.). (2007). Gov
Successful Business on the Internet.
ernance and information technology: From electronic
government to information government. Cambridge, McKnight, D. H., Kacmar, C., & Choudhury, V. (2004).
MA: MIT Press. Dispositional trust and distrust distinctions in predicting
high and lowrisk Internet expert advice site perceptions.
eService Journal, 3(2), 3555.
590
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
McKnight, D. H., & Chervany, N. L. (2002). What trust Menon, S. S. (2004). India’s convergence policy within
means in ecommerce customer relationships: an inter its communication sector: A long road ahead. Govern
disciplinary conceptual typology. International Journal ment Information Quarterly, 21, 319–336. doi:10.1016/j.
of Electronic Commerce, 6(2), 35–53. giq.2004.04.006
McKnight, D. H., Choudhury, V., & Kacmar, C. (2002a). Meso, P., Datta, P., & Mbarika, V. (2005). Moderating
F
Developing and validating trust measures for ecommerce: information and communication technologies influence
An integrative typology. Information Systems Research, on socioeconomic development with good governance: A
13(3), 334–359. doi:10.1287/isre.13.3.334.81 study of the developing countries. Journal of the American
O
Society for Information Science and Technology, 57(2),
McKnight, D. H., Choudhury, V., & Kacmar, C. (2002b).
186–197. doi:10.1002/asi.20263
The impact of initial consumer trust on intentions to trans
O
act with a web site: trust building model. The Journal of META Research Group. (2001). META group models
Strategic Information Systems, 11, 297–323. doi:10.1016/ an Internetbased “Evote system. Retrieved October
R
S09638687(02)000203 10, 2010, from http://www.allbusiness.com/specialty
businesses/ 10434401.html
P
McKnight, D., Cummings, L. L., & Chervany, N. L. (1998).
Initial trust formation in new organizational relationships. MGovernment: The New Frontier in Public Service De
Academy of Management Review, 23(2), 473–490. livery. (2007). Paper presented at the eGovWorld, Mobile
L
Government Consortium International, IISRussia, eGov
McLeod, J. M., & Becker, L. B. (1974). Testing the validity
Monitor and the Development Gateway, New Delhi.
of gratification measures through political effects analysis
A
. In Blumler, J. G., & Katz, E. (Eds.), The uses of mass Micheletti, M. (2006). Communication and political
communications (pp. 137–164). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. understanding as political participation . In Eduards, M.,
B
Linde, C., & Segerberg, A. (Eds.), State of welfare: Politics,
Mechling, J. (2000). Ecommerce: Egovernment and
policies and parties in the postnational welfare society.
procurement reform. In Atti del seminario Egovernment
O
Stockholm, Sweden: Stockholm University.
ad innovazione dei servizi della pubblica amministrazione.
L
Rome, Italy: Ministero del Tesoro, Bilancio e Program Michel, H. (2005). Eadministration, egovernment, e
mazione economica. governance and the learning city: A typology of citizen
ship management using ICTs. The Electronic . Journal
G
Meijer, A. (2007). Publishing public performance results
of EGovernment, 3(4), 213–218.
on the Internet—Do stakeholders use the Internet to hold
I
Dutch public service organizations to account? Govern Micheli, P., & Neely, A. (2010). Performance measurement
ment Information Quarterly, 24, 165–185. doi:10.1016/j. in the public sector in England: Searching for the golden
giq.2006.01.014 thread. Public Administration Review, 70(4), 591–600.
G
doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2010.02180.x
I
Meijer, A. J. (2007). Publishing public performance
results on the internet: Do stakeholders use the internet Miller, J. G., & Miller, J. L. (1990). Introduction: The
to hold Dutch public service organizations to account? nature of living systems. Behavioral Science, 35(3),
Government Information Quarterly, 24(1), 165–185. 157–163. doi:10.1002/bs.3830350301
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.01.014
Minges, M. (2001). Kretek Internet: Indonesia case study.
Melkers, J., & Willoughby, K. (2005). Models of Geneva, Switzerland: International Telecommunication
performancemeasurement use in local governments: Union.
Understanding budgeting, communication, and lasting
Ministry of Agriculture, Land, and Marine Resources.
effects. Public Administration Review, 65(2), 180–190.
(2007). About Ministry of Agriculture. Retrieved February
doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2005.00443.x
22, 2007, from http://www.agriculture.gov.tt
Mellor, S. (2009). Foreword . In Spinellis, D., & George,
G. (Eds.), Beautiful architecture. O’Reilly Media.
591
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Ministry of Community Development, Culture, and Mitrou, L., Gritzalis, D., & Katsikas, S. (2002). Revisiting
Gender Affairs. (2007). About Ministry of Community legal and regulatory requirements for secure evoting.
Development. Retrieved February 22, 2007, from http:// Proceedings of the 16th IFIP International Information
www.cdcga.gov.tt Security Conference (IFIP/SEC2002). Egypt.
Ministry of National Security. (2007). About Ministry of Mohen, J. A. (2001). The case for Internet vot
F
National Security. Retrieved February 22, 2007, from ing. Communications of the ACM, 44, 72–85.
http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.tt doi:10.1145/357489.357511
O
Minnesota Department of Transportation. (2003). 2003 Mohiddin, F. (2007). Information Systems success in
statewide transportation plan. Retrieved October 1, 2009, Brunei: The impact of organisational structure and
from www.dot.state.mn.us/planning/ stateplan/03plan. culture. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Curtin University of
O
html Technology.
R
Min, S.J. (2010). From the digital divide to the demo Mohiddin, F., & Low, K. C. P. (2008). Egovernment &
cratic divide: Internet skills, political interest, and the national culture – The way forward. Human resources
P
secondlevel digital divide in political Internet use. Jour compendium: Current global trends in HR best practices.
nal of Information Technology & Politics, 7(1), 22–35. Civil Service Institute, Brunei, 27 – 28 August 2008.
doi:10.1080/19331680903109402
L
Mohnot, A. (2009, April 10). Elections 2009: India
Mishra, G. (2009). Jaago Re, My Idea and Lead India: awakening. Retrieved October 20, 2009, from http://www.
The impact of socially conscious corporate campaigns poptech.org/blog/ index.php/archives/2990
A
in the 2009 Indian general elections.
Moily, V. (2007). Local governance: An inspiring jour
B
Mishra, G. (2009, March 22). Updated: How Internet ney into the future. Sixth Report, Second Administrative
and mobile technologies are transforming election cam Reforms Commission (p. vi). New Delhi, India: Govern
paigning in India. Retrieved October 22, 2009, from ment of India.
O
http://www.gauravonomics.com/blog/ howinternet
Moily, V. (2009). Citizen centric administration: The
L
andmobiletechnologiesare transformingelection
heart of governance. Twelfth Report, Second Administra
campaigninginindia/
tive Reforms Commission (pp. i–iii). New Delhi, India:
G
MIT Communications Forum. (2007). What is civic me Government of India.
dia? Summary of a discussion by Chris Csikszentmihalyi,
Molinari, F. (2010a). Thrilled by the tools, chilled by
I
Henry Jenkins, Beth Noveck and Ethan Zuckerman, Sep
the figures. How an “E” can really make the difference
20, 2007. Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/comm
in political participation. In Proceedings of the IADIS
forum/ forums/civic_media.html
G
ED2010 Conference, Freiburg, Germany.
I
Mitchell, A., & SavillSmith, C. (2004). The use of
Molinari, F. (2010b). On sustainable eparticipation. In E.
computer and video games for learning – A review of
Tambouris, A. Macintosh & O. Glassey (Eds.), Proceed
the literature. London, UK: Learning and Skills Devel
ings of the IFIP ePart2010 Conference, (pp. 12639).
opment Agency.
Lausanne, Switzerland: Springer.
Mitra, R. K. (2004). Issues and challenges of Egovernance
Molinari, F., & Porquier, E. (2010). Social networking on
in Indian Police: A study. Unpublished PhD thesis, Indian
climate change: The IDEALEU experience. In Proceed
Institute of Technology. Delhi.
ings of the eDEM2010 Conference, Donau University
Mitra, R. K., & Gupta, M. P. (2008). A contextual perspec Krems (Austria).
tive of performance assessment in egovernment: A study
Molla, A., & Licker, P. S. (2005). Perceived ereadiness
of Indian police administration. Government Information
factors in ecommerce adoption: An investigation in a
Quarterly, 25(2), 278–302. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.03.008
developing country. International Journal of Electronic
Commerce, 10(1), 83–110.
592
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Monga, A. K. (2008). Egovernment in India: Oppor Moxham, C. (2009). Performance measurement: Examin
tunities and challenges. Journal of Administration and ing the applicability of the existing body of knowledge
Governance, 3(2). Retrieved on 7 December, 2010, from to nonprofit organisations. International Journal of
Operations & Production Management, 29(7), 740–763.
Montgomery, K., GottliebRobles, B., & Larson, G. O.
doi:10.1108/01443570910971405
(2004). Youth as ecitizens: Engaging the digital genera
F
tion. Washington, DC: Center for Social Media. Moynihan, D. P. (2004). Building secure elections:
Evoting, security, and systems theory. Public Admin
Moon, M. J. (2002). The evolution of egovernment among
istration Review, 64(5), 515–528. doi:10.1111/j.1540
O
municipalities: Rhetoric or reality? Public Administration
6210.2004.00400.x
Review, 62(4), 424–433. doi:10.1111/00333352.00196
Moynihan, D. P. (2008). The dynamics of performance
O
Moon, M. J., & deLeon, P. (2001). Municipal reinvention:
management: Constructing information and reform.
Municipal values and diffusion among municipalities.
Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
R
Journal of Public Administration: Research and Theory,
11(3), 327–352. Mueller, D. (1989). Democracy: The public choice ap
P
proach . In Brennan, G., & Lomasky, L. (Eds.), Politics
Moon, M. J., & Norris, D. F. (2005). Does managerial
and process: New essays in democratic thought. Cam
orientation matter? The adoption of reinventing govern
L
ment and egovernment at the municipal level. Informa
CBO9780511528156.005
tion Systems Journal, 15(1), 43–60. doi:10.1111/j.1365
2575.2005.00185.x Muhlberger, P. (2006). Lessons from the Virtual Agora
A
Project: The effects of agency, identity, information, and
Moon, Y. (2000). Intimate exchanges: Using com
deliberation on political knowledge. Journal of Public
B
puters to elicit selfdisclosure from consumers. The
Deliberation, 2(1).
Journal of Consumer Research, 26(March), 323–339.
doi:10.1086/209566 Muller, P. (1995). Les politiques publiques comme con
O
struction d’un rapport au monde. In A. Faure, G. Pollet &
Morgan, D. L., & Scannell, A. U. (1998). Planning focus
L
P. Warin (Eds.), La construction du sens dans les politiques
groups. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
publiques: Débats autour de la notion de référentiel (pp.
Morgeson, F. V., & Mithas, S. (2009). Does egovernment 153179). Paris, France: L’Harmattan.
G
measure up to ebusiness? Comparing end user percep
Muller, P. (2008). Les politiques publiques (Que saisje?).
tions of U.S. federal government and ebusiness web
I
Paris, France: PUF.
sites. Public Administration Review, 69(4), 740–752.
doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2009.02021.x Musso, J., Weare, C., & Hale, M. (2001). Designing web
G
technologies for local governance reform: Good manage
I
Mossberger, K., Tolbert, C. J., & Stansbury, M. (2003).
ment or good democracy. Political Communication, 17(l),
Virtual inequality: Beyond the digital divide. Washington,
1–19. doi:10.1080/105846000198486
DC: Georgetown University Press. Retrieved February
22, 2007, from http://library2.nalis.gov.tt/ Nagesh, G. (2010). New D.C. CTO scraps ‘Apps for
Democracy’. The Hill. Retrieved from http://thehill.com/
Mossberger, K., Tolbert, C. J., & McNeal, R. S. (2008).
blogs/hilliconvalley/ technology/101779newdccto
Digital citizenship: The Internet, society, and participa
scraps appsfordemocracy
tion. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Nah, F. F.H., & Davis, S. (2002). HCI research issues in
Mossberger, K., Tolbert, C. J., & Stansbury, M. (2003).
electronic commerce. Journal of Electronic Commerce
Virtual inequality: Beyond the digital divide. Washington,
Research, 3(3), 98–113.
DC: George Washington University Press.
593
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Napoli, J., Ewing, M. T., & Pitt, L. F. (2000). Factors Naval, C., Ugarte, C., & MartínezOdria, A. (2009, Oc
affecting the adoption of the Internet in the public sec tober). Learning to participate in school: Experiences
tor. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 7, of servicelearning and community service programs in
77–88. doi:10.1300/J054v07n04_07 different countries. Paper presented at the International
Conference Youth Participation as Goal and Method of
Nass, C., & Moon, Y. (2000). Machines and mindlessness:
F
Citizenship Education in Russia and Europe. St. Peters
Social responses to computers. The Journal of Social
burg State University.
Issues, 56(1), 81–103. doi:10.1111/00224537.00153
Naval, C., & Altarejos, F. (2000). Educar para la par
O
Nath, K. (2008). Egovernance: Strategy, policy, prescrip
ticipación . In García Garrido, J. L. (Ed.), La sociedad
tion and prospect for the ‘common man’: A Case study of
educadora (pp. 226–244). Madrid, Spain: Fundación
government of Orissa visàvis India. Paper presented at
O
Independiente Caja Madrid.
the 17th Biennial Conference of International Telecom
munications Society (ITS), Montreal, Canada June 2428. Naval, C., Repáraz, C., & Ugarte, C. (2009in press). En
R
Retrieved from www.its2008montreal.org torno a la participación política de los jóvenes universi
tarios. El caso concreto de las elecciones europeas del
P
National Association of State Chief Information Officers.
7 de junio de . In Lázaro, R. (Ed.), De ética y política.
(2009). A call to action for state government: guidance
Pamplona, Spain: EUNSA.
for opening the doors to state data. Retrieved from http://
L
www.nascio.org/publications/ documents/NASCIO Networked Readiness Index 20092010. (2009). The
DataTransparency.pdf Global Information Technology Report 2009–2010. World
A
Economic Forum. Retrieved from http://www.insead.
National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council.
edu/facultyresearch/ centres/elab/rightnav/documents/
(2007). Government in the age of YouTube: The impli
B
NetworkedReadinessIndex_2009_10_Rankings.pdf
cations of Internet social networks to government. eC3
Symposium White Paper, Austin, TX, Presented at the Neu, C. A. (1998). Email communication between govern
O
eC3 Annual Conference, December 35, 2007. ment and citizens: Security, policy issues and next steps.
L
National Performance Management Advisory Commis Neu, C. R., Anderson, R. H., & Bikson, T. K. (1998). E
sion. (2010). A performance management framework mail communication between government and citizens:
for state and local government: From measurement and Security, policy issues, and next steps. Santa Monica,
G
reporting to management and improving. Chicago. CA: Rand Corp.
I
National Research Council. (2002). Information Technol Neumann, P. (1993). Security criteria for electronic vot
ogy research, innovation, and egovernemnt. Washington, ing. National Computer Security Conference Baltimore,
DC: National Academy Press. Maryland.
I G
National Telecommunication and Information Administra New York City City Performance Reporting. (2009).
tion (NTIA). (2002). A nation online: How americans are Agency performance report of the Department of Homeless
expanding their use of the internet. Washington, dc: u.s. Services. Retrieved October 6, 2009, from http://www.
Department of commerce. National telecommunication nyc.gov/html/ops/ cpr/html/home/home.shtml
and information administration. Retrieved from http://
Ngulube, P. (2007). The nature and accessibility of e
www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/ dn/anationonline2.pdf
government in Sub Saharan Africa. International Review
Naval, C., Sádaba, C., Bringué, X., & Pérez AlonsoJeta, of Information Ethics (IRIE), 7.
P. (2003). Los lenguajes de las pantallas. Impacto en las
Nichols, R. (July 11, 2010). Do Apps for America and
relaciones sociales de los jóvenes y retos educativos. In
other contests create sustainable applications? Govern
M. T. Romañá & M. Martínez (Eds.), Otros lenguajes en
ment Technology. Retrieved from http://www.govtech.
educación (pp. 175224). Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barce
com/ gt/articles/765522
lona: Signo Impressió Gràfica, S.A.
594
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Nielsen, J. (1994). Report from a 1994 Web usability Noveck, B. (2009). Wiki government, how technology
study. Retrieved June 20, 2010, from http://www.useit. can make government better, democracy stronger, and
com/papers/ 1994_web_usability_report.html citizens more powerful. Washington, DC: Brookings
Institution Press.
Nielsen, J. (2004). When search engines become answer
engines. Retrieved July 1, 2010, from http://www.useit. NYC BigApps. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nycbig
F
com/ alertbox/20040816.html apps.com/
Nielsen, J. (2000). Designing Web usability. Indianapolis, O’Looney, J. A. (2002). Wiring governments: Challenges
O
IN: New Rides Publishing. and possibilities for public managers. Westport, CT:
Quorum Books.
Nodari, S. (1992). Synthesis of tradition and modern in
O
the evolution of third World societies. New York, NY: O’Reilly, T. (2010). Government as a platform . In Lathrop,
Greenwood Press. D., & Ruma, L. (Eds.), Open government, collabora
R
tion, transparency and participation in practice (p. 11).
Noll, R. G., & Wallsten, S. J. (200506). Universal tele
Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc.
communications in India. India Policy Forum, 200506.
P
National Informatics Centers, “Good Governance through Obama, B. (2009). Transparency and open government.
ICT”, NIC New Delhi. Retrieved on June 2010 from Washington, DC: White House. Retrieved from http://
L
http://home.nic.in www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ Transparency
andOpenGovernment/
Norris, D. F., & Moon, M. J. (2005). Advancing e
A
government at the grassroots: Tortoise or hare? Public Oblinger, D. G., & Oblinger, J. L. (Eds.). (2005). Edu
Administration Review, 65(1), 64–75. doi:10.1111/j.1540 cating the Net generation. EDUCAUSE. Retrieved July
B
6210.2005.00431.x 30, 2010, from www.educause.edu/ educatingthenetgen/
Norris, P. (2001). Digital divide: Civic engagement, infor OcharaMuganda, N., & Van Belle, J. P. (2010). Manag
O
mation poverty, and the Internet worldwide. Cambridge, ing the egovernment adoption process in Kenya’s mixed
UK: Cambridge University Press. government authorities. Journal of EGovernment Studies
L
& Best Practices, 2010, (ID number 303226), 98109.
Norris, P. (2005). The impact of the Internet on political
activism: Evidence from Europe. International Jour OcharaMuganda, N., & Van Belle, J. P. (2010). A proposed
G
nal of Electronic Government Research, 1(1), 20–39. framework for egovernment knowledge infrastcructures
doi:10.4018/jegr.2005010102 for Africa’s transition economies. Journal of EGovern
I
ment Studies & Best Practices, 2010, 1–9.
Norris, P. (Ed.). (1999). Critical citizens. New York, NY:
Oxford University Press. OECD. (2001). Citizens as partners Information, consul
I G
tation and public participation in policymaking. OECD
Norris, P., & Curtice, J. (2006). If you build a politi
Publishing, 31 Oct 2001.
cal website, will they come? The Internet and political
activism in Britain. International Journal of Electronic OECD. (2007). Participative Web and usercreated con
Government Research, 2006(2). tent. Web2.0, wikis and social networking. Retrieved from
http://213.253.134.43/oecd/pdfs/ browseit/9307031E.
Noveck, B. S. (2003). Designing deliberative democracy
PDF
in cyberspace: The role of the cyberlawyer. Boston
University Journal of Science and Technology Law, 9(1). Of governments and geeks. (2010). The Economist,
394(8668), 6566.
Noveck, B. S. (2009). Wiki government: How technol
ogy can make government better, democracy stronger,
and citizens more powerful. Washington, DC: Brookings
Institution Press
595
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Ofcom. (2008). Social networking. A quantitative and Orlikowski, W. J. (2000). Using technology and consti
qualitative research report into attitudes, behaviours tuting structures: A practice lens for studying technology
and use. London, UK: Ofcom. Office of Communica in organizations. Organization Science, 11(3), 404–428.
tion. Retrieved July 30, 2010, from http://www.ofcom. doi:10.1287/orsc.11.4.404.14600
org.uk/advice/ media_literacy/medlitpub/medlitpubrss/
Orszag, P. (2009). The ingenuity of the American people.
F
socialnetworking/report.pdf
Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
Ofcom. (2009). Citizens’ digital participation: Research blog/09/09/09/ TheIngenuityoftheAmericanPeople/
report. London, UK: Ofcom. Office of Communication.
O
Osborne, D., & Gaebler, T. (1992). Reinventing govern
Retrieved July 30, 2010, from http://stakeholders.ofcom.
ment: How the entrepreneurial spirit is transforming the
org.uk/ marketdataresearch/medialiteracy/ medlitpub/
public sector. Reading, MA: AddisonWesley Publishing
O
medlitpubrss/cdp/
Company, Inc.
Ofcom. (2010). Digital participation. 2010 metrics bul
R
Osimo, D. (2008.) Web 2.0 in government: Why and how?
letin. London, UK: Ofcom. Office of Communication. Re
Retrieved from http://europa.eu
trieved July 30, 2010, from. http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.
P
uk/binaries/ research/medialiteracy/digiparticipation/ Page, S., & Malinowski, C. (2004). Top 10 performance
2010metrics/metricsbulletin2010.pdf measurement dos and don’ts. Government Finance Re
L
view, 20(5), 28–32.
Olsson, T., & Dahlgren, P. (2010). Young people ICTs and
democracy. Theories, policies, identities and websites. Pakulski, J. (1986). Legitimacy and mass compliance: Re
A
Göteborg, Sweden: Nordicom. flections on Max Weber and Soviettype societies. British
Journal of Political Science, 16(1), 35–56. doi:10.1017/
Oneworld Southasia (2004). Retrieved from http://
B
S0007123400003793
southasia.oneworld.net/ OWSAInfo/FunctionalArea/
KnowledgeServicesDeliveryForGrassroots Palmatier, R. W., Jarvis, C. B., Bechkoff, J. R., & Kardes,
O
F. R. (2009). The role of customer gratitude in relationship
Oostveen, A. (2009). Citizens and activists: Analysing
marketing. Journal of Marketing, 73, 1–18. doi:10.1509/
L
the reasons, impact and benefits of civic emails directed
jmkg.73.5.1
at a grassroot campaign. Paper presented at the Medi
ated Citizenship conference, University of Leeds, 1718 Panayoutou, N. A., Gayalis, S. P., & Tatsiopoulos, I. P.
G
September 2009. (2004). An eprocurement system for governmental pur
chasing. International Journal of Production Economics,
I
Open University. (2008). Open University. Retrieved June
90, 79–102. doi:10.1016/S09255273(03)001038
28, 2010, from http://www.open2.net/management_or
ganisation/ systems/thinking/introduction.html Papacharissi, Z. (2002). The virtual sphere: The Internet
I G
as a public sphere. New Media & Society, 4(1), 9–27.
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Develop
doi:10.1177/14614440222226244
ment (OECD). (2003a). Engaging citizens online for
better policymaking. OECD Observer, March. Retrieved Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988).
from www.oecd.org SERVQUAL: A multipleitem scale for measuring con
sumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing,
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Develop
64(1), 12–40.
ment. (2009, November). The financial and economic
crisis: The impact on eGovernment in OECD countries. Parent, M., Vandebeek, C. A., & Gemino, A. C. (2005).
Paper presented at the 5th Ministerial eGovernment Building citizen trust through egovernment. Government
Conference, Malmö, Sweden. Information Quarterly, 22(4), 720–736. doi:10.1016/j.
giq.2005.10.001
596
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Park, H. W., Barnett, G. A., & Kim, C. S. (2000). Political Pearcy, D. (2008). Using electronic procurement to
communication structure in Internet networks: A Korean facilitate supply chain integration. American Journal of
case. Sungkok Journalism Review, 11, 67–89. Business, 23(1). doi:10.1108/19355181200800002
Parycek, P. S. (2003). Electronic democracy: Chances and Pearrow, M. (2000). Web site usability handbook. Rock
risks for municipalities. In A. K. Prosser, Edemocracy: land, MA: Charles River Media, Inc.
F
Technology, right and politics. Vienna, Austria: OCGOCG
Peirce, C. S. (1934–63 ). In Hartshorne, C., & Weiss,
Publication #174.
P. (Eds.), Collected papers of Charles Sanders Peirce
O
Pasek, J., More, E., & Romer, D. (2009). Realizing the (Vol. 1–7). Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard
social Internet? Social networking meets offline engage University.
ment. [Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.]. Journal
O
Peixoto, T. (2008). Eparticipatory budgeting: Edemoc
of Information Technology & Politics, 6, 197–215.
racy from theory to success? Retrieved from http://www.
doi:10.1080/19331680902996403
R
epractice.eu/ en/library/281825
Patokorpi, E. (2007). Logic of Sherlock Holmes in
Pelosi, N. (2007). Inaugural address at the conference of
P
technology enhanced learning. Journal of Educational
‘EParliament in World eParliament Conference 2009.
Technology & Society, 10(1), 171–185.
Retrieved on June 10, 2010, from http://www.ictparlia
L
Patokorpi, E., Tétard, F., Qiao, F., & Sjövall, N. (2007). ment.org/wepc2009/
Mobile learning objects to support constructivist learning
Pereira, D. (2007, January 29). The Internet election.
. In Koohang, A., & Harman, K. (Eds.), Learning objects
A
The Straits Times. Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings.
(pp. 187–222). Santa Rosa, CA: Informing Science Press.
Peters, G. B., & Pierre, J. (2006). Governance, ac
B
Pattie, C. J., Seyd, P., & Whiteley, P. (2004). Citizenship
countability, and democratic legitimacy . In Benz, A.,
in Britain: Values, participation and democracy. Cam
& Papadopoulus, Y. (Eds.), Governance & democracy:
O
Comparing national, European, and international experi
CBO9780511490811
ences: Routledge: Taylor & Francis Co.
L
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation
Petretto, A. (1992). Contratti di fornitura pubblica e con
methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
correnza: Una sintesi della letteratura teorica. Economia
G
Pavlou, P., Tan, Y.H., & Gefen, D. (2003a). Institutional Pubblica, 3.
trust and familiarity in online interorganizational relation
I
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. (2009).
ships. Paper presented at the 11th European Conference
The Internet and civic engagement. Retrieved from http://
on Information Systems, ECIS 2003, Naples, Italy.
www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/ 15TheInternet
I G
Pavlou, P., Tan, Y.H., & Gefen, D. (2003b). The transi andCivicEngagement.aspx
tional role of institutional trust in online interorganiza
Piga, G., & Zanza, M. (2004). An exploratory analysis
tional relationships. Paper presented at the 36th Hawaii
of public procurement practices in Europe. Quaderni
International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS’03).
Consip, 1.
Pavlou, P. (2002). Institutionbased trust in interorgani
Pina, V., Torres, L., & Acerete, B. (2007). Are ICTs
zational exchange relationships: The role of online B2B
promoting government accountability? A comparative
marketplaces on trust formation. The Journal of Strategic
analysis of egovernance developments in 19 OECD
Information Systems, 11, 215–243. doi:10.1016/S0963
countries. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 18(5),
8687(02)000173
583–602. doi:10.1016/j.cpa.2006.01.012
Pavlou, P., & Fygenson, M. (2006). Understanding and
predicting electronic commerce adoption: an extension of
the theory of planned behavior. Management Information
Systems Quarterly, 30(1), 115–143.
597
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Pinto, A. (June 15, 2010). Texas Gov website gets a Texas Prasad, K. (2006). Indian administration: Politics, policies
size makeover: Search and citizen actions are centerpiece and prospects. Delhi, India: Pearson Longman.
of new site. OhMyGov. Retrieved from http://ohmygov.
Pratchett, L. (1999). New technologies & the modern
com/blogs/general_news/ archive/2010/06/15/ texasgov
ization of local government: An analysis of biases &
websitegetsatexas sizedmakeover.aspx
constraints. Public Administration, 77(4), 731–751.
F
Pitch. (2004). The advertising, marketing and media re doi:10.1111/14679299.00177
view. Monthly magazine published from Mumbai, India.
Pratchett, L., & Krimmer, R. (2005). The coming of e
O
Planning Commission. (2006). Ministry of Panchayati Raj democracy. International Journal of Electronic Govern
report of the Working Group on Democratic Decentralisa ment Research, 1(3), i–iii.
tion & PRIs, 2006. New Delhi, India: Government of India.
O
Prensky. M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants.
Poister, T. H., & Streib, G. (1999). Performance measure On the horizon, 9(5). Retrieved from http://www.mar
R
ment in municipal government: Assessing the state of the cprensky.com/writing/ Prensky%20%20Digital%20
practice. Public Administration Review, 59(4), 325–335. Natives,% 20Digital%20Immigrants%20%20Part21.pdf
P
doi:10.2307/3110115
President, T. (2008). Govt 2.0: The power of mass
Poole, R. (1999). Nation and identity. London, UK: collaboration is here, personal democracy forum. Re
L
Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203209158 trieved from http://techpresident.com/blog/entry/ 23566/
govt_2_0_the_power_of_ mass_collaboration_is_here
Poor. N. (2005). Mechanisms of an online public sphere:
A
the website slashdot. Journal of computermediated com Preston, S. D., & de Waal, F. B. (2002). Empathy: Its
munication, 10(2). Retrieved from http://jcmc.indiana. ultimate and proximate bases. The Behavioral and Brain
B
edu/vol10/ issue12/poor.html Sciences, 25(February), 1–72.
Power Inquiry. (2006). Power to the people: An inde Price, V., & Cappella, J. N. (2002). Online deliberation
O
pendent inquiry into Britain’s democracy. The centenary and its influence: The Electronic Dialogue Project in
project of the Joseph Rowntree charitable trust and the campaign 2000. IT & Society, 1(1), 303–329.
L
Joseph Rowntree reform Trust. York, NY: Power Inquiry.
Pröitz, L. (2007). Mobile media and genres of the self . In
Powers, L. C. (March 28, 2009). A framework for evaluat Storsul, T., & Stuedahl, D. (Eds.), Ambivalence towards
G
ing the effectiveness of performance measurement sys convergence: Digitalization and media change. Göteborg,
tems. Retrieved October 25, 2010, from http://ssrn.com/ Sweden: Nordicom.
I
abstract=1371158
Prosser, A., & Krimmer, R. (2004). The dimensions of
Practices Subcommittee. (2005). Managing citizen electronic voting technology, law, politics and society .
I G
centric Web content. State of the practice white paper. In Prosser, A., & Krimmer, R. (Eds.), Electronic voting
McLean Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.actgov.org/ in Europe Technology, law, politics and society (pp.
knowledgebank/ whitepapers/Documents/Shared% 20In 21–28). Constance, Austria: Lecture Notes in Informatics.
terest%20Groups/Collaboration% 20and%20Transforma
Prosser, R. K. (2003). Deploying electronic democracy
tion%20SIG/Managing% 20CitizenCentric%20Web%20
for public corporations (pp. 234–239). Electronic Gov
Content%20% 20CT%20SIG%20%2032305.pdf
ernment Proceedings.
Prasad, S. (2009, April 15). India’s election campaigns
Public Administration Select Committee. (2003). On
get Netsavvy. ZDNet Asia. Retrieved on 12 August,
target? Government by measurement. London, UK:
2010, from http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/internet/
House of Commons.
0,39044908,62053192,00.htm
Pückler, von T. (n.d.). Peirce und Popper über Hypothesen
Prasad, K. (2004). Political communication: The Indian
und ihre Bildung. Retrieved June 6, 2010, from http://user.
experience (Vol. 2). New Delhi, India: B.R. Publishing
unifrankfurt.de/ ~wirth/texte/P%FCckler.html
Corporation, India.
598
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and Raths, D. (April 1, 2008). Virtual worlds help public
revival of American community. New York, NY: Simon safety officials practice for reallife threats. Govern
& Schuster. ment Technology. Retrieved from www.govtech.com/gt/
print_article.ph?id+261426
Putzel, J. (1997). Why has democratization been a weaker
impulse in Indonesia and Malaysia than in the Philippines? Rattan, N. (2005). National egovernance plan of India:
F
In Potter, D., Goldblatt, D., Kiloh, M., & Lewis, P. (Eds.), Driving good governance using ICT. Retrieved from
Democratization. Malden, MA: Blackwell. www.digitallearning.co.in
O
Pyramid Research. (2008). The Philter: India’s mobile Ray, D. (2006). A study on egovernment readiness of
data explosion. Retrieved on 21 September, 2010, Indian states . In Mitra, R. K. (Ed.), Egovernment: Macro
from http://www.lightreading.com/blog.asp? blog_ issues (pp. 107–122). New Delhi, India: Gift Publishing.
O
sectionid=217&doc_id=164009
RaynesGoldie, K., & Luke, W. (2008). Our space: Online
R
Qiang, C., Rossotto, C., & Kimura, K. (2009). Economic civic engagement tools for youth . In Lance Bennett, W.
impacts of broadband (pp. 35–50). World Bank 2009 (Ed.), Civic life online: Learning how digital media can
P
Information and Communications for Development: engage youth (pp. 161–188). Cambridge, MA: The MIT
Extending Reach and Increasing Impact, Washington DC. Press. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Founda
tion Series on Digital Media and Learning.
L
Qiu, L., & Benbasat, I. (2005). An investigation into the
effects of texttospeech voice and 3D avatars on the Recommendation Rec, E. U. (2004)11. (2004). Legal,
perception of presence and flow of live help in electronic operational, and technical standards for evoting. Stras
A
commerce. ACM Transactions on ComputerHuman In bourg, France: EU Recommendation Rec(2004)11 adopted
teraction, 12(4), 329–355. doi:10.1145/1121112.1121113 by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
B
Qualman, E. (2009). Statistics show social media is bigger Recovery.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.recovery.
than you think. Socialnomics. Retrieved June 22, 2010, gov/Pages/home.aspx
O
from http://socialnomics.net/2009/08/11/ statisticsshow
Reddick, C. G. (2005). Citizen interaction with egovern
L
socialmedia isbiggerthanyouthink/
ment: From the streets to servers? Government Informa
Qualman, E. (2009). Socialnomics: How social media tion Quarterly, 22, 38–57. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2004.10.003
G
transforms the way we live and do business. Hoboken,
Redondo, E. (1999). Educación y comunicación. Barce
NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
lona, Spain: Ariel.
I
Rahman, M. H., & Naz, R. (2006). Digital divide within
Reinard, J. (2001). Introduction to communication re
society: An account of poverty, community and egover
search. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
G
nance in Fiji. ELearning, Special Issue on Models For
I
Bridging Digital Divide, 3(3). Retrieved from http:// Remmert, M. (2004). Towards European standards on
www.wwwords.co.uk/elea/ content/pdfs/3/issue3_3.asp electronic voting . In Prosser, A., & Krimmer, R. (Eds.),
Electronic voting in Europe Technology, law, politics
Rahmaniar, A. (2009). US$40B Nusantara21 super
and society (pp. 21–28). Constance, Austria: Lecture
highway to be ready in 2006. Nikkei Electronics Asia, 7.
Notes in Informatics.
Retrieved from http://www.nikkeibp.com/neasia/
Report, News. (2007). Sweden inaugurates virtual em
Rahul, D., & Sen, C. (2004). The complex nature of e
bassy. Government Technology. Retrieved from http://
government projects: Case study of Bhoomi, an initiative
www.govtech.com/egovernment/ SwedenInaugurates
in Karnataka, India.
VirtualEmbassy.html
Rao, M. V. (2009). ICT for rural development . In Misra,
H. (Ed.), Governance of rural information and com
munication technologies: Opportunities and challenges
599
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Report, News. (April 2, 2008). Congressional hearing Rizzi, A. (2004). Abduzione ed inferenza statistica. Dipar
simulcast in an Internetbased virtual world. Govern timento di Statistica, Probabilità e Statistiche applicate.
ment Technology. Retrieved from www.govtech.com/gt/ Statistica e Società, 2, 15–24.
print_article.php?id=281991
Roberts, B. (2009). Beyond the networked public sphere:
Report, News. (June 25, 2007). International study urges Politics, participation and technics in Web 2.0. Fibre
F
organizations to adapt to Web 2.0 “phenomenon.” Govern Culture, 14.
ment Technology. Retrieved from www.govtech.com/gt/
Robertson, S. P., Vatrapu, R. K., & Medina, R. (2009).
print_article.php?id=125734
O
Social networks: Making connections between citizens,
Republique Et Canton De Geneve. (2009). History and data and government. Paper presented at the 10th An
results of the tests and official ballots. Retrieved 10 nual International Conference on Digital Government
O
10, 2010, from http://www.geneve.ch/evoting/ english/ Research.
historique.asp
R
Robertson, S. P., Vatrapu, R. K., & Medina, R. (2010).
Resnick, D. (1998). Politics on the Internet: The normal Online video “friends” social networking: Overlapping
P
ization of cyberspace . In Toulouse, C., & Luke, T. W. online public spheres in the 2008 U.S. presidential elec
(Eds.), The politics of cyberspace (pp. 48–68). London, tion. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 7(2/3),
UK: Routledge. 182–201. doi:10.1080/19331681003753420
L
Retrieved June 7, 2010, from www.ejeg.com. RodriguesBolivar, M. P. (2007). Egovernment and public
financial reporting: The case of Spanish regional govern
A
Review, S. (n.d.). Establishing the standard for govern
ments. American Review of Public Administration, 37(2),
ment transparency. Retrieved from www.sunshinereview.
142–177. doi:10.1177/0275074006293193
B
org/
RoesSetiyadi, M. W. (2004). Evaluasi kebijakan dan
Rheingold, H. (2008). Using participatory media and
proyeksi strategi pembangunan sektor telekomunikasi,
O
public voice to encourage civic engagement . In Lance
teknologi, informasi, dan penyiaran (telematika). [Web
Bennett, W. (Ed.), Civic life online: Learning how digital
L
log post]. Retrieved from http://maswig.blogspot.
media can engage youth (pp. 97–118). Cambridge, MA:
com/2004/12/ evaluasikebijakandanproyeksi.html
The MIT Press. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
G
Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. Rogerson, P. (1995). Performance measurement and polic
ing: Police service or law enforcement agency? Public
Ricke, L. (2010). A new opportunity for democratic
I
Money & Management, 15(4), 25–30.
engagement: The CNNYouTube presidential candidate
debates. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, Rosanvalon, P. (2006). Democracy past and future. New
G
7(2/3), 202–215. doi:10.1080/19331681003772768 York, NY: Columbia University Press.
I
Ridley, C. E. (1927). Measuring municipal government: Rose, J., Grönlund, Å., & Andersen, K. V. (2007). Introduc
Suggested standards for measuring the results of fire, tion. In A. Avdic, K. Hedström, J. Rose, & Å. Grönlund
health, police and public works departments. Syracuse, (Eds.), Understanding eparticipation. Contemporary
NY: School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse PhD eparticipation research in Europe. Örebro Univer
University. sity Library. Retrieved December 14, 2009 from http://
www.demonet.org
Riley, T. B., & OkotUma, Rogers, W. O (2001). Elec
tronic governance and electronic democracy: Living and Rose, R. (2005). The Internet & governance in a global
working in the wired world. Commonwealth Secretariat. market. Journal of Public Policy, 25(1), 1–3. doi:10.1017/
Representation of People’s Act. (1951). Retrieved on 31 S0143814X05000267
September, 2008, from http://lawmin.nic.in/legislative/
election/ volume%201/representation%20of%20the%
20people%20act,%201951.pdf
600
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Rossignoli, C. (2004). Nuove forme organizzative e il Sæbø, Ø., Rose, J., & Flak, L. S. (2007). The shape of
ruolo delle tecnologie di coordinamento a livello intra eparticipation: Characterizing an emerging research
organizzativo e interorganizzativo . In D’Atri, A. (Ed.), area. Government Information Quarterly, 25, 400–428.
Innovazione organizzativa e tecnologie innovative. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2007.04.007
Milano, Italy: Etas.
Saibaba, S. N. S. (2006). Rural esewa: An IT project for the
F
Rothman, S. (1992). The mass media in liberal democratic masses. Egovernance and ESewa Project Experiences
societies. New York, NY: Paragon House. in Andhra Pradesh, India. National Informatics. Center,
M/O Communications and Information Technology, GOI.
O
Rotter, J. B. (1971). Generalized expectancies for interper
sonal trust. The American Psychologist, 26(5), 443–452. Said Ya’akub, I. (2007, 4 December). Be singleminded
doi:10.1037/h0031464 to succeed. The Brunei Times, p. 1.
O
Rotter, J. B. (1980). Interpersonal trust, trustworthiness, Saith, A., Vijayabaskar, M., & Gayathri, V. (2008). ICTs
R
and gullibility. The American Psychologist, 35(1), 1–7. and Indian social change: Diffusion, poverty, governance.
doi:10.1037/0003066X.35.1.1 Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
P
RSA. (2005). Electronic Communications Act, No. 36 Salahuddin, M., & Rusli, A. (2005). Information Systems
of 2005, Government of the Republic of South Africa. planning for egovernment in Indonesia. Paper presented
L
Pretoria: RSA. at The Second International Conference on Innovations in
Information Technology (IIT’05), Dubai, UAE.
RSA. (2007). Towards an inclusive information society.
A
Presidential National Commission on Information Society Salem, F., & Jarrar, Y. (2010). Government 2.0? Technol
and Development, Government of the Republic of South ogy, trust and collaboration in the UAE public sector.
B
Africa. Pretoria: RSA. Policy & Internet, 2(1), 4. doi:10.2202/19442866.1016
RSA. (2009). Development indicators 2009. The Presi Sander, O. (1989). d7-e8>78*)81'^f^MS2I+O<1/%7(8B+@()3"9:+
O
dency, Government of the Republic of South Africa. O.'"+y*1/7">*B+[#5"8*%'")B+,?+QdoooR?+@5"+<$#*$8$'*#/8+
Pretoria: RSA. scope of ‘national cinema . In Hjort, M., & Mackenzie,
L
S. (Eds.), Cinema and nation (pp. 19–31). London, UK:
RSA. (2010, 13 July). Broadband policy for South Africa.
Routledge.
Government Gazette No 333772010, Government of the
G
Republic of South Africa (RSA), Department of Com Sanford, C., & Rose, J. (2007, December). Character
munications, Pretoria. izing eparticipation. International Journal of Infor
I
mation Management, 27(6), 406–421. doi:10.1016/j.
Sabatier, P. A., & Schlager, E. (2000). Les approches
ijinfomgt.2007.08.002
cognitives des politiques publiques: perspectives améric
I G
aines. Revue Francaise de Science Politique, 2, 209–234. SangoNet. (n.d.). SANGONeT website. Retrieved No
doi:10.3406/rfsp.2000.395465 vember 14, 2010, from http://www.ngopulse.org/about
Sachdeva, S., & Mathur, R. R. (2005). Incentives of good Sappington, D. (1991). Incentives on principal agent
governance . In Bagga, R. K., Keniston, K., & Mathur, relationships. The Journal of Economic Perspectives,
R. R. (Eds.), The state, IT and development (pp. 76–85). 3(2), 45–66.
New Delhi, India: Sage.
Sarkar, A. (2008). Digital edge: Indian television. Re
Sæbø, Ø., Rose, J., & Nyvang, T. (2009, Sep 13). The trieved July 2009 from
role of social networking services in eparticipation. Paper
Sassen, S. (2005). Electronic markets and activist net
presented at the 1st International Conference on Electronic
works: The weight of social logics in digital formations
Participation, Linz, Austria.
. In Latham, R., & Sassen, S. (Eds.), Digital formations:
IT and new architecture in the global realm (pp. 54–88).
Princeton, NJ: University Press.
601
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Sawyer, B., & Smith, P. (2008). Serious games taxonomy. Schneider, E. C., & Epstein, A. M. (1998). Use of public
Retrieved June 10, 2010, from http://www.dmill.com/ performance reports: A survey of patients undergoing
presentations/ seriousgamestaxonomy2008.pdf cardiac surgery. Journal of the American Medical Associa
tion, 279(20), 1638–1642. doi:10.1001/jama.279.20.1638
Saxena, R. (2010, February). The middle class in India:
Issues and opportunities. Deutsche Bank Research. Re Schneider, S. M., & Foot, K. (2002). Online structure for
F
trieved March 5, 2010, from http://www.dbresearch.com/ political action: exploring presidential campaign websites
prod/ dbr_internet_enprod/ prod0000000000253735.pdf from the 2000 American election. The Public, 9, 1–17.
O
Schacter, M. (April 1999). IOG policy brief no. 3: Means Schoenherr, T., & Tummala, V. (2007). Electronic pro
... ends ... indicators: Performance measurement in the curement: A structured literature review and directions
public sector. Ottawa, Canada: Institute on Governance. for future research. International Journal of Procurement
O
Retrieved June 18, 2010, from http://iog.ca/sites/iog/ Management, 1(1/2). doi:10.1504/IJPM.2007.015353
files/policybrief3.pdf
R
Schwartz, R., & Mayne, J. (2005). Quality matters. New
Schatteman, A. M. (2009). Public performance report Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
P
ing: Determinants of excellence. Newark, NJ: Rutgers
Schwester, R. (2009). Examining the barriers to egov
University.
ernment adoption. Electronic . Journal of EGovernment,
L
Schatteman, A. M. (2010). Information technology and 7(1), 113–122.
public performance management: Examining municipal
Schwester, R. W. (2009). Examining the barriers to egov
ereporting . In Shea, C. M., & Garson, G. D. (Eds.),
A
ernment adoption. Electronic . Journal of EGovernment,
Handbook of public Information Systems (3rd ed., pp.
7(1), 113–122.
431–442). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. doi:10.1201/
B
EBK1439807569c26 Scott, J. B. (1920). The United States of America: A study
in international organization. New York, NY: Oxford
Schaupp, L. C., & Carter, L. (2005). Evoting: from apathy
O
University Press.
to adoption. Journal of Enterprise Information Manage
L
ment, 18(5), 586–601. doi:10.1108/17410390510624025 Seiders, K., & Berry, L. L. (1998). Service fairness: What
it is and why it matters. The Academy of Management
Schelin, S. H. (2003). Egovernment: An overview. Public
Executive, 12, 8–20. doi:10.5465/AME.1998.650513
G
information technology: Policy and management issues.
Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing. Seifert, J. W., & Chung, J. (2009). Using egovernment
I
to reinforce governmentcitizen relationships: Com
Scheufele, D. A., & Nisbet, M. C. (2002). Being a citizen
paring government reform in the United States and
online: New opportunities and dead ends. Press/Politics,
China. Social Science Computer Review, 27(1), 3–23.
G
7(3), 5575.
I
doi:10.1177/0894439308316404
Scheufele, D. A., & Nisbet, M. (2002). Being a citizen
Selart, M., & Patokorpi, E. (2007). Managing social inter
online: New opportunities and dead ends. The Harvard
action as a key to organizational decision making: From
International Journal of Press/Politics, 7(3), 55–75.
problem solving to sensemaking and design. Discussion
Schlenker, B. R., Helm, B., & Tedeschi, J. T. (1973). The paper 2007/2. Bergen, Norway: Norwegian School of
effects of personality and situational variables on behav Economics and Business Administration.
ioral trust. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
Sellers, J. M., & Lidstrom, A. (2007). Decentralization,
25(3), 419–427. doi:10.1037/h0034088
local government, & the welfare state. Governance:
Schneider, S. M., & Foot, K. (2004). Online structure for An International Journal of Policy, Administration
civic engagement in the September 11 Web sphere. The and Institutions, 20(4), 609–632. doi:10.1111/j.1468
Electronic Journal of Communication, 14(3). 0491.2007.00374.x
602
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Selto, F. H., & Malina, M. A. (June 2004). Choice and Shapiro, S. P. (1987). The social control of impersonal
change of measures in performance measurement mod trust. American Journal of Sociology, 93(3), 623–658.
els. Retrieved October 29, 2010 from http://ssrn.com/ doi:10.1086/228791
abstract=488172
Sharma, A. B. (2006). All Indian villages to have a
Selwyn, N. (2004). Reconsidering political and popular knowledge center by 2007. Online posted on July 18,
F
understandings of the digital divide. New Media & Society, 2005. Retrieved November 2010 from http://www.finan
6(3), 341–362. doi:10.1177/1461444804042519 cialexpress.com/ news/story/140862/
O
Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford, UK: Sharma, B. D. (2004). The little lights in tiny mud pots
Oxford University Press. defy 50 years of anti‘Panchayat’ Raj (p. 75). New Delhi,
India: Sahyog Pustak Kuteer Trust.
O
Sen, A. (2000). Social exclusion: Concept, application and
scrutiny. Social Development Papers, 1. Manila, Philip ShartsHopko, N. C. (2001). Focus group methodol
R
pines: Office of Environment and Social Development, ogy: When and why? The Journal of the Association of
Asian Development Bank. Nurses in AIDS Care, 12(4), 89–91. doi:10.1016/S1055
P
3290(06)602203
Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and
practice of the learning organization. New York, NY: Shaw, D. V., Kwak, N., & Holbert, R. L. (2010). Con
L
Doubleday. necting and disconnecting’ with civic life: Patterns of
Internet use and the production of social capital. Political
Sen, K., & Hill, D. T. (2000). Media, culture and politics
Communication, 18, 141–162.
A
in Indonesia. Oxford University Press.
Shen, F., Wang, N., Guo, Z., & Guo, L. (2009). Online
Service, N. Y. C. (n.d.). Everybody’s got something
B
network size, efficacy, and opinion expression: Assess
to offer. Retrieved from http://www.nycservice.org/
ing the impacts of Internet use in China. International
?utm_source=nycgov&utm_medium= nycservice&utm_
Journal of Public Opinion Research, 21(4), 451–476.
O
campaign=redirect
doi:10.1093/ijpor/edp046
L
Shackleton, P., & Dawson, L. (2007). Doing it tough:
Sheppard, B. H., Hartwick, J., & Warshaw, P. R. (1988).
Factors impacting on local egovernment maturity. 20th
The theory of reasoned action: A metaanalysis of past
Bled eConference, June 4–6, Bled, Slovenia.
G
research with recommendations for modifications and
Shah, A. A., & Shah, F. F. (2007). Citizencentred local future research. The Journal of Consumer Research,
I
governance: Strategies to combat democratic deficits. 15(3), 325–343. doi:10.1086/209170
Development, 50(1), 72–8220. doi:10.1057/palgrave.
Shirk, S. L. (2007). China: Fragile superpower: How
development.1100327
G
China’s internal politics could derail its peaceful rise.
I
Shah, D. V., Kwak, N., & Holbert, R. (2001). ‘Connecting’ New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
and ‘disconnecting’ with civic life: Patterns of Internet use
Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody. The power of
and the production of social capital. Political Communica
organizing without organizations. New York, NY: The
tion, 18(2), 141–162. doi:10.1080/105846001750322952
Penguin Press.
Shane, P. M. (Ed.). (2004). Democracy online: The
Shirky, C. (2009). Here comes everybody: How change
prospects for political renewal through the Internet. New
happen when people come together. London, UK: Pen
York, NY: Routledge.
guin Books Ltd.
Shapiro, C., & Willig, R. (1990). Economic rationales for
Short, J., Williams, E., & Christie, B. (1976). The social
the scope of privatisation . In Suleiman, E., & Waterbury,
psychology of telecommunications. London, UK: Wiley.
J. (Eds.), The political economy of public sector reform
and privatisation. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
603
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Shukla, S. (2003). Why e governance projects fail. Skyttner, L. (2002). General systems theoryIdeas and
Retrieved from http://www.intosaiitaudit.org/ muscat/ applications. World Scientific Publishing.
IndiaWhy_EGovernance_ Projects_Fail.pdf
Slaughter, A.M. (2004). A new world order. Princeton,
Silver, H. (2007). Social exclusion: Comparative analysis NJ: Princeton University Press.
of Europe and Middle East youth. Working Paper No 1,
F
Small, T. A. (2009). The facebook effect? Online cam
The Middle East Youth Initiative, Wolfensohn Center for
paigning in the 2008 canadian and us elections. Policy
Development, Dubai School of Government.
options, 29(10), 8587. Retrieved from http://irpp.org/po/
O
Silver, H. (1994). Social exclusion and social solidarity: archive/nov08/small.pdf
Three paradigms. International Labour Review, 133(5–6),
Smit, D., Neilsen, B., & Roetter, M. (2008). International
531–578.
O
peer benchmarking study on the cost to communicate in
Silvi, R., Macrì, D. M., & Tagliaventi, M. R. (June 30, South Africa. Johannesburg: BMITechknowledge.
R
2004). Performance measurement systems: Putting or
Smith, A., Schlozman, K. L., Verba, S., & Brady, H.
ganizational effectiveness ahead. Retrieved October 29,
(2009). The Internet and civic engagement. Pew Internet
P
2010 from http://ssrn.com/abstract=1012622
and American Life Project, Washington, D.C. Retrieved
Simon, F., & Usunier, J.C. (2007). Cognitive, demo July 30, 2010 from http://www.pewinternet.org/~/me
L
graphic, and situational determinants of service customer dia// Files/Reports/2009/The%20Internet% 20and%20
preference for personnelincontact over selfservice Civic%20Engagement.pdf
technology. International Journal of Research in Market
A
Smith, J., Kearns, M., & Fine, A. (2005). Power to the
ing, 24(2), 163–173. doi:10.1016/j.ijresmar.2006.11.004
edges: Trends and opportunities in online civic engage
B
Simon, H. (1997). A study of decisionmaking processes ment. PACE Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement,
in administrative organizations: Administrative behavior Denver, Colorado. Retrieved from www.pacefunders.org
(4th ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.
O
Smith. A. (2009). The internet’s role in campaign 2008.
Simon, H. A., & Ridley, C. E. (1938). Trends in munici Washington, dc: pew research center. Retrieved from http://
L
pal reporting. Public Opinion Quarterly, 2(3), 465–468. www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/ 6TheInternets
doi:10.1086/265213 RoleinCampaign2008.aspx
G
Singapore, I. D. A. (2007). Singapore scores for e Smith, A. K., Bolton, R. N., & Wagner, J. (1999). A
Government effectiveness. iN SG, Sep 2007. Retrieved model of customer satisfaction with services encounters
I
September 12, 2008, from http://www.ida.gov.sg/InSG/ involving failure and recovery. JMR, Journal of Marketing
Sep07/egov.html Research, 36, 356–372. doi:10.2307/3152082
I G
Singer, T., & Fehr, E. (2005). The neuroeconomics of Smith, P. C. (2005). Performance measurement in health
mind reading and empathy (pp. 340–345). AEA Papers care: History, challenges and prospects. Public Money
and Proceedings. & Management, 25(4), 213–220. doi:10.1111/j.1467
9302.2005.00476.x
Sipior, J. C., & Ward, B. T. (2005). Bridging the digital
divide for egovernment inclusion: A United States case Smith, R. M. (1993). Beyond Tocqueville, Myrdal,
study. The Electronic [from http://www.ejeg.com/]. Jour and Hartz: The multiple traditions of America. The
nal of EGovernment, 3, 137–146. Retrieved September American Political Science Review, 87(3), 549–566.
14, 2010 doi:10.2307/2938735
Sirianni, C., & Friedland, L. (2001). Civic innovation in Smith, S., & Ingram, H. (2002). Policy tools and democ
America. Community empowerment, public policy, and the racy . In Salamon, L. (Ed.), The tools of government: A
movement for civic renewal. University of California Press. guide to the new governance (pp. 565–584). New York,
NY: Oxford University Press.
604
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Snellman, K., & Magnusson, C. (2007). Mobiilisisältöiset State of California. (n.d.). California Department of Mo
palvelut Suomessa 2006. Idean enterprises: Espoo. tor Vehicles (video). Retrieved from http://youtube.com/
user/ CaliforniaDMV
Somasundaram, R. (2004). Diffusion of eprocurement in
the public sector: Revisiting centralization versus decen State of Connecticut. (n.d.). Recovery.ct.gov. Retrieved
tralization debates as a twist in the tale. Paper presented from http://www.recovery.ct.gov/ recovery/site/default.
F
at European Conference on Information System, Turku. asp
Somasundaram, R., & Damsgaard, J. (2005). Policy State of Kentucky. (n.d.). Kentuckyatwork.ky.gov.
O
recommendations for electronic public procurement. The Retrieved from http://kentuckyatwork.ky.gov/ Pages/
Electronic . Journal of EGovernment, 3(3), 147–156. default.aspx
O
Sood, R. (2000). The four phases of egovernment in State of Maryland. (n.d.). Statestat.maryland.gov. Re
the public sector market, (Gartner Group Report, 2000, trieved from http://statestat.maryland.gov/
R
Resource ID: 308459). Pavlichev and Garson.
State of Texas. (n.d.). Social media presence. Retrieved
Sood, A. D. (2001). How to wire rural India: Problems from http://www.texas.gov/en/Connect/ Pages/social
P
and possibilities of digital development. [Mumbai, India]. media.aspx
Economic and Political Weekly, 36(43), 4134–4141.
State of Texas. (n.d.). Tax spending transparency. Re
L
Sörbom, A. (2002). Vart tog politiken vägen? Om indi trieved from http://www.fiscalaccountability.org/ texas
vidualisering, reflexivitet och görbarhet I det politiska spendingtransparencya117
A
engagemanget. Stockholm, Sweden: Alquist & Wiksell
State of Virginia. (n.d.). Virginia emergency channel
International.
(video). Retrieved from http://youtube.com/user/ VAE
B
Sörensen, E., & Torfing, J. (2008). Theories of demo mergency
cratic networked governance. New York, NY: Palgrave
Steenson, M. W. (2006). The excitable crowd: Character
O
MacMillan.
izing social, mobile space. Unpublished Master’s thesis,
L
Spannerworks. (2006). What is social media? An ebook Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
from Spannerworks. Retrieved from http://www.span
Stein, B. (2007). Budgeting for outcomes: The right
nerworks.com/ebooks
G
results for the right price. Government Finance Review,
Spears, R., & Lea, M. (1992). Social influence and the 23(5), 58–60.
I
influence of the “social” in computermediated com
Steinhardt, B. (2008). Lessons learned for the next admin
munication . In Lea, M. (Ed.), Contexts of computer
istration on using performance information to improve
mediated communication (pp. 30–65). London, UK:
G
results. Washington, DC: United States Government
I
HarvesterWheatsheaf.
Accountability Office.
Spool, J. M., Scanlon, T., Schroeder, W., Synder, C., &
Steinhauer, H. (Ed.). (1994). The Indonesian language
DeAngelo, T. (1999). Website usability: A designer’s
situation and linguistics: Prospects and possibilities
guide. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
(vol. 4). Leiden.
Squire, K., & Jenkins, H. (2003). Harnessing the power
Stengel, R. (2010). Person of the year 2010. Retrieved
of games in education. Insight (American Society of
December 19, 2010, from http://www.time.com/time/
Ophthalmic Registered Nurses), 3, 5–33.
specials/ packages/article/ 0,28804,2036683_2037181,00.
Stansbury, M. (2003). Access, skills, economic opportuni html
ties, and democratic participation: Connecting four facets
of the digital divide through research. Paper presented
at the Annual Conference of the Canadian Association
of Information Science, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
605
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Stephens, R. T. (2004). A framework for the identification Stowers, G. N. L. (2002). The state of federal websites: The
of electronic commerce design elements that enable trust pursuit of excellence. Arlington, VA: The Pricewaterhouse
within the small hotel industry. In Proceedings of the 42nd Coopers Endowment for the Business of Government.
Annual Southeast Regional Conference (pp. 309314).
Straight, R. L. (2000). Performance metrics: Avoiding the
Huntsville, AL: ACM.
pitfalls. Public Administration Quarterly, 23(4), 495–516.
F
Sterman, J. D. (2001). System dynamics modeling: Tools
Strauss, W., & Howe, R. J. (2000). Millennials rising: The
for learning in a complex world. California Management
next great generation. New York, NY: Vintage.
Review, 43(4), 8–25.
O
Streib, G., & Navarro, I. (2006). Citizen demand for
Sternstein, A. (April 3, 2010). Corporate execs tell White
interactive egovernment: The case of Georgia consumer
House about benefits of contests. Nextgov: Technology
O
services. American Review of Public Administration, 36,
and the business of government. Retrieved from http://
288–300. doi:10.1177/0275074005283371
www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ ng_20100430_9749.php
R
StromerGalley, J. (2002). New voices in the public sphere:
Steuer, J., & Nass, C. (1993). Voices, boxes, and sources
A comparative analysis of interpersonal and online politi
P
of messages computers and social actors. Human Com
cal talk. JavnostThe Public, 9(2), 23–42.
munication Research, 19(4), 504–527.
Stronberg, R. N. (1996). Democracy: A short, analytical
L
Stewart, J., & Ayres, R. (2001). The public policy process .
history. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
In Aulich, C., Halligan, J., & Nutley, S. (Eds.), Australian
handbook of public sector management. Crows Nest, Studio Archetype/Sapient, & Cheskin Research. (1999).
A
Australia: Allen and Urwin. Ecommerce trust study.
B
Steyaert, J. (2002). Inequality and the digital divide: Myths Subuddhi, K. (2006). Egovernance in rural India for
and realities . In Hick, S., & McNutt, J. (Eds.), Advocacy, poverty alleviation and development administration: An
activism and the Internet (pp. 199–211). Chicago, IL: approach towards administrative reforms . In Mitra, R.
O
Lyceum Press. K. (Ed.), Egovernment: Macro issues (pp. 295–297).
L
New Delhi, India: Gift Publishing.
Stiglitz, J. E. (2010). Freefall, America, freemarkets and
the sinking of the world economy. New York, NY: Norton Surel, Y. (2000). L’intégration Européenne vue par
G
& Company, Inc. l’approche cognitive et normative des politiques pub
liques. Revue Francaise de Science Politique, 2, 235–254.
Stokes, G. (2005). Critical theories of deliberative de
I
doi:10.3406/rfsp.2000.395466
mocracy and the problem of citizenship. Paper presented
at the Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation seminar, Suri, K. C. (2002). Democratic process and electoral
G
Deakin University, Burwood, Australia. politics in Andhra Pradesh, India. London, UK: Overseas
I
Development Institute.
StomerGalley, J. (2000). Online interaction and why
candidates avoid it. The Journal of Communication, Surowiecki, J. (2004). The wisdom of crowds: Why the
(Autumn): 111–132. doi:10.1111/j.14602466.2000. many are smarter than the few and how collective wis
tb02865.x dom shapes business, economies, societies and nations.
Anchor Publishers.
Stone, A. (February 14, 2008). Shared GIS helps Texas
cities create rich online maps. Government Technology. Susi, T., Johannesson, M., & Backlund, P. (2007). Seri
Retrieved from: http://www.govtech.com/magazines/ gt/ ous games – An overview. (Technical Report HSIKI
SharedGISHelpsTexasCitiesCreate.html TR07001). University of Skövde.
Stone, M., & Davis, J. (2007). Weighting and scoring’
in theory and in practice. Public Money & Management,
27(3), 215–222. doi:10.1111/j.14679302.2007.00582.x
606
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Svensson, J. (2008a). Kommunikation, medborgarskap Tambouris, E., Liotas, N., Kaliviotis, D., & Tarabanis,
och deltagardemokrati. En studie av medborgarutskotten K. (2007b). A framework for scoping eparticipation.
i Helsingborg. PhD Dissertation. Lund Studies in Media In Proceedings of the 8th Annual International Digital
and Communication 10. Lund: Medie och kommunika Government Research Conference.
tionsvetenskap.
Tan, C., Pan, S., & Lim, E. (2007). Managing stake
F
Svensson, A. (2010). Young men, ICTs and sports. Fan holder interests in egovernment implementation: Lessons
cultures and civic cultures . In Olsson, T., & Dahlgren, learned from a Singapore egovernment project. Interna
P. (Eds.), Young people ICTs and democracy. Theories, tional Journal of Electronic Government Research, 3(1),
O
policies, identities and websites. Göteborg, Sweden: 61–84. doi:10.4018/jegr.2007010104
Nordicom.
Tanner, C., et al. (2007). Current trends and challenges
O
Svensson, J. (2008b). Expressive rationality: A different in electronic procurement: An empirical study. 20th Bled
approach for understanding participation in municipal de eConference, June 4–6, Bled, Slovenia.
R
liberative practices. Communication, Culture & Critique,
Tapscot, D., & Williams, A. (2010). MacroWikinomics,
1(2). doi:10.1111/j.17539137.2008.00019.x
P
rebooting business and the world. Cornwall, UK: TJ
Svensson, J. (2011). (Forthcoming). Theorizing citizen International Ltd.
ships in late modern ICT societies. Triple, C.
L
Tapscott, D., & Williams, A. D. (2006). Wikinomics: How
Swan, K., & Shih, L. F. (2005). On the nature and develop mass collaboration changes everything. New York, NY:
ment of social presence in online course discussions. Jour Portfolio, Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
A
nal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 9(3), 115–136.
Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up digital: The rise of the
B
Swartz, A. (2010). When is transparency useful? In net generation. New York, NY: McGrawHill.
Lathrop, D., & Ruma, L. (Eds.), Open government, col
Tapscott, D. (2009). Growing up digital: How the Net
laboration, transparency and participation in practice
O
generation is changing your world. New York, NY:
(p. 11). Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc.
McGrawHill.
L
Sylvester, D. E., & McGlynn, A. J. (2009). The
Tapscott, D., & Williams, A. D. (2006). Wikinomics:
digital divide, political participation, and place.
How mass collaboration changes everything. New York,
G
NY: Portfolio.
doi:10.1177/0894439309335148
I
Tassabehji, R., & Elliman, T. (2006). Generating citizen
Takeshita, T., & Makami, S. (1995). How did mass media
trust in egovernment using a trust verification agent: a
influence the voters’ choice in the 1993 general election
research note. Paper presented at the European and Medi
G
in Japan? A study of agenda setting. Keio Communication
I
terranean Conference on Information Systems (EMCIS),
Review, 17, 27–41.
Costa Blanca, Alicante, Spain.
Tambini, D. (1999). New media and democracy. In New
TATA. (2008, September 18). Jaago Re! One billion votes
media & society. London, UK: Sage publication.
campaign’ awakens young India!
Tambouris, E., Gorilas, S., & Boukis, G. (2001). Investiga
TatKei Ho, A. (2002). Reinventing local governments
tion of electronic government. eGOV project, European
and the egovernment initiative. Public Administration
Commission, IST Programme.
Review, 62(4), 431–444. doi:10.1111/00333352.00197
Tambouris, E., Liotas, N., & Tarabanis, K. (2007a). A
Tax, S. S., Brown, S. W., & Chandrashekaran, M. (1998).
framework for assessing eparticipation projects and tools.
Customer evaluations of service complaint experiences:
In Proceedings of the 40th Hawaii International Confer
Implications for relationship marketing. Journal of Mar
ence on System Sciences.
keting, 62, 60–76. doi:10.2307/1252161
607
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Taylor, P., & Keeter, S. (Eds.). (2010). Millennials. A The Annie E. Casey Foundation. (n.d.). Kids Count Data
portrait of generation next. Confident. Connected. Open to Center. Retrieved from http://datacenter.kidscount.org/
change. Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C. Retrieved
The eBusiness Handbook. (2005). The 2005 review of
July 30, 2010, from http://pewsocialtrends.org/assets/
innovation at work in South African business. An IT web
pdf/millennialsconfidentconnectedopentochange.pdf
informatica Publication. Cape Town, South Africa: Creda
F
Tekes, (2007). FENIX – Interactive computing 2003–2007. Communication (Pty) Ltd. UN eGovernment Survey
Technology Programme, Final Report 2/2007. Finnish (2010). Leveraging egovernment at a time of financial
Funding Agency for Technology and Innovations, Tekes. and economic crisis. Retrieved October 4, 2010, from
O
http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/ groups/public/documents/
Tekwani, S., & Shetty, K. (2007). Two Indias: The role
UNdpadm/unpan038853.pdf
of the Internet in the 2004 elections . In Kluver, R.,
O
Jankowski, N., Foot, K., & Schneider, S. (Eds.), The The Federal CIO Council. (2009). Guidelines for secure
Internet and national elections: A comparative study of use of social media by federal departments and agencies.
R
Web campaign (pp. 150–162). New York, NY: Routledge.
The Global Information Technology Report 20092010.
P
Teledensity in Urban and Rural India. (n.d.). Retrieved (2010). Retrieved from http://www.weforum.org/pdf/
from http://www.assams.info/2009/12/ teledensityin GITR10/ TheNetworkedReadinessIndexRankings.pdf
urbanandruralindia.html
L
The Ministry of Planning & Development, Government
Terranova, T. (2004). Network culture: Politics for the of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. (2006). Vision
information age. London, UK: Pluto Press. 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2006, from http://wwwvi
A
sion2020.info.tt
Texas Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Making Texas the
B
nation’s leader in agriculture. Retrieved from http://www. The Ministry of Public Administration and Information.
agr.state.tx.us/agr/index/ 0,1911,1848_0_0_0,00.html (2003). Fastforward: Trinidad and Tobago accelerating
into the digital future, Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved July
O
Texas Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Re
22, 2006, from http://www.fastforward.tt/ICT_agenda
trieved from http://www.agr.state.tx.us/agr/index/
L
0,1911,1848_0_0_0,00.html The open society. (2010). The Economist, 394(8671),
1112.
Texas Department of Family and Protective Service’s
G
Channel. (n.d.). Give babies room to breathe (30 Sec). The White House. (2009). Technology. Retrieved fom
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/TexasDFPS http://www.whitehouse.gov/ issues/technology/
I
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. The World Bank. (2004). Making ICT work for people.
(n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved from http://www.youtube. Retrieved on June 20, 2010, from http://www.digitaldivi
I G
com/TexasDFPS dend. org/ knwldge_bank/ knwldge_bank_01_data.htm.
Texas Department of Information Resources. (2007). The TheissMorse, E. (1993). Conceptualizations of good
Texas transformation, delivery technology that matters. citizenship and political participation. Political Behavior,
Retrieved from http://www1.dir.state.tx.us/pubs/ ssp2007/ 15(4), 355–380. doi:10.1007/BF00992103
DIR2007ssp.pdf
TheissMorse, E., & Hibbing, J. R. (2005). Citizenship and
Texas Department of Information Resources. (2009). civic engagement. Annual Review of Political Science, 8,
Advancing Texas technology: Solutions for state govern 227–249. doi:10.1146/annurev.polisci.8.082103.104829
ment. Retrieved from http://www.dir.state.tx.us/pubs/
Thomas, J. C., & Streib, G. (2003). The new face of govern
ssp2009/ssp2009.pdf
ment: Citizeninitiated contact in the era of egovernment.
Texas Parks and Wildlife. (n.d.). Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Journal of Public Administration: Research and Theory,
channel. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/user/ 13(1), 83–102. doi:10.1093/jpart/mug010
TexasParksWildlife
608
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Thomson, J. T. (2009). Remodelled and restyled e Torres, L., Pina, V. T., & Acerete, B. (2005). Egovernment
procurement – New power relationships down under. developments on delivering public services among EU
Electronic . Journal of EGovernment, 7(2), 183–194. cities. Government Information Quarterly, 22, 217–238.
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2005.02.004
Thörn, H. (2002). Nya sociala rörelser och politikens glo
balisering. Demokrati utanför Parlamentet? In Anmå, E., Torres, L., Pina, V., & Acerette, B. (2006). EGovernance
F
& Ilshammar, L. (Eds.), Den gränslösa medborgaren. En developments in Euorpean Union cities: Reshaping
antologi om en möjlig dialog. Stockholm, Sweden: Agora. government’s relationships with citizens. Governance:
An International Journal of Policy, Administration
O
Timisi, N. (2003). g21.'d723.c.='(2-1&7&".72*.'+2'a2=&-*8,..
and Institutions, 19(2), 277–302. doi:10.1111/j.1468
6%3/)/B+@()3"9:+H$<1+w/9u%">*?
0491.2006.00315.x
O
Tirole, J. (1994). The internal organization of government.
tp://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/ y2k8/june/
Oxford Economic Papers, 46.
june243.php
R
Tolbert, C. J., Mossberger, K., & McNeal, R. S. (2002,
TRAI Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. (2008). In
Aug 28). Beyond the digital divide: Exploring attitudes
P
dian Telecom Services performance indicators. Retrieved
about Information Technology, political participation,
from http://www.trai.gov.in/trai/upload/ Reports/38/
and electronic government. Paper presented at the Annual
report1jan08.pdf
L
Meeting of the American Political Science Association,
Boston, MA. Transparency, T. (n.d.). Open data. Retrieved from
http://www.texastransparency.org/ opendata/index.
A
Tolbert, C. J., & McNeal, R. S. (2003). Unraveling the
php?id=pageID.
effects of the Internet on political participation? Political
B
Research Quarterly, 56(2), 175–185. TransparencyData. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://trans
parencydata.com/#
Tolbert, C. J., McNeal, R. S., & Smith, D. A. (2003).
O
Enhancing civic engagement: The effect of direct Transparentgov. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.
democracy on political participation and knowl transparentgov.com/
L
edge. State Politics & Policy Quarterly, 3(1), 23.
Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada. (2002). Results for
doi:10.1177/153244000300300102
Canadians: A management framework for the government
G
Tolbert, C. J., Mossberger, K., & McNeal, R. (2008). of Canada. Retrieved June 20, 2010, from http://www.
Institutions, policy innovation, and egovernment in the tbssct.gc.ca/report/res_can/rc_1eng.asp
I
American states. Public Administration Review, 68(3),
Trosa, S., & Williams, S. (1996). Benchmarking in
549–563. doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2008.00890.x
public sector performance management, performance
I G
Tolbert, C., & Mossberger, K. (2006). The effects measurement in government. Occasional Paper No. 9.
of egovernment on trust and confidence in govern Paris, France: OECD.
ment. Public Administration Review, 66(3), 354–369.
Tsang, J.A. (2006). The effects of helper intention on
doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2006.00594.x
gratitude and indebtedness. Motivation and Emotion,
Tomsa, D. (2007). Party politics and the media in Indone 30(September), 199–205.
sia: Creating a new dual identity for Golkar. Contemporary
Turchetti, G. (2005). La politica degli acquisti di beni e
Southeast Asia, 29(1), 77–96. doi:10.1355/CS291D
servizi in ambito pubblico: le tendenze in atto nel settore
Tonkin, C. (2003). Eprocurement in the public sector: sanitario. Milano, Italy: F. Angeli.
Story, myth and legend. Dublin, Ireland: The Policy
Turkheimer, M. (2007). A YouTube moment in politics:
Institute, Trinity College.
An analysis of the first three months of the 2008 presi
dential election. Unpublished research. Colorado, USA:
Occidental College.
609
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Turkle, S. (1996). Life on the screen: Identity in the age UNDESA. (2008). UN egovernment survey 2008: From
of the Internet. London, UK: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. egovernment to connected governance. New York, NY:
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2008).
Nations.
Researchbased Web design & usability guidelines. Re
trieved June 10, 2010, from http://www.usability.gov/ UNDP. (2004). Promoting ICT for human development
F
guidelines/guidelines_book.pdf in Asia: Realizing the millennium development goals.
Regional Human Development Report. UNDP Elsiever.
UAE Interact. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2010, from
O
http://www.uaeinteract.com/ government/ UNESCO. (2005). Egovernment toolkit for developing
countries. Retrieved November 5, 2009, from http://www.
UAE Ministry of Economy. (n.d.) Retrieved June 15, 2010,
unescobkk.org/fileadmin/ user_upload/ci/documents/
O
from http://www.economy.ae
UNESCO_eGovt_Toolkit.pdf
UAE Prime Minister. (n.d.) Retrieved June 15, 2010, from
R
UNESCO. (2007). Statistics: Education in Brunei Da
http://www.uaepm.ae
russalam. Retrieved November 10, 2009, from http://
P
UAE Yearbook 2009. (2010). Retrieved June 7 2010, stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/ TableViewer/document.
from http://www.uaeinteract.com/uaeint_misc/ pdf_2009/ aspx?ReportId= 121&IF_Language=eng&BR_Coun
index.html try=960
L
Uhlin, A. (1995). The struggle for democracy in Indone United Kingdom. (n.d.). Her Majesty’s government.
sia: An Actorstructure approach. Scandinavian Political Retrieved from http://www.data.gov.uk/home/
A
Studies, 18(3), 133–158. doi:10.1111/j.14679477.1995.
United Nations (2010). United Nations eGovernment
tb00159.x
B
survey 2010: Leveraging eGovernment at a time of
UN & ASPA. (2001). Benchmarking egovernment: A financial and economic crisis.
global perspective. Assessing the Progress of the UN
O
United Nations and the American Society for Public
Member States.
Administration. (2001). Global survey of egovernment.
L
UN Global EGovernment Readiness Report. (2004). Retrieved from http://www.unpan.org/ egovernment2.asp
Retrieved from http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/ groups/
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
G
public/documents/ un/unpan019207.pdf
(2001). Creating a development dynamic. Final report
of the digital opportunity initiative.
I
UN Human Development Report. (2007). Fighting climate
change: Human solidarity in a divided world. Retrieved
United Nations Online Network of Public Administration
from http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/ hdr_20072008_en_
and Finance (UNPAN). (2006). Global egovernment
G
complete.pdf
I
readiness report 2005: From egovernment to einclusion.
UN Human Development Report. (2010). Retrieved from New York: United Nations.
http://hdr.undp.org/en/
United Nations. (2005). Department of economic and so
UN. (2004). Global egovernment readiness report cial affairs (UNDESA): UN global egovernment readiness
Towards access for opportunity. United Nations. report 2005: From egovernment to einclusion, division
for public administration and development management.
Underhill, C., & Ladds, C. (2007). Connecting with UNPAN, 2005(14), 2005.
Canadians: Assessing the use of government online.
Retrieved July 1, 2010, from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/ United Nations. (2010). Global egovernment develop
pub/ 56f0004m/56f0004m2007015eng.pdf ment report 2010. New York, NY: United Nations Public
Administration Program. Retrieved from www.unpan.
org/egovkb
610
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
United Nations. (2010). United Nations egovernment Van Dijk. J. A. G. M. (2003). A framework for digital
survey 2010, leveraging egovernment at the time of divide research. Electronic journal of communication,
economic and financial crisis. (Tech. Rep. No. ST/ESA/ 12(1). Retrieved from http://www.cios.org/EJCPUBLIC/
PAD/SER.E/131). New York, NY: United Nations. 012/011/01211.html
United States Army. (2010). G6 launches ‘Apps for Van Dijk, J. A. G. (2005). The deepening divide: Inequal
F
the Army’ contest. Retrieved from http://www.army. ity in the information society. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
mil/news/2010/03/01/ 35148g6launchesappsfor Publishers.
thearmycontest/
O
van Dijk, J. A. G. M. (2005). The deepening divide inequal
United States Department of Education. (n.d.). Open ity in the information society. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
innovation portal: Join our online community and help
O
van Dijk, J. A. G. M. (2006). Digital divide research,
bring innovation to education. Retrieved from https://
achievements and shortcomings. Poetics, 34(4/5),
innovation.ed.gov/
R
221–235. doi:10.1016/j.poetic.2006.05.004
United States Government. (n.d.). Data.gov. Retrieved
van Eck, R. (2006). Digital gamebased learning: It’s
P
from http://www.data.gov/
not just the digital natives who are restless. EDU
United States Office of Management and Budget. (n.d.). CAUSE Review, March/April 2006, (pp. 1630). Re
L
Featured articles. Retrieved from www.ombwatch.org/ trieved June 2, 2010, from http://www.educause.edu/
EDUCAUSE+Review/ EDUCAUSEReviewMagazi
United States PIRG Education Fund. (2010). Following the
neVolume41/ DigitalGameBasedLearningItsNot/158041
A
money: How the 50 states rate in providing online access
No pagination in the online version
to government spending data. Retrieved from http://cdn.
B
publicinterestnetwork.org/ assets/b3ba157e28d82952ee VarelaNeira, C., VazquezCasielles, R., & Iglesias
5b7a3f84e88499/ FollowingtheMoneyUSPIRG.pdf Arguelles, V. (2008). The influence of emotions on cus
tomer’s cognitive evaluations and satisfaction in a service
O
UNPAN. (2008). UN egovernment survey 2008: From
failure and recovery context . The Service Industries Jour
egovernment to connected governance. New York, NY:
L
nal, 28(4), 497–512. doi:10.1080/02642060801917612
United Nations.
Vazquez Casielles, R., Alvarez, L. S., & Díaz Martín,
UNPAN. (2008). United Nations egovernment survey
G
A. M. (2010). Perceived justice of service recovery
2008: From egovernment to connected governance. New
strategies: Impact on customer satisfaction and quality
York, NY: United Nations Department of Economic and
I
relationship. Psychology and Marketing, 27(5), 487–509.
Social Affairs, Division of Public Administration and
doi:10.1002/mar.20340
Development Management.
G
Venkatesh, V., & Davis, F. D. (2000). A theoretical
I
Vaidya, K., Sajeev, A. S. M., & Callender, G. (2006).
extension of the technology acceptance model: Four
Critical factors that influence eprocurement implemen
longitudinal field studies. Management Science, 46(2),
tation success in the public sector. Journal of Public
186–204. doi:10.1287/mnsc.46.2.186.11926
Verba, S., Schlozman, K. L., & Brady, H. E. (1995). Voice
Valadez, J. M. (2000). Deliberative democracy: Political
and equality: Civic voluntarism in American politics.
legitimacy and selfdetermination in multicultural societ
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
ies. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Vijaypur, B. S., & Balasubramanya, A. S. (2003). Mass
Van de Walle, S. (July 1, 2008). Comparing the perfor
media and influence of political news on young adults.
mance of national public sectors: Conceptual problems.
In K. Prasad (Ed.), Political communication: An Indian
International Journal of Productivity and Performance
experience (vol. 2, pp. 533–559). New Delhi, India: B. R.
Management, 57(4), 329338. Retrieved October 29, 2010
from http://ssrn.com/abstract=1343055
611
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Volkamer, M., & Hutter, D. (2004). From legal principles Walden, G. R. (2006). Focus group interviewing in the
to an Internet voting system . In Prosser, A., & Krimmer, library literature: A selective annotated bibliography
R. (Eds.), Electronic voting in Europe Technology, law, 1996–2005. RSR. Reference Services Review, 34(2),
politics and society (pp. 111–120). Constance, Austria: 222–241. doi:10.1108/00907320610669461
Lecture Notes in Informatics.
Waldron, N. (2007). Engaging hardtoreach audiences
F
von Bertalanffy, L. (1976). General system theory: through serious games. Whitepaper. Workstar. Retrieved
Foundations, development, applications (revised edition). July 20, 2008, from http://videolinq.tafe.net/learningtech
George Braziller Pubs. nologies2007/ files/naomi_waldron.pdf
O
von Hippel, E. (2005). Democratizing innovation. London, Wallace, R. J. (1977). Productivity measurement in the
UK: The MIT Press. fire service. Public Productivity Review, 2(3), 12–36.
O
doi:10.2307/3380221
Von Lucke, J. R. (2004). Speyerer Definition von Elec
R
tronic Government. Wallsten, K. (2010). “Yes we can”: How online viewership,
blog discussion, campaign statements, and mainstream
von Wangenheim, C. (2009). Empirical evaluation of an
P
media coverage produced a viral video phenomenon.
educational game on software measurement. Empirical
Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 7(2/3),
Software Engineering, 14, 418–452. doi:10.1007/s10664
163–181. doi:10.1080/19331681003749030
L
00890926
Walsh, K. C. (2004). Talking about politics: Informal
Vote Report India (VRI). (2009, May 15). The report card
groups and social identity in American life. Chicago, IL:
A
on vote report India, version 1.0. Retrieved October 22,
The University of Chicago Press.
2009, from http://votereport.in/
B
Walther, J. B & Van Der Heide, B. & Kim, S. & Wes
Vote Report India. (2009, April 17). India’s first digital
terman, D., & Tong, S. T. (2008). The role of friends’
elections evoke strong reactions online. Retrieved from
appearance and behavior on evaluations of individuals
O
http://votereport.in/blog/ indiasfirstdigitalelections
on Facebook: Are we known by the company we keep?
evokestrongreactionsonline/
L
Human Condition Research, 34.
Voyer, P. (1999). Tableaux de bord de gestion et indicateurs
Walther, J. B. (1992). Interpersonal effects in computerme
de performance. 2nd édition. Québec, Canada: Presses de
G
diated interaction:Arelational perspective. Communication
l’Université du Québec.
Research, 19, 52–90. doi:10.1177/009365092019001003
I
W3C. (2008). Web content accessibility guidelines
Walther, J. B. (1994). Anticipated ongoing interaction
(WCAG) 2.0. Retrieved July 1, 2010, from http://www.
versus channel effects on relational communication in
w3.org/TR/WCAG20/
G
computermediated interaction. Human Communication
I
Wagle, S., & Shah, P. (2003). Porto Alegre, Brazil: Par Research, 20, 473–501. doi:10.1111/j.14682958.1994.
ticipatory approaches in budgeting and public expenditure tb00332.x
management. Note No. 71 for the World Bank Action
Walther, J. B. (1995). Relational aspects of computerme
Learning Program on “Participatory approaches at the
diated communications: Experimental observations over
Macro Level”, March 2003. Retrieved from http://info.
time. Organization Science, 6(2), 182–203. doi:10.1287/
worldbank.org/etools/ docs/library/205481/ Porto%20
orsc.6.2.186
Alegre_English.pdf
Walther, J. B. (1996). Computermediated communi
Wagner, D. (2007). Written testimony before the com
cation: Impersonal, interpersonal, and hyperpersonal
mittee on house administration, elections subcommittee.
interaction. Communication Research, 23(1), 3–43.
Washington, USA.
doi:10.1177/009365096023001001
612
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Walther, J. B., & D’Addario, K. P. (2001). The impact Weber, M. (1947). The theory of social and economic
of emoticons on message interpretation in computer organization (Henderson, A. M., & Parsons, T. (Trans.
mediated communication. Social Science Computer Re Eds.)). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
view, 19(3), 324–347. doi:10.1177/089443930101900307
Weerakkody, V., & Dwivedi, Y. K. (2006). Transforming
Wand, J. N., Shotts, K. W., Sekhon, J. S., Mebane, W. local government . In Mitra, R. K. (Ed.), Egovernment:
F
R. Jr, Herron, M. C., & Brady, H. E. (2001). The buttery Macro issues (pp. 249–263). New Delhi, India: Gift
did it: The aberrant vote for Buchanan in Palm Beach Publishing House.
County, Florida. The American Political Science Review,
O
Welch, E. W., Hinnant, C. C., & Moon, M. J. (2005).
95(4), 793.
Linking citizen satisfaction with egovernment and trust in
Wang, L. C., Baker, J., Wagner, J. A., & Wakefield, K. government. Journal of Public Administration: Research
O
(2007). Can a retail website be social? Journal of Market and Theory, 15(3), 371–391. doi:10.1093/jopart/mui021
ing, 71, 143–157. doi:10.1509/jmkg.71.3.143
R
Welch, E., & Fulla, S. (2005). Virtual interactivity
Wang, Y. D., & Emurian, H. H. (2005). Trust in ecom between government and citizens: The Chicago Police
P
merce: Consideration of interface design factors. Journal Department’s citizen ICAM application demonstra
of Electronic Commerce in Organizations, 3(4), 42–60. tion case. Political Communication, 22(2), 215–236.
doi:10.4018/jeco.2005100103 doi:10.1080/10584600590933205
L
Warkentin, M. D., Gefen, P., & Rose, G. (2002). Welch, E., Hinnant, C., & Moon, M. J. (2005). Linking
Encouraging citizen adoption of egovernment by citizen satisfaction with egovernment and trust in gov
A
building trust. Electronic Markets, 12(3), 157–162. ernment. Journal of Public Administration: Research
doi:10.1080/101967802320245929 and Theory, 15(3), 371–392. doi:10.1093/jopart/mui021
B
Warkentin, M., Gefen, D., Pavlou, P., & Rose, G. M. Welch, E., & Wong, W. (2001). Global information
(2002). Encouraging citizen adoption of egovernment technology pressure and government accountability: The
O
by building trust. Electronic Markets, 12(3), 157–162. mediating effect of domestic context on Website openness.
L
doi:10.1080/101967802320245929 Journal of Public Administration: Research and Theory,
11(4), 509–538.
Warschauer, M. (2004). Technology and social inclusion:
G
Rethinking the digital divide. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Werlin, H. H. (2003). Poor nations, rich nations: A theory
of governance. Public Administration Review, 63(3),
Warscheur, M. (2003). Technology and social inclusion:
I
329–342. doi:10.1111/15406210.00293
Rethinking the digital divide. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Wescott, C. G. (2009). Egovernment in the AsiaPacific
Washcheur, M. (2002). Reconceptualuizing the digital
G
region. Retrieved April 5, 2010, from http://www.adb.
I
divide. Retrieved September 29, 2005, from http://www.
org/documents/papers/ e_government/egovernment.pdf.
firstmonday.dk/ issues7_7/warscheur
Wescott, C. (2001). Egovernment in the AsiaPacific
Weare, C., Musso, J., & Hale, M. (1999). Electronic
region. Asian Journal of Political Science, 9(2), 1–24.
democracy and the diffusion of municipal web pages
doi:10.1080/02185370108434189
in California. Administration & Society, 31(1), 3–27.
doi:10.1177/009539999400935475 West, D. M. (2007). Global egovernment. Providence,
RI: Center for Public Policy. Retrieved September 29,
Weatherford, S. M. (1992). Measuring political legitimacy.
2007, from http://www.insidepolitics.org/ egovt07int.pdf
The American Political Science Review, 86(1), 149–166.
doi:10.2307/1964021 West, D. (2005). Equity and accessibility in egovernment:
A policy perspective. Journal of EGovernment, 1(2),
Web Analytics. Key Definitions. (2010). In Wikipedia, the
31–43. doi:10.1300/J399v01n02_03
free encyclopedia. Retrieved June 19, 2010, from http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Web_analytics#Key_definitions
613
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
West, D. (2007). Digital government: Technology and Williams, A. P., Trammell, K. D., Postelnicu, M., Lan
public sector performance. Princeton, NJ. Oxford: Princ dreville, K. D., & Martin, J. D. (2005). Blogging and
eton University Press. hyperlinking: Use of the Web to enhance viability during
the 2004 US campaign. Journalism Studies, 6(2), 177–186.
West, D. M. (2003). Global egovernment. Providence,
doi:10.1080/14616700500057262
RI: Center for Public Policy.
F
Williams, B. J. (2004). Implementing voting systems The
West, D. M. (2004). Egovernment and the transforma
Georgia method. Communications of the ACM, 47, 39–42.
tion of service delivery and citizen attitudes. Public
doi:10.1145/1022594.1022620
O
Administration Review, 64(1), 15–27. doi:10.1111/j.1540
6210.2004.00343.x Williamson, O. (1985). The economic institutions of
capitalism: Firms, markets, relational contracting. New
O
West, D. M. (2005). Digital government: Technology
York, NY: Basic Books.
and public sector performance. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
R
University Press. Williamson, O. E. (1993). Calculativeness, trust, and
economic organization. The Journal of Law & Econom
West, D. M. (2008). State and federal electronic govern
P
ics, 36(1), 453–486. doi:10.1086/467284
ment in the United States, 2008. Governance Studies at
Brookings. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution. Willnat, L., & Aw, A. (2009). Political communication
L
in Asia. New York, NY: Routledge.
Westheimer, J., & Kahne, J. (2004). Educating the
‘good’ citizen: Political choices and pedagogical goals. Wilson, B. (1984). Systems: Concepts, methodologies
A
Retrieved from www.democraticdialogue.com/ DDpdfs/ and applications. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
WestheimerKahnePS.pdf
Wilson, D. (2004). Which ranking? The impact of a value
B
Westland, D., & AlKhouri, A. M. (2010). Supporting e added measure of secondary school performance. Public
government progress in the United Arab Emirates. Journal Money & Management, 24(1), 37–45. doi:10.1111/j.1467
O
of EGovernment Studies & Best Practices, 2010, (ID# 9302.2004.00391.x
897910), 11 pages.
L
Wilson, E. J. (2006). The information revolution and
Westling, M. (2007). Expanding the public sphere: The developing countries. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
impact of Facebook on the political communication.
G
Wilson, K. R., Wallin, J. S., & Reiser, C. (2005). Social
Retrieved June 11, 2010, from http://www.thenewver
stratification and the digital divide . In Garson, G. D. (Ed.),
nacular.com/ projects/facebook_and_ political_com
I
Public administration and public policy: A comprehensive
munication.pdf
publication program (2nd ed., Vol. 111, pp. 173–184).
Wholey, J. S., & Newcomer, K. E. (1997). Clarifying Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis.
I G
goals, reporting results . In Newcomer, K. E. (Ed.), Us
Wimmer, R., & Dominick, J. (2006). Mass media research:
ing performance measurement to improve public and
An introduction. USA: Wadsworth.
nonprofit programs. New directions for evaluation (pp.
91–98). San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass. Winograd, T., & Flores, F. (1987). Understanding comput
ers and cognition: A new foundation for design. Boston,
WILDBIT. (2005). Social networks research report. Wild
MA: AddisonWesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc.
bit. Retrieved July 30, 2010, from http://tidbit.wildbit.com
Winters, J. A. (2002). The political impact of new infor
Williams, C. B., & Gulati, G. J. (2007). Social Networks
mation sources and technologies in Indonesia. Gazette,
in Political Campaigns: Facebook and the 2006 Midterm
64(2), 109–119. doi:10.1177/17480485020640020201
Elections. Paper presented at the 2007 Annual Meeting
of the American Political Science Association, August Wisniewski, M., & Stewart, D. (2004). Performance mea
30 – September 2, 2007, Chicago, USA. surement for stakeholders: The case of Scottish local au
thorities. International Journal of Public Sector Manage
ment, 17(2), 222–233. doi:10.1108/09513550410530153
614
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Witting, W. (1999). A strategy for improving public Xenakis, A. A. (2004). Procedural security in electronic
procurement. Paper presented at IACC 9th International voting. In 37th Hawaii International Conference on System
Anti Corruption Conference, Durban. Sciences. Hawaii.
Wojcik, S. (2003). Les forums électroniques municipaux. Xia, J. (2010). Linking ICTs to rural development: China’s
Espaces de débat démocratique? Science and Society, rural information policy. Government Information Quar
F
60, 107–125. terly, 27(2), 187–195. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2009.10.005
Women’s Net. (n.d.). Women’sNet website. Retrieved Yang, Y., Hu, Y., & Chen, J. (2005). A Web trustinducing
O
November 14, 2010, from http://www.womensnet.org.za model for ecommerce and empirical research. Paper
presented at the 7th international conference on Electronic
Wong, L. (2002). The Internet, politics and the digital
commerce.
O
divide in Asia. Paper presented at the International Con
ference on the Digital Divide: Technology & Politics in Yang, G. (2003). The Internet and civil society in China: A
R
the Information Age. peliminary assessment. Journal of Contemporary China,
12(36), 453–475. doi:10.1080/10670560305471
Wong, W., & Welch, E. (2004). Does egovernment pro
P
mote accountability? A comparative analysis of website Yang, G. (2009). The power of the Internet in China:
openness and government accountability. Governance: Citizen activism online. New York, NY: Columbia Uni
L
An International Journal of Policy, Administration versity Press.
and Institutions, 17(2), 275–297. doi:10.1111/j.1468
Yang, K., Hsieh, J. Y., & Li, T. S. (2009). Contracting ca
0491.2004.00246.x
A
pacity and perceived contracting performance: Nonlinear
Won, S.K., Yeo, E.H., Lee, B.S., & Arabi, A. (2007). effects and the role of time. Public Administration Review,
B
CMPC (Computer mediated political communication) and 69(4), 681–696. doi:10.1111/j.15406210.2009.02017.x
its impact on the political process in Korea. The Journal
Yildiz, M. (2007). Egovernment research: Reviewing
of Communication, 1(1).
O
the literature, limitations, and ways forward. Govern
World Bank. (1998). World development report 1998/99: ment Information Quarterly, 24, 646–665. doi:10.1016/j.
L
Knowledge for development. The International Bank giq.2007.01.002
for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank.
Yin, R. (1994). Case study research: Design and methods
G
Oxford University Press.
(2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing, USA.
World Bank. (2001). Definition of egovernment. World
I
Yin, R. K. (1981). The case study crisis: Some an
Bank’s eGovernment website. Retrieved from http://
swers. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26(1), 58–65.
www.worldbank.org/egov
doi:10.2307/2392599
I G
World Bank. (2003). Issue note. Egovernment and the
Zagorin, E. A. (2010). A gold medal for better govern
World Bank.
ment. OhMyGov. Retrieved from http://ohmygov.com/
World Bank. (2003). World development indicators. Re blogs/general_news/ archive/2010/03/11/agoldmedal
trieved January 10, 2009, from http://www.worldbank. for bettergovernment.aspx
org/ data/wdi2003
Zand, D. E. (1972). Trust and mangagerial problem solv
World Economic Forum. (2009). The global agenda 2009. ing. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17(2), 229–239.
Geneva, Switzerland. doi:10.2307/2393957
Wright, S., & Street, J. (2007). Democracy, deliberation and Zedlewski, E. W. (1979). Performance measurement
design: The case of online discussion forums. New Media & in public agencies: The law enforcement evolu
Society, 9(5), 849–869. doi:10.1177/1461444807081230 tion. Public Administration Review, 39(5), 488–493.
doi:10.2307/3109924
615
D$.A*8/1*$%+$-+!"-")"%#"@
Zhang, X., & Zhang, Q. (2005). Online trust forming Zukin, C., Keeter, S., Andolina, M., Jenkins, K., & Delli
mechanism: Approaches and an integrated model Paper Carpini, M. X. (2006). A new engagement? Political par
presented at the 7th international conference on Electronic ticipation, civic life, and the changing American citizen.
commerce, Xi’an, China. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Zhou, X. (2004). Egovernment in China: A content Zulfiqar, K. A., Pan, S. L., Lee, J., & Huang, J. C. (2001).
F
analysis of national and provincial web sites. Journal of Egovernment: An exploratory study of online electronic
ComputerMediated Communication, 9. procurement systems. Paper presented at 9th European
Conference on Information Systems, Bled.
O
Zittel, T. (2009). Lost in technology? Political parties
and the online campaigns of constituency candidates Zyda, M. (2005). From visual simulation to virtual reality
in Germany’s mixed member electoral system. Journal to games. Computer, (September): 25–32. doi:10.1109/
O
of Information Technology & Politics, 6(3), 298–311. MC.2005.297
doi:10.1080/19331680903048832
P R
A L
OB
G L
G I
I
616
617
About the Contributors
O F
O
Aroon Manoharan is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration at the Department of Political
Science, Kent State University, USA. His research focuses on egovernance, performance measurement
R
and reporting, organization management, and comparative administration. He received his Ph.D. from
the School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers UniversityNewark and MPA from Kansas
P
State University. As Associate Director of the EGovernance Institute at RutgersNewark, he directed
major initiatives including the Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide Survey 2007, which
L
evaluated the egovernance performance at the municipal level globally. He also directed the U.S. States
and Municipalities EGovernance Survey in 2008.
A
Marc Holzer, Dean of the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration, is a leading expert
B
in performance measurement, public management, and egovernance. He is the founder and director
of the National Center for Public Performance, a research and public service organization devoted to
improving performance in the public sector. He also developed the EGovernance Institute, created to
O
explore the ongoing impact of the Internet and other information technologies on the productivity and
L
performance of the public sector, and how egovernment fosters new and deeper citizen involvement
within the governing process. His recent publications include Performance Measurement; Citizen
Driven Government Performance; the Public Productivity Handbook; Restoring Trust in Government:
G
The Potential of Digital Citizen Participation, and Building Good Governance: Reforms in Seoul. He
I
has published well over one hundred books, monographs, chapters, and articles. He is a Fellow of the
National Academy of Public Administration and of the World Academy of Productivity Science.
I G
***
Lucienne Abrahams is Director of the LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand, Johan
nesburg, South Africa. The Centre conducts research in the broad field of ICT policy and regulatory
change, covering themes including information society emergence and egovernance. Luci’s research
interests include institutions and economic sectors in the emerging network economy. Luci has served
on the boards or councils of many public sector agencies, including serving as Council Member of the
National Advisory Council on Innovation and Board Member of the National Research Foundation. She
currently serves as Council Member for the Financial and Fiscal Commission.
Mohammad Nabil Almunawar Ir. IPB Indonesia, MSc UWO Canada, Ph.D. UNSW, Australia is a
Senior Lecturer at Faculty of Business, Economics and Policy Studies, Universiti of Brunei Darussalam
67$(1+15"+D$%1)*7(1$)@
(UBD), Brunei Darussalam. Dr. Almunawar has published many papers in refereed journals as well as
international conferences. He has many years of teaching experience in the area of computer and infor
mation systems. He was a respected consultant in developing information systems for United Nations
(WHO) projects, Central Bank of Indonesia and some private companies. His research interests include
application of IT in Management and Electronic Commerce, objectoriented technology, databases, and
F
multimedia retrieval.
O
Hisham Alsaghier is a Research Fellow at Griffith University in Australia. His research expertise
includes electronic government, electronic commerce, and usability, and security of Information Systems.
O
Argyris Arnellos is an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Product and Systems Design Engi
R
neering, in the University of the Aegean in Syros, Greece. He received his Ph.D. in Complex Systems
Design Engineering (March 2008) from the Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering
P
of the University of the Aegean, an MSc in Data Communication Systems from the Department of
Electronic and Computer Engineering of Brunel University (UK) and a BSc in Electronic Engineering
from the Department of Electronics of the Technological Educational Institution of Athens. Since 1998,
L
he has been involved in various national and European research projects. He has published in several
scientific journals and participated in numerous international and national conferences, in the areas of
A
complex systems theory, 2ndorder cybernetics, autonomous systems, philosophy of science, artificial
intelligence, design theory, biosemiotics, and humancomputer interaction. Dr. Arnellos is also on the
B
editorial board of the journals Cybernetics and Human Knowing and Biosemiotics, and he is a regular
member of the International Board of Biosemiotic Studies.
O
Daniel Bromberg is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration at Western Carolina University.
L
He received his Ph.D. from Rutgers University School of Public Affairs and Administration. His research
interests focus around business/government relations, performance measurement, and citizen participation.
G
Mark Burke is currently the Managing Partner of Development@Work and Associate Researcher
I
with the LINK Centre, based at the University of the Witwatersrand. Mark has worked in the public
sector for more than 10 years in government and as a development consultant. His consultancy work
G
focuses on organizational and program performance improvement in the small enterprise, local economic
I
development, education and training, and egovernance sectors. He has been involved in numerous
performance improvement consulting assignments, focusing on organizational transformation, program
design, and project implementation. Mark’s research interests are organizational development and
transformation, performance improvement, and the impact of ICT on governance strategies, structures,
and systems. Mark holds a law degree from the University of the Western Cape, as well as an Honors
Degree in Development Studies.
Kelvin Joseph Bwalya is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Information and Knowledge
Management (University of Johannesburg). He has a Master’s in Electrical and Computer Science from
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering
from Moscow. Kelvin has over 30 peerreviewed publications and has presented at over 20 conferences
618
67$(1+15"+D$%1)*7(1$)@
worldwide. His research interests lie in information systems (egovernment, databases, business process
modeling, semantic information retrieval, and analysis).
Étienne Charbonneau is an Assistant Professor of Public Management at the École nationale

d’administration publique, Montreal, Canada. He is an alumnus of the School of Public Affairs and
F
Administration at Rutgers University, campus at Newark. His research focuses on performance mea
surement and citizen satisfaction.
O
Neil Coleman is a transparency advocate in NJ and former President and current Board Trustee of
the NJ Taxpayers Association. He has over 20 years experience in the mortgage banking and real estate
O
finance field. Neil is a graduate of both Holy Cross College (BS) and Babson College (MBA).
R
Ubaldo Comite is a Professor of Budget and Business Organization at the Faculty of Economy,
P
Department of Business Sciences, University of Calabria. He is also a Professor of Business Adminis
tration at the Faculty of Economy, University ECampus (Novedrate – Como). He received his degree
in Law (1994) and then in Business Administration (1996) and in Economic and Bank Sciences (1998)
L
at the University of Messina (Italy), and earned his Ph.D. in Public Administration at the University
of Calabria, Rende (Cs) Italy, in 2005. His research interests include private and public management,
A
nonprofit organizations, and accounting.
B
Ibrahim Ahmed Elbadawi is a practitioner and a researcher in the field of egovernance and trans
formation in public sector. He is a member of the team that is leading the eGovernment transformation
O
in UAE federal government. Prior to that, he had been working in the strategic planning division at Dubai
eGovernment where he was responsible for key initiatives and programs. Mr. Ibrahim holds a Master
L
in Public Administration (MPA) degree from Dubai School of Government. His areas of interest include
leadership, egovernance, ICT and economic development, social media, and citizen participation. He
G
is a member of the international jury of the Gulf Cooperation Council eGovernment award 2009/2010.
I
Lauri Elliott is Chief Executive Officer of Conceptualee, Inc., a strategy and innovation thinktank
and new venture incubator, as well as Director of Afribiz Media, a “new” media company focused on
G
business in Africa. Lauri’s areas of expertise include human performance technology, organizational
I
design, technology, strategy, and entrepreneurship. Her research areas include the application of net
work science to economic development and business, new/alternative media, leadership, and new breed
business models and organizational forms. Lauri sits on the Board of Advisors for the Center for Global
Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Management at Morgan State University. She holds a Master of Arts
in Education, focusing on Instructional Design, from Regent University.
Marc Fudge is an Assistant Professor at California State University, San Bernardino. His research
focuses on egovernance, performance management and reporting, and the impact of information and
communication technologies on publicsector performance and improvement. He is the Associate Di
rector of The EGovernance Institute at Rutgers Newark, where he manages several research projects
including the forthcoming U.S. Municipalities EGovernance Report.
619
67$(1+15"+D$%1)*7(1$)@
Sherri Greenberg is the Interim Director of the Center for Politics and Governance at the LBJ School
of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also a Lecturer and Fellow of the Max
Sherman Chair in State and Local Government. Her current teaching and research interests are public
finance and budgeting, egovernance, and campaigns and elections. Her recent publications include
“Texas Financial Transparency: Open and Online,” and “State EGovernment Strategies: Identifying
F
Best Practices and Applications.” Greenberg served from 19912001 as a member of the Texas House
of Representatives. Prior to that she served as the Manager of Capital Finance for the City of Austin and
O
as a Public Finance Officer at Standard & Poor’s Corporation. Greenberg received her M.Sc. in Public
Administration and Public Policy from the London School of Economics and her B.A. in Government
from the University of Texas at Austin.
R O
Dimitris Gouscos is an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies
of the University of Athens and a research fellow of the Laboratory of New Technologies in Commu
P
nication, Education and the Mass Media, where he contributes to coordination of two research groups
on Digital Media for Learning and Digital Media for Participation. He holds a BSc (1990) and a Ph.D.
(1998) from the Dept. of Informatics and Telecommunication of the University of Athens. He has co
L
ordinated the development of the Magic Potion digital game for learning, which received the Comenius
Edumedia Medal (2009), and participated in development of the TAXISnet service, which was awarded
A
the eEurope Good Practice label (2001). He has published more than 50 research papers in international
conferences, journals, and edited volumes. His research interests include applications of digital com
B
munication in electronic governance, social media, interactive storytelling, and digital games.
O
Warren Hero is Head of Egovernment in the Department of Finance of Gauteng Province. In this
role, he led the completion of a new region wide egovernment blueprint, as well as completed a 10year
L
strategy. Warren’s department manages the Gauteng broadband project (GLink), which aims to provide
access to affordable broadband to 95% of Gauteng households. Another project, Gauteng Online Schools,
G
seeks to imbue the entire learning experience with ICT. The new model of delivery has been successfully
piloted and is being elaborated. Warren holds a Bachelor of Science from WITS University.
G I
Rahim Hussain is Assistant Professor of Marketing and Chair of Department of Marketing at the
University of Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dr. Rahim obtained his Doctoral degree in Market
I
ing from Griffith University Australia in 2007. He obtained his MBA in Marketing from University of
New Haven, Connected, USA, Bachelor of Computer Science from Cyprus College, Nicosia, Cyprus,
and Bachelor of Science from Karachi University, Karachi, Pakistan. His research interest includes
online advertising, search engine advertising, mobile phone advertising, egovernment, and branding.
Dr Rahim’s research has been presented in numerous conferences around the world including USA,
Australia, France, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates.
Kavita Karan is an Associate Professor in the School of Journalism, College of Mass Communica
tion and Media Arts, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA. She received her Ph.D. from
the London School of Economics and Political Science. Dr. Karan has extensively investigated issues in
political communication, new media technologies, advertising, Indian cinema, and women’s magazines.
She teaches courses in Marketing and Advertising and Research Methods. She has presented papers at
620
67$(1+15"+D$%1)*7(1$)@
various international conferences and contributed scholarly papers for journals and chapters for books.
Her edited and coedited books include Cyber Communities in Rural Asia: A Study of Seven Asian
Countries; Commercializing Women: Images of Asian Women in the Media; and Singapore General
Elections 2001, Study of Media, Politics and Public.
F
Ewa KrzatalaJaworska is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Political Science at Paris 1
PanthéonSorbonne University in Paris, France. She is a member of the Research Network “Electronic
O
Democracy” (DEL), composed of researchers who, irrespective of their status or their field of research,
devote their work, either in full or part to the study of the various aspects of edemocracy. She is also
a member of the Digital Government Society of North America. Her research interests include Internet
O
and political engagement, citizen participation and eparticipation in policymaking, and social capital.
R
Younhee Kim is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at East Carolina University. Her research
P
interests focus on performance management, public entrepreneurship, and Information Technology and
egovernance.
L
Mateja Kunstelj received a Master’s degree in 2002, from the Faculty of Computer and Information
Science, University of Ljubljana. She works at the Faculty of Administration of the same university
A
as Senior Lecturer for the studies in Information Technologies in Public Administration. In addition to
teaching, she researches various aspects of egovernment, its development, and implementation. Cur
B
rently, her research activities mainly focus on the working of a onestop government framework and
roadmap, the measurement and evaluation of egovernment development, and the reengineering of
O
administrative processes.
L
Sonia Lara is an Associate Professor of Instructional Design and ViceChair of the Department
of Education at the University of Navarra, Spain. Her research focuses on the study of innovation in
G
teaching through new methodologies, the use of ICT in both schools and universities, and the influ
ence of social media among young people. She has been a research scholar at Boston University and
I
Northwestern University.
G
Dimitrios Lekkas holds a Ph.D. in the area of Information Systems Security, an M.Sc in Information
I
Technology and a B.Sc in Mathematics. He is a Lecturer in the Department of Product and Systems De
sign Engineering of the University of the Aegean, Greece. He has participated in many research projects
funded nationally and by the European Union and published several papers in international journals and
conferences. He is a member of the Greek National Educational Network (EDUnet) technical commit
tee and coordinator of the eSchool and the eUniversity Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). His current
research interests include design of information infrastructures, computer security, incident response,
public key cryptography and digital signatures, and database management systems.
Sami Leppimäki has a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Turku in Finland. From
2000 to 2009, he worked as a researcher at the Åbo Akademi University in Finland. Sami Leppimäki has
participated in several research projects commissioned and funded by ministries, governmental organi
zations, industry associations, and companies (e.g. Ministry of Education, Finnish Technology Agency
621
67$(1+15"+D$%1)*7(1$)@
TEKES, Technology Industries of Finland and several Finnish origin multinational companies). The
main part of his work has been industry foresight, R&D and product development, strategic planning
and scenario planning projects. His main research question has been to enhance the organizations’ abil
ity to foresee the future changes of their operational environment and how to be better prepared. Sami
Leppimäki has worked with these themes in close cooperation with the forest, mechanical engineering,
F
and ICT industries. He has also written several conference articles and coauthored books.
O
SikLiong Ang, B. Sc. (Hon. London), M. Phil. (London), MBA has more than 30 years of experi
ence in Petroleum Engineering & Chemistry, Education, and Chinese culture. He has many years of
experience in transforming and reorganizing a company unit into an effective and efficient outfit towards
O
an ISO standard. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Confucian Leadership and Management and is a
R
research assistant for an egovernment project at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam.
P
Patrick Kim Cheng Low, Ph.D. (South Australia), Chartered Marketer, Certified MBTI Adminis
trator, Chartered Consultant & Certified Behavioral Consultant (IML, USA), has more than 25 years
of combined experience in diverse sectors such as electronics, civil service, academia, banking, human
L
resource development, and consulting. The once Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Business, the
University of Malaya (2007), Prof. Dr. Low, the Deputy Dean, Postgraduate Studies & Research (2009),
A
is teaching in Universiti Brunei Darussalam. An academicianpractitioner, a prolific author (author of
several books including bestsellers: Strategic Customer Management, 2006, 2002, 2000 – one of Borders’
B
top ten in 2001/2, Sales Success, 2006, 2003; Team Success, 2003 and The Power of Relationships,
2001) and a business coach, Prof. Dr. Low is also the founder of BusinesscrAFT™ Consultancy and an
O
associate of UniSA. His most recent books are Successfully Negotiating in Asia, Springer (2010) and
Corporate Culture and Values, VDMVerlag (2009).
L
/.0)12'3145#6&70# is a Research Assistant at the Communication faculty in University of Gala
G
tasaray. She is interested in global and local cultures, hybrid identities, and minorities and her Ph.D.
thesis focuses on local television and hybrid cultures. Her recent study “Global Media Entertainment:
I
Star Search” was published in “From Here to Diversity: Globalization and Intercultures Dialogues”
(Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010).
I G
Deborah MohammedSpigner is an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Communication and
Public Administration, Kean University, Union, NJ and The School of Public Affairs and Administration
(SPAA), Rutgers, Newark, NJ. Her research focuses on transparency, accountability, and open govern
ment. She is an active board member of Common Cause New Jersey, the Foundation for Open Govern
ment, the Y of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge and South Amboy (Y of MEWSA) and the Community
Access Unlimited. She has done work on strategic planning, community organizing, legislative liaison,
as well as various academic related endeavors including presentations of papers at political and public
administration conferences. She has also chaired several panels on open government and political science.
She has directed many initiatives including a Health and Wellness committee for the Y of MEWSA. Dr.
MohammedSpigner received her Ph.D. from SPAA, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ and an MPA from
Kean University, Union, NJ. She is currently involved in several writing endeavors on open government
including the submission of two chapters for a book on EGovernment.
622
67$(1+15"+D$%1)*7(1$)@
Fadzliwati Mohiddin, BA Management Studies (Universiti Brunei Darussalam); MBA (Lancaster

University, UK); Ph.D. Information Systems (Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia), is a
Lecturer at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Policy Studies, UBD. She lectures in ICT, manage
ment of Information Systems and business statistics, and is also an Examiner to MBA theses. Her current
research interests include Information Systems success, knowledge management, and egovernment.
F
Currently, she is involved with several ICT projects, which include knowledge management systems
and elearning systems for the Ministry of Education.
O
Francesco Molinari holds an MSc and an MA in Local Public Management (Siena University, 2007
& 2005) and a BSc in Social and Economic Disciplines (Milan “L. Bocconi” University, 1990). Cur
O
rently an independent researcher and project manager for several public and private organizations in
R
Europe, from 2009 on he has been associated with the London headquartered 21C Consultancy firm and
Director of the Cyprus based SmartIntuitions, one of the founding members of the European network of
P
eParticipation practitioners PEPNET. Between 2007 and 2008, he joined the International Research Unit
at ALTEC SA, the second largest ICT Company of Greece for R&D expenditure, holding responsibil
ity for egovernment research. Between 2003 and 2006 he was a Contract Professor at Pisa University,
L
designer of the egovernment module at the Political Science Faculty. His background includes a 5year
service as strategic advisor of a middlesized Italian City Mayor.
A
Taewoo Nam is a Ph.D. candidate at Rockefeller College of Public Administration and Policy, the
B
University at Albany, State University of New York. He is working on two research projects (investigat
ing service integration in smart cities, and assessing mobile technology use of child protection service
O
caseworkers) in the Center for Technology in Government, the University at Albany, SUNY. He has
actively participated in key egovernment conferences such as dg.o, ICEGOV, and egovernment track
L
of HICSS. His publications involve both empirical and conceptual studies on recent issues regarding
digital government and online citizen participation.
G
Concepción Naval is a Professor of Theory of Education and VicePresident of the University of
I
Navarra, Spain since 2001. She is also the Editor of the Journal Estudios sobre Educación (Studies on
Education), member of the editorial board of the Journal of Social Sciences Education, and the journal
G
Citizenship, Teaching and Learning, among others. Her research focuses on the foundations of educa
I
tion for citizenship, social participation, and family; the social impact of Information Technologies on
young people; and educational innovation in higher education.
Angela Newell is a University of Texas Continuing Fellow and Candidate for the Doctorate in Public
Policy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses
on government Information Systems, decisionmaking groups, and the implementation of interactive
Internet tools. Ms. Newell is an author in the forthcoming book Everyday Information: The Evolution of
Information Seeking in America, edited by William Aspray and Barbara Hayes and published by the MIT
press. Ms. Newell received her Master of Science in Public Policy and Information Systems Management
from Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University, where she was a Cooper Scholar and a recipient of
the Lauble Fellowship. As a Lauble Fellow, Ms. Newell cofounded the flagship Computer Clubhouse of
Pittsburgh. She is also the cocreator of an ebudget system for the Pittsburgh School District. Ms. Newell
623
67$(1+15"+D$%1)*7(1$)@
has directed community development initiatives and served as a National Service Fellow. She received
two national awards, including the Josten’s Our Town Award, for her work in community development
Erkki Patokorpi has worked as an Information Systems Researcher, Historian of science, and sci
ence studies researcher. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oulu, Finland in 1996, majoring
F
in the History of Science and Ideas. In 2006, he received his DSc (BA) degree from the Department
of Information Technologies, the Faculty of Technology at the Åbo Akademi University, Finland. His
O
main research interests include technology philosophy, digital culture, humancomputer interaction,
the epistemology of advanced information and communication technologies, foresight studies, mobile
learning, and the rhetoric of science.
R O
Tanya du Plessis is a Lecturer at the Department of Information and Knowledge Management, Uni
versity of Johannesburg, and specializes in legal research, competitive intelligence tools and techniques,
P
and virtual learning and research environment content integration. She is involved in CI projects of the
Centre for Information and Knowledge Management. She holds a Ph.D. (Rand Afrikaans University,
South Africa), with a focus on information and knowledge management in support of legal research in
L
a digital information environment.
A
George Poluse is a second year Ph.D. student at the Department of Political Science, Kent State
University, USA. His research interests are international political economy, state development, collec
B
tive action problems, and the international expansion of egovernance. He received his Bachelor of Arts
from Notre Dame College of South Euclid, Ohio in both Accounting and Mathematics. Currently, he is
O
a Research Assistant for the Department of Political Science at Kent State University.
L
Pietro Previtali is an Assistant Professor of Business Organization at the University of Pavia. He
received his Ph.D. in Management and Business Administration from Bocconi University. He teaches
G
and conducts research on managerial issues surrounding the introduction of Information Technologies
in public agencies and private companies.
G I
Mohammad Habibur Rahman received his Ph.D. from the University of Wales in U.K. Currently
with the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Policy Studies in the University Brunei Darussalam, Dr.
I
Rahman has previously taught in the areas of Public Administration, Political Science, and Develop
ment Studies in universities in Bangladesh (Dhaka and National), Canada (Lakehead) and Fiji Islands
(South Pacific). He was a Senior Fulbright Scholar at Syracuse University, USA and a Visiting Fellow
at York University, Canada. He has worked with leading think tank bodies such as the Research Triangle
Institute (USA), Associates in Rural Development (USA) and the International Institute for Democracy
and Electoral Assistance (Sweden). He has extensively published in referred international and regional
journals as well as in edited volumes. His current teaching and research interests include public policy,
governance, public sector reform, egovernance, public sector human resource management, and urban
governance.
624
67$(1+15"+D$%1)*7(1$)@
Chris Rensleigh is a Senior Professor in the Department of Information and Knowledge Manage
ment, University of Johannesburg, and specializes in Internet information infrastructures and related
technologies. He has a Ph.D. in commerce, with specialization in informatics.
Charlene M. L. Roach currently serves as a faculty member at The Department of Behavioral Sci
F
ences, in the Faculty of Social Sciences, at The University of The West Indies, St. Augustine Campus
in Trinidad and Tobago. She earned her undergraduate degree in history and postgraduate diploma in
O
public administration at The UWI, St. Augustine Campus. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship
to pursue her graduate education in Arizona. She earned her Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Public
Administration from Arizona State University. Her research and teaching interests are in the areas of
O
public management, organizational behavior, leadership, and egovernment.
R
Salem Al Shair is the Director General of General Information Authority in United Arab Emirates
P
(UAE), the entity that runs the Federal eGovernment program in the country. Prior to that, Mr. Salem
had been the Director of eServices at Dubai eGovernment since its establishment in 2000 till 2008,
where he had led the eGovernance transformation in Dubai government and contributed in raising the
L
community’s eliteracy level to facilitate a new knowledgebased society in Dubai. Mr. Salem’s achieve
ments and successes are recognized by the various awards and honors received. In April 2009, he received
A
The Feigenbaum Leadership Excellence Award which is dedicated to honor men and women in the
Arab World for their exemplary leadership in driving their organizations to fulfill their role in business
B
and society. In 2005, he was awarded The Arab Technology Awards for his “Outstanding Contribution
to eGovernment” by ITP. In 2006, he was honored with the title of ”Young CEO of the Year” at the
O
Middle East CEO of the Year Awards. Mr. Salem is an active blogger and has participated in several
research activities. He has been a keynote speaker and has addressed numerous IT and egovernment
L
conferences around the world.
G
Djoko Sigit Sayogo is a Ph.D. candidate at the Rockefeller College of Public Administration and
Policy, the University at Albany, State University of New York. He is a Fulbright Presidential Scholar
I
ship grantee for 200811. Currently, he is working for the Center for Technology in Government, the
University at Albany, SUNY. His research interests include egovernment, edemocracy, and Internet
G
financial reporting.
I
Alicia Schatteman, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Public Administration and
the new Center for NGO Leadership and Development (NGOLD) at Northern Illinois University. She
had 12 years of experience working in the nonprofit and public sector before completing her Ph.D. in
2009. She has taught at Rutgers University and John Jay College before coming to NIU (2010). She
also holds a Master’s degree in Communications Management from the Newhouse School at Syracuse
University. Her research interests address volunteerism, nonprofit resources management, and the use
of technology by nonprofit organizations.
Françoise Simon (Ph.D., University of Strasbourg) is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Haute

Alsace University in France where she teaches Consumer Behaviour, Relationship Marketing, and In
tegrated Marketing Communications. Before joining academia, Dr. Simon worked for over 10 years in
625
67$(1+15"+D$%1)*7(1$)@
public and private sector organizations in managing several aspects of marketing and communications.
She is an expert in customer service management and currently advises the French Customer Service
Association. Dr. Simon’s research focuses on organizations’ interactional performance and consumers’
new media behaviour. Dr. Simon has published in both national and international refereed journals such
as Systèmes d’Information et Management, Revue Française du Marketing, Revue Internationale de
F
Communication Sociale et Publique, The International Journal of Research in Marketing, and Canadian
Journal of Administrative Sciences.
O
EleniRevekka Staiou holds a BSc in Communication and Media Studies from the University of
Athens (2007) and an MSc in Communication, Information and Society from LSE (2008). She is cur
O
rently a Doctoral Researcher in the Laboratory of New Technologies Laboratory in Communication,
R
Education and Mass Media, Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, University of Athens. Her
research interests on new media, eparticipation, egovernment, edemocracy, and Web 2.0 focus on social
P
networks, their potential use by individuals, groups, and organizations and the cultural, literacy, and
other obstacles encountered when using the Internet.
L
Malathi Subramanian holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and is former Principal of Daulat Ram Col
lege, University of Delhi, India. She has taught Political Science courses to undergraduate and postgraduate
A
students for more than four decades and supervised students pursuing research in the postgraduate and
doctoral degree programs at the University of Delhi, India. She has participated in many national and
B
international conferences and has a number of publications in national and international journals. Her
current research interests are gender studies, political participation of women, the social dimensions of
O
information and communication technologies and associated equity issues, and egovernance. She is cur
rently working with Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, India, in the School of Engineering & Technology.
L
Jakob Svensson is a Junior Researcher at Karlstad University with a Ph.D. in Media and Communica
G
tion Studies. Dr. Svensson is also an Assistant Professor in Media and Communication Studies at Karlstad
University and is the director of the research network HumanIT (www.kau.se/en/humanit). His research
I
interests revolve around political participation and digital media, identification and sociability online.
G
Franck Tétard, Ph.D., Docent, is a Senior Lecturer in Information Systems at Åbo Akademi University.
I
His research interests include usability, user experience, social media, mobile ICT, and learning and ICT.
!"#$%&'(&)&*&+,-. received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Ljubljana in 2003.
He is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Public Administration.
He was a postdoc fellow at the Stanford University (20042005) and Osaka University (2003). His re
search interests include information science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and applications of
methods from these three areas to reallife problems in ecology, life sciences, and public administration.
Mbako Vaka is currently pursuing his Bachelors’ Degree in Information Systems (Information
Management) from the University of Botswana. His research interests include eGovernment and vari
ous aspects of Information Systems.
626
67$(1+15"+D$%1)*7(1$)@
Laura Wesley is one of a growing number of professionals working towards a resultsbased col
laborative culture in the Canadian public service. Trained as a business analyst, she has a decade of
experience identifying practical performance metrics for websites. Much of her work promotes a user
centered design approach in which user research and testing are used to inform continuous improvements
to online services. In her current position at Canada’s national department of industry, she measures the
F
extent to which the organization’s services are clientcentric. She also coleads the federal government’s
User Experience Working Group, developing Canada’s first set of federal guidelines on Web usability.
O
In her spare time, Laura blogs about performance measurement and improvement in the public sector.
Qin Ying is an Internet analyst of the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), a lead
O
ing nongovernment organization in China that focuses on Internet survey and research. She received
R
her Master of Management Science from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, where
her research focused on public information management. Mrs. Qin has served in CNNIC since April
P
2009 and is responsible for surveys on search engine, online media, and Internet usage in rural areas.
She has composed a series of Survey Report on the Internet Usage in Chinese Rural Area, the Survey
Report on Behavior of Search Engine Users in China (20082010), the Survey Report on Online Videos
L
Application in China (2010), the Survey Report on Significant Social Events and the Impact of Online
Media, etc. She has also been involved in composing the semiannual Statistical Reports on the Internet
A
Development in China. She has published in journals and newsletters such as Management Observer
(Guanli Guancha), and Newsletter on Chinese Internet Development (Zhongguo Hulianwang Fazhan
B
Xinxi Dongtai).
O
JianChuan Zhang is currently a Ph.D. student of egovernment and public management in the
Division of Public Administration at Northern Illinois University. He received his Master of Public
L
Management from Renmin University of China, Beijing, China. His research interests include interna
tional and comparative egovernment and global Internet governance. He used to serve as an Analyst
G
and later Department Director in the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), a leading
nongovernment organization in China that focuses on Internet survey and research. Mr. Zhang is a
I
member of the American Society for Public Administration, Phi Beta Delta, Zeta Gamma Chapter, NIU,
and Internet Society of China.
I G
Dimitrios Zissis holds a BSc in Computer Science, an MSc in Computing and Information Systems,
an MBA in General Management and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Information and Communication
Security at the University of the Aegean in Greece. He has been involved in a number of EU funded
research projects, mostly in the research area of IT Security, involving the development of egovernance
solutions and deploying key public infrastructures cryptography.
627
628
Index
O F
O
A 345346, 380, 384386, 388390, 395397, 401,
404406, 408409, 412416, 420, 427, 432,
R
Abductive Reasoning 159160, 162, 164, 167 436, 439, 460461, 463, 484, 499, 512513,
6#1*$%+S$)3D$4+A+[""+S$)3D$4+L$;"8? 518520, 522, 526
P
aeCERT See Computer Emergency Response Citizen’s eParticipation 402
Team. Citizens First 66, 6869, 7174, 81
American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) 24 Citizenship 15, 8889, 104105, 107, 110116, 118
L
25 119, 122128, 141, 195, 198205, 295, 298,
application programming interfaces (APIs) 45, 49, 310, 344, 354, 406, 419, 441, 444445, 457,
A
53, 55 501, 509511
ascriptive hierarchy 86, 101 Citizens to Government (C2G) 33, 263
Association for Democratic reforms (ADR) 342,
B
City Performance Reporting (CPR) 10, 15
344 Civic Education 188, 444
Authoritarian Political Culture 379, 381, 393394, Civic Engagement 4450, 5455, 5758, 104105,
O
397, 402 107, 167, 196, 200201, 203205, 251, 253
256, 258259, 264265, 267272, 275, 297301,
B
L
304, 306313, 336337, 399, 401402, 405406,
412, 415416, 419, 431, 436, 439441, 445,
Baby Boomers 91, 98, 108, 192194, 196197, 206
450, 477, 481483, 485, 492493, 495, 508, 528
G
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 343344, 349
Civil Service Computerisation Programme (CSCP)
businesstogovernment (B2G) 263
367
I
BWQ See Perceived Website Quality.
CLIM See Temporary Committee on Climate
C Change.
G
Cognitive Approach to the Public Policy 528
I
CABG See Coronary Artery Bypass Graft. Communicative rationality 116119
CATI See Computer Assisted Telephone Interview community technology centers (CTCs) 381382, 397
ing System. Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) 7,
centralisation 232, 242243 9, 13, 376, 399
Central IT Committee (CITC) 287 Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing System
centrally sponsored schemes 322 301
Central Procurement Departments 231, 249 Computer Emergency Response Team 468, 471, 473
a5*"-+0%-$)./1*$%+V-&#")<+Qa0VR+\bB+mÂm`B+ôB+ Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) 324
150, 287, 468, 474475 Consip 215, 222224, 226, 246
a5*"-+@"#5%$8$'9+V-&#")+mÂm`B+ô Contribution Network Project (CNP) 287
China Internet Network Information Center Core Values 363, 366, 373374, 377
(CNNIC) 297299, 301, 304307, 309, 314 Coronary Artery Bypass Graft 6
Citizen Centric 317, 331, 333, 477, 498 Criminals in Politics 350, 359
Citizen Participation 18, 21, 24, 3437, 58, 112, Crowdsourcing 46, 5051, 5455, 5759, 63, 432,
117, 119, 130, 132, 188, 199, 205, 300, 336, 450, 456
0%>"Q
CSSs See centrally sponsored schemes. 188, 245, 247, 251255, 258, 263266, 268,
a@V+A+[""+a5*"-+@"#5%$8$'9+V-&#")? 270272, 275, 281282, 294295, 309, 315316,
Cultural Governance 115116, 128 318319, 321337, 339, 348351, 353356, 361
363, 365, 367, 373, 375377, 399, 401, 404,
D 407408, 439441, 443446, 450451, 454456,
458, 461, 472473, 477, 482485, 488489,
F
Datamining 46 492493, 496, 498, 513, 553, 559
DataSF 52, 57, 59 EGovernment National Centre (EGNC) 365366,
decentralisation 232, 242, 322, 331, 333 374
O
Deliberative democracy 92, 117, 124126, 395, 398, eGovernment Technical Authority Body (EGTAB)
402, 407, 436, 502504, 509510 365
Democratic Divide 8592, 94, 98, 100101, 104, 107 eGovernment Website Maturity Index 257258, 264
O
Democratic Legitimacy 379381, 384385, 391, Election Commission of India 60, 245, 337, 340
395397, 399, 402, 440 342, 344345, 436, 456458
R
democratic participation 44, 105, 153, 275, 362, Electronic Democracy (EDemocracy) 10, 34, 83,
419, 528 129131, 137139, 141, 144146, 148, 151152,
P
democratic theory 44, 482483 226, 247, 269272, 291, 296, 309312, 335
Denmark's Public Procurement Portal (DOIP) 235 337, 340, 348349, 351, 353, 356, 358359,
Department of Information Technology(DIT) 318, 384, 400402, 404, 407, 409, 413, 415, 434,
L
323, 330, 333 440, 456457, 484485, 499500, 503505, 508,
Design for all(DFA) 143 511, 514515, 517, 527528
Development Management 252, 270, 272, 275, 415,
A
electronic participatory budgeting (ePB) 451
435, 557 Electronic Voting (EVoting) 25, 129130, 132133,
Digital Citizenship 8889, 104, 107, 310 136152, 281, 284, 296, 335336, 341342,
B
Digital Divide (DD) 8588, 99, 102106, 108, 141, 359, 428429, 557
145, 156, 163165, 168169, 171, 185, 203, electronic voting machines 132, 138139, 341342
232, 254, 274, 294, 300, 311, 313, 319, 325, eMarketplace 232, 236, 244
O
333, 348, 350351, 375, 400, 477479, 485, eParticipation 105, 125, 127, 386, 417420, 426,
494498, 512513, 515, 518520, 550
L
433437
Digital Inclusion 164, 253, 255, 261, 265267, 270, eParticipation 117, 130131, 149, 151, 277278,
275 281282, 284, 286288, 293294, 296, 346,
G
direct transactions (DT) 233, 237238, 244 351, 385, 402, 417, 434437, 439, 443445,
Disposition to trust (DS) 533534, 539540, 543, 450, 454455, 458, 462, 467, 512517, 519
I
546547 520, 524526, 528
Distributed Intelligence 161, 167, 448 eprocurement 46, 207215, 217219, 221224,
DRE See electronic voting machines. 226227, 231236, 238, 242, 244250, 278279,
G
Dubai School of Government (DSG) 274, 464465, 282, 296, 322
I
467, 476 Equivocality 170171, 177, 179182, 187
Dutiful Citizen (DC) 12, 1416, 1819, 34, 36, 52, ERegistrations 359
5960, 6364, 104107, 195, 198, 202, 273, Ereporting 1011, 14, 16, 19
275, 309310, 312313, 353, 415, 435, 457 European Network of Participatory Regions 418,
458, 473, 475, 495, 497, 556 437
Europe Union (EU) 130, 132, 139, 141, 151, 200,
E 220, 232234, 236237, 239, 242, 245, 399,
EAuction 234, 249 417, 423426, 434437, 453, 456458, 464,
EC See Election Commission of India. 466, 473
Economic Inclusion 251, 253 eVoting 25, 129130, 132, 136151, 281, 296, 335
edebate 512, 517, 525 336, 359, 428, 557
eDevelopment 253, 255, 258, 269270, 272, 275 Expressive Rationality 116, 118119, 123, 125, 127
Educational Technology 153, 165 128
EGovernance 14, 26, 32, 36, 4447, 50, 5359, Extensible markup language 49, 55
6364, 81, 110, 116, 118, 120, 122124, 150,
629
0%>"Q
F Gram Panchayats (GPs) 319320, 322, 324, 342

GSSC See Gauteng Shared Service Centre.
Facebook 4546, 51, 53, 105, 107, 118, 122, 127,
154, 201, 205206, 268, 337, 343344, 350, H
352, 358359, 460463, 465466, 468, 470,
473, 516517, 519, 521525, 527 HCI 536, 556
F
Facetoface participation 529 Healthcare Authority 207, 217218, 225, 229
Familiarity (FM) 29, 107, 171, 183, 533, 535, 540, Hierarchical Social Media Divide 469, 475
543544, 547, 552, 554556 historical period effect 192
O
Fastforward 477, 481, 485487, 496, 498 Home Affairs National Information System (HA
Focus Group 464, 470, 472, 530, 538543, 545546, NIS) 288
548549, 553, 557 Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
O
Francistown 277, 280, 288, 292293, 296 (HSBC) 371, 374
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 22, 2627, 39, Human Computer Interaction 68, 70
R
48, 59 Human Resource (HR) 259, 261, 263, 270, 283,
Freedom of Information (FOI) 2223, 26, 3436, 48, 365, 370, 375, 451, 476
P
59 hyperpersonal 174, 185
hypertextuality 153154
G
I
L
Gauteng See South African Police Services Opera
tions Centre. IBS See InstitutionBased Trust.
A
Gauteng Emergency Medical Services (GEMS) 264 ICT Infrastructure 140, 142, 155, 255, 257, 268,
GautengOnLine (GoL) 83, 267 270, 280, 286, 288, 290291, 294, 296, 329,
B
Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) 251253, 331, 365, 417418, 430, 432
264, 266, 273 Inclusive Governance 315, 325, 334
Gauteng Shared Service Centre 265267 Independent Communications Authority of South
O
General Elections System (GENESYS) 341 Africa (ICASA) 268
General Information Authority (GIA) 464465, 476 Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB) 340341,
L
General Systems Theory (GST) 134, 145, 147148, 349
443 Indian National Congress (INC) 5860, 6264, 103,
Generation X 194, 196197, 206 151, 251, 274275, 310, 343, 376, 401, 414,
G
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) 4546, 51 416, 434435, 473474, 493497, 511
Individualism 110, 112113, 116, 122123, 128
I
52, 59, 62
global digital divide (GDD) 485486, 497 Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) 367, 369,
Good Governance 17, 48, 150, 317, 325, 327, 330, 371372, 375
G
332, 338, 356, 360363, 375, 405, 441, 444 Infocomm Education (IE) 369
I
445, 450, 457, 461, 466, 483484, 486, 494 Information technology enabled services (ITES) 321
government data network (GDN) 279 Institute for CitizenCentred Service (ICCS) 6869,
Government eProcurement System (GePS) 279 72, 74, 81
Government Online Centre (GOC) 287, 295 Institute Technologi Brunei (ITB) 371
Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) InstitutionBased Trust 533
10 integrated development plans (IDPs) 265
Government Records Council (GRC) 2728, 42 Integrating the Drivers of eParticipation at Regional
GovernmentSociety Social Media Divide 467, 475 Level in Europe (IDEALEU) 417422, 424
Government to Citizens (G2C) 20, 24, 33, 47, 264, 434, 436438
282, 315, 326, 368 Interactional Performance 168169, 177181, 187
GovernmenttoEmployees (G2E) 264, 283, 368 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 296,
369, 441 298, 310, 312, 398, 407, 409
GovernmenttoGovernment (G2G) 47, 282, 442 Internet Mediated Human Interaction 402
government wide network (GWN) 286 Internet Reporting Information System (IRIS) 452
InterParliamentary Union (IPU) 484
630
0%>"Q
K 547, 549, 552553, 555557, 559

National Health Service (NHS) 14, 452
key performance indicators (KPIs) 67, 71, 78, 81, 84 National Informatics Centers (NICs) 316, 331, 333
334, 339, 341, 356
L National Information and Communication Technol
ogy (NICT) 382, 486487
F
Late Modernity 110114, 116123, 128
National Institute for Smart Government (NISG)
life cycle effect 192
318
Local eDemocracy 514
National Panchayat Portals (NPP) 322
O
Local Government 1214, 1718, 2829, 3436, 38,
Networked Individualism 113, 116, 122, 128
47, 56, 58, 183, 201, 211, 232, 269, 322, 328
Network Readiness Index (NRI) 323, 334
330, 332, 379, 381383, 386, 388391, 393
New Media 102, 104, 126, 153154, 164, 166, 171,
O
397, 402, 408, 412, 437, 462, 464465, 468,
186, 200, 202, 204, 252, 274275, 307, 335
472473, 495, 497, 512514, 516517, 521522
341, 345347, 349350, 353, 358359, 362,
R
M 400, 406, 435, 447, 452, 457, 463, 473, 499
500, 504511, 527
P
Management Accountability Framework (MAF) 66, New Media Technologies (NMTs) 335341, 344,
84 349350, 359, 499500, 509
Management Effectiveness 207, 229 New Public Management 14, 116, 247, 477, 483,
L
Mass Media 36, 195196, 204, 306, 338339, 342, 498
345, 350, 357358, 371, 440, 499, 502507, Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) 267268,
A
509510 318, 326, 328, 340, 342, 350, 382, 420, 427,
L"/<()*%'+I-&#*"%#9+^mB+`\B+`] 498, 504, 518
Media Richness 168172, 176177, 179, 181182, North Texas Council of Governments (NTCOG) 51
B
186187
Members of Parliament (MPs) 194, 453 O
O
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) 466
V-&#"+$-+a$..(%*#/1*$%<++QV-#$.R+\{{A\{]B+\]dB+
Millennial Generation 103, 191194, 196197, 201,
197199, 202, 205
L
203, 205206
OneStop Shop 55, 64, 489
Minority culture 499500, 506
Online Campaigns 347, 349350, 353, 359, 458
Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) 317318, 322
G
Online Civic Engagement 203, 267269, 405, 415
N 416
I
Online Participation 46, 64, 102, 353, 358, 390391,
National eGovernance Plan (NeGP) 279, 317318, 395, 405, 409410, 413, 432, 513, 529
322, 326, 328, 332, 334 Online Structure 379381, 384386, 389, 392, 394,
G
National Election Watch (NEW) 5, 10, 1316, 1822, 396399, 402
I
24, 2728, 30, 3337, 3940, 42, 47, 49, 51, 53 Open Governance 439, 441, 450
54, 5658, 6064, 79, 85, 87, 89, 98107, 112 Open Public Records Act (OPRA) 27, 40, 42
116, 120127, 134, 136, 138, 140, 147, 149, $=")/1*$%/8+;"&%*1*$%+{{B+m_dB+mm_
151155, 164, 166167, 171, 181183, 186, ordinary least square (OLS) 94, 96, 108109
191192, 195196, 198, 200205, 207, 210213, Organization of Economic Cooperation and Devel
219220, 222, 224, 229, 231232, 234, 236, opment (OECD) 16, 22, 36, 83, 253, 257, 272,
242, 245247, 251252, 255257, 264, 267 310, 376, 399, 405, 414415, 436437, 444,
268, 270275, 281, 286, 294, 299, 301, 304, 457, 461462, 473, 497
306307, 309, 311313, 320321, 324, 326, Other Divide 478, 480, 489, 498
329359, 361364, 368, 371, 375377, 379381,
383, 388, 391, 394402, 404, 406407, 414 P
415, 417, 419, 425427, 432, 435437, 439
Panchayat 315, 319325, 327, 330, 332, 334
441, 445, 447452, 454458, 461463, 467469,
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) 316, 318324,
471, 473475, 477478, 481, 483, 493502,
326, 328329, 331333
504511, 513516, 518528, 534, 540, 544,
Panchayati Raj (PR) 315316, 318323, 326329,
631
0%>"Q
331334 R
Peertopeer (P2P) 297, 440441, 446449, 455, 457
Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) 182, 288, 533, 536 randomdigit dialing (RDD) 301
537, 542, 548549, 554 Raw Data 4546, 4858, 64, 7677
Perceived Justice 168169, 177178, 181, 184187 Really Simple Syndication (RSS) 46, 49, 51, 55, 73,
Perceived Usefulness (PU) 182, 186, 288, 533, 536 199, 453
F
537, 541, 545, 548, 554555, 558 Référentiel 512513, 515517, 519, 522524, 526
Perceived Website Quality 533, 535536, 548549 528
Performance Measurement 17, 919, 32, 36, 57, 65 Registry of Companies and Businesses (RCB) 368
O
68, 71, 7584, 415 Representative Democracy 21, 112, 115, 117, 120,
Performance Reporting 12, 5, 10, 12, 1516, 19 430, 500, 503504, 509, 513514, 518519, 529
personalizability 153154 reprogrammability 153154
O
Pew Research Center 85, 105, 188, 192, 201203, request for quotation transactions (RFQ) 233, 237
205, 300, 306, 311 238, 244
R
Policy Implementation 360361, 363364, 368369, Resultsbased management 6567, 79, 8384
421, 424, 443444 Rural Egovernance 315, 317319, 325326, 328,
P
Political Community 111, 115, 119, 121, 123, 128 330, 334
,$8*1*#/8+I-&#/#9+{{B+]dB+]bB+]^B+]{A]]B+\o_B+\o{ Rural Internet User 313
Political Mobilization 89, 92, 98, 103, 108
L
Political Participation 34, 85, 8791, 94, 99103, S
105108, 110115, 117119, 121123, 126128,
SADC See Southern African Development Com
A
190, 203204, 252, 285, 300, 310311, 342,
munity.
351, 384, 398, 406, 431, 434, 444, 450, 457,
Scheduled Castes (SCs) 320
504, 515, 517
B
Scheduled Tribes (STs) 105, 150, 201202, 212,
Practical Reasoning 154, 159, 161162, 167
253255, 257258, 268, 270272, 275, 295,
,)$#"<<+$-+0;"%1*&#/1*$%+\d{
320, 352, 355, 367, 369, 474, 500, 558
Public Administration 10, 1219, 21, 23, 29, 3437,
O
SelfActualizing Citizenship (AC) 195196, 198,
58, 105106, 116, 144, 149151, 183, 185, 207
273, 352, 354, 435, 455
L
216, 218, 224225, 229230, 232233, 235
Serious Games 153, 155156, 158160, 162167
236, 242243, 245, 247, 275, 295, 298, 309,
Silent Generation 92, 192194, 196197, 205206
311313, 316317, 321322, 336, 357358, 363,
Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsible, and
G
375377, 398402, 414416, 419422, 433, 435,
Transparent (SMART) 317, 339, 363
437, 441, 457, 485487, 494498, 528, 557, 559
I
small and medium enterprises (SMEs) 247, 249,
Public Administration client 208, 212214, 230
253, 257, 261264, 269270
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) 144145, 152
Social Capital 92, 105, 107, 153154, 161163, 167,
Public Management 1314, 17, 19, 58, 63, 116,
G
190, 201, 204205, 300, 336, 357, 405406,
209210, 247, 250, 312, 360361, 363, 437,
I
414, 431
443444, 483, 498
social collaboration 141, 439
Public Policy 14, 34, 5657, 81, 106, 155, 252, 268,
Social constructivism 121
270272, 275, 310, 361, 375377, 443444,
Social Control 381, 384, 389, 391, 393396, 403,
495496, 512, 515516, 526, 528
557
public private partnership (PPP) 318319, 322, 327
Social Inclusion 106, 251, 253256, 259, 263, 267,
Public–Private Relationship 250
269272, 275, 464, 496
Public Procurement 226227, 231236, 242250, 279
Social Information Processing 174175
Public Sector Process Rebuilding (PPR) 245, 285
Social Media Policy 460, 462, 464465, 468473,
Public Service Delivery 113, 177, 278, 280284,
475
288, 290291, 328, 334, 352, 355, 363, 442
Social Networking 46, 56, 58, 60, 8586, 90, 94,
444, 450, 458, 482
102, 104105, 108, 113, 115, 118, 120, 123,
Public Sphere 92, 102, 104105, 125127, 190, 358,
200, 202, 205, 252, 268, 271, 304, 306307,
398, 400, 406, 451, 499509, 511, 515, 521,
335, 337, 340, 343344, 347, 354, 356, 359,
527
632
0%>"Q
417418, 424, 434, 437, 440, 447, 455457, 394, 406, 409, 412, 416, 440, 444, 451453,
460469, 471, 473475 458, 465, 467468, 473, 477, 482, 484, 545,
Social Networking Platform (SNP) 417418, 422, 550551
424429, 432433, 437 Treasury Board Secretariat 8284
Social Network Sites (SNS) 24, 86, 8991, 9495, Trinidad and Tobago (TT) 477, 479489, 491496,
99101, 107108, 193196, 198201, 203, 205, 498
F
335, 337, 344, 350, 352, 359, 447, 464, 469, TT Connect 480483, 487489, 492493
474
social participation 188, 190, 195, 197, 201, 304, U
O
306, 441
Social Presence 169170, 173174, 176, 179182, United Arab Emirates (UAE) 361, 399, 460, 462,
185, 187, 554 464, 466474, 496, 530
O
Societal Games 153154, 156157, 167 United Nations (UN) 11, 16, 37, 131, 152, 228, 246,
Socioeconomic status (SES) 86, 94, 97, 106, 307 273, 284, 286287, 295, 298, 311, 323, 326,
R
Soft System Methodology (SSM) 129130, 134137, 331332, 334, 362, 365, 367, 375, 378, 386,
145, 147148 400, 403, 407, 413415, 435, 462463, 467
P
South African Police Services Operations Centre 468, 474475, 527, 530, 557
251253, 255259, 263273 J%*1";+[1/1"<+,/1"%1+/%;+@)/;"./)3+V-&#"+QJ[,
Southern African Development Community 295296 TO) 463
L
Stakeholders 1, 5, 1012, 1516, 19, 21, 23, 2829, Universal Design(UD) 143
3235, 58, 69, 131, 133, 144, 202, 280, 287, Universal Household Broadband Internet Service
251, 270, 275
A
296, 317, 323, 325, 361, 364365, 373, 377,
418, 421422, 424, 426428, 430431, 434, Urban Internet User 313
437438, 444, 477, 482483, 498, 513516, usercentered design (UCD) 143, 459
B
521, 526 UserGenerated Content 124, 252, 439, 441, 446,
Statewide Transportation Plan 9, 15 459, 475
Supply Chain Management (SCM) 219, 248 User Generated Content (UGC) 470, 525
O
Sustainability of Participation 437
V
L
Sustainable Access in Rural India (SARI) 318, 339
Synchronicity 175 Village Knowledge Centres (VKC) 318
Systems Thought 129, 133, 136 Virtual Town Meeting (VTM) 417418, 422, 424
G
429, 432433, 437
T Visualization 45, 4950, 5253, 55, 64, 294
I
Task Analysability 170171, 187 Vote Report India (VRI) 347350, 357
Technical architecture 267, 418, 420, 423425, 433,
W
G
437
I
@"#5%*#/8+I-&#*"%#9+do`B+dd] Web 2.0 4546, 4950, 5354, 58, 61, 86, 89, 126,
Telepresence 173 154, 201, 251, 268, 354, 432, 437, 439441,
Temporary Committee on Climate Change 426, 434 446, 450452, 454455, 457459, 462463, 466,
theory of reasoned action (TRA) 228, 468, 536, 557 475
Three Agrarian Issues (TAIs) 299 Web Disclosure 379380, 386, 396, 403
Times of India (TOI) 342, 344, 347 Website Usability 478480, 489490, 492493, 495,
total quality management (TQM) 3, 369 498, 536
transdisciplinary 110 WikiGovernment 475
Transparency 34, 67, 2026, 2830, 3233, 3540, S$)3D$4+L$;"8+bd\B+bd_
4450, 5464, 130132, 150, 155156, 163, 208 World Economic Forum (WEF) 331, 461, 467, 474
209, 211213, 222, 225, 232, 242, 244245, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) 73, 81
264, 278279, 281282, 288, 291, 317, 319,
321322, 326327, 329, 335336, 339, 343344, X
349, 351, 361363, 377, 380, 382383, 386,
XML See Extensible markup language.
633
View publication stats

ActiveCitizenParticipationinE Government AGlobalPerspective

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

ActiveCitizenParticipationinE Government AGlobalPerspective

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

Active Citizen Participation in E-Government: A Global Perspective

Book · January 2012

Marc Holzer Aroon Manoharan

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

About the Contributors .................................................................................................................... 617

INTRODUCTION government business. E­government has become

Table 1. Summary for the benefits of performance measurement

Category Benefit Response rate

Accountability and Performance

Table 2. Key features of performance information and reporting

Performance Information Performance Reporting

Non­Linearity cies stand, matters. It is very different to improve

citizens. E­reporting of performance information Therefore, e­government initiatives should fa­

Halachmi, A. (2005). Performance measurement: Jones, D. S. (2001). Performance measurement

This chapter aims to show the direct benefits that

The need for citizens to be active participants

Table 1. New Jersey counties’ transparency indices

index points of the leading county. Nevertheless, Politician Contact Information

Table 4. Government meeting score

Rank County Score

Rank County Score

the highest. Seven counties scored within three Equipment Issued/Leased

APPENDIX A: TRANSPARENCY CHECKLIST: SUNSHINE REVIEW2

APPENDIX B: TOP TEN STATES IN COUNTY

Rank State Budget

P+ New Jersey Taxpayers Alliance (includes other organizations)

APPENDIX D: NEW JERSEY TRANSPARENCY

P+ Are the Freeholders’ names available on the website?

P+ Does the website provide a monthly schedule of public meetings?

P+ Does the website list and describe the individual Departments?

P+ Does the website provide links to other relevant websites?

APPENDIX E: NEW JERSEY OPEN PUBLIC RECORDS ACT

http://www.state.nj.us/grc/act.htmRetrieved October 21, 2008.

continued on following page

Open Public Records Act

INTRODUCTION ally, e­government offers the unique capacity to

Adobe and Microsoft products). The focus of e­ BACKGROUND

WEB 2.0, GOVERNANCE, is familial, business or government. Real engage­

engagement has increased with wikis, blogs and SOLUTIONS AND

P+ Federal Computer Week Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Aneesh

CONCLUSION fewer costly information requests and they also

Practices Subcommittee. (2005). Managing Service, N. Y. C. (n.d.). Everybody’s got something

O’Looney, J. A. (2002). Wiring governments: West, D. M. (2005). Digital government: Technol­

Public sector organizations face unique challenges

Several techniques can be used to demon­ Usable

be practical to do everything at once. If starting order to ensure consistent application of research

Djoko Sigit Sayogo

INTRODUCTION 2009; Gunkel, 2003; NTIA, 2002; Steyaert, 2002;

Table 1. The multidimensional concept of the digital divide

Concept Definition Equality Context

Table 1 demonstrates multiple dimensions

Figure 1. The multi­layered digital divide

to the Internet, to be technologically competent, Table 3 describes the univariate statistics

Table 3. Measures and descriptive statistics of political activity and efficacy

Variables and Measures Mean Std Dev Scale

Figure 2. The cross­group probability difference

Third, by regression analysis, we investigate online political activity is likely to frequent a

Table 5. Regressions of political activities

DISCUSSION as current college students. The new finding has a

on assumption because the number (how nificance, magnitude of slope coefficients,

INTRODUCTION on social theory and transdisciplinarity, aiming to

INTRODUCTION government business. Egovernment has become

NonLinearity cies stand, matters. It is very different to improve

citizens. Ereporting of performance information Therefore, egovernment initiatives should fa

INTRODUCTION ally, egovernment offers the unique capacity to

Adobe and Microsoft products). The focus of e BACKGROUND

WEB 2.0, GOVERNANCE, is familial, business or government. Real engage

O’Looney, J. A. (2002). Wiring governments: West, D. M. (2005). Digital government: Technol

Several techniques can be used to demon Usable

Figure 1. The multilayered digital divide

Figure 2. The crossgroup probability difference

as a communicative relationship to an authority It can be argued that activities on virtual com

INTRODUCTION international affairs, replacing military relation

PARTICIPATION IN AN up decisionmaking processes and to develop

Figure 2. A lowerlevel conceptual model of the evoting system

Figure 4. A higherlevel conceptual model of the evoting system

Figure 5. Designing within the featured evoting system

UN. (2004). Global egovernment readiness ADDITIONAL READING

ADDITIONAL READING Kiili, K. (2005). Digital gamebased learning: To

I G promoting egovernment primarily as a method

MEDIA PREFERENCES OF CITIZEN munication. The theory builds on a contingency

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS channels, especially when having a highly expe

To better understand how young people (1525

Rojas, H., & PuigiAbril, E. (2009). Mobilizers Generation X: According to PewResearch

P+ Rationalization of the acquisition proce search to optimize the obligatory proce

Rossignoli, C. (2004). Nuove forme organizza Bergamaschi, D. (2000). L’organizzazione nelle

through the elaboration of transactional data. A EPROCUREMENT: A

ADDITIONAL READING Croom, S., & Johnston, R. (2003). Eservice:

The results of the eGovernment Website Ma THE STATE OF EDEVELOPMENT AS

Businesstogovernment interaction (B2G) using the Internet Percentage (%)

then existing levels of digital exclusion with re Gauteng Provincial

Table 11. Egovernment project typology

Typology of eGovernment Projects Percentage (%)

Table 12. Primary beneficiaries of egovernment projects

ENDNOTES Lesedi, Emfuleni and the metropolitan mu

INTRODUCTION forums to communicate with political leaders, ac

Are the eGovernment initiatives worth it 2. Formulation of a citizencentered eGovern

Table 1. Distinction between egovernment and egovernance

government processes using ICTs (eParticipa

transaction, Vertical and horizontal integration, is no global or optimal eGovernment maturity