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2005 | Buch

Electronic Government

4th International Conference, EGOV 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark, August 22-26, 2005. Proceedings

herausgegeben von: Maria A. Wimmer, Roland Traunmüller, Åke Grönlund, Kim V. Andersen

Verlag: Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Buchreihe : Lecture Notes in Computer Science

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SUCHEN

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Challenges

Organizational Transformation Through E-Government: Myth or Reality?
Abstract
The field of e-Government (e-Gov) is still in the phase of finding and defining its research agenda and its accepted research standards and methods. How does e-Gov research differ from traditional public management information systems (PMIS) research? Also, to what extent does e-Gov represent a new tradition of research in terms of the subject area and the research paradigm? To what extent does government change through e-Gov? While one group of e-Gov researchers emphasizes the transformational impact of e-Gov on the business of government, others have squarely questioned this assertion. This paper contributes to the debate and to the definition of the research agenda by discussing various dimensions of organizational transformation, and how they relate to the phenomenon of e-Gov. It suggest that e-Gov, at least in the short term, has the capacity to transform the business of government in mode rather than in nature.
Hans Jochen Scholl
The Governance of Back Office Integration in E-Government: Some Dutch Experiences
Abstract
Should back office integration in e-government seen as a top down project management problem, emphasising strong leadership, or as a governance problem, focusing on organizing cooperation between information domains? A comparison of four Dutch case studies, shows that successful back office integration is being perceived as managing a process of creating a shared understanding between actors. Although project management methods identify risks in several environments, these environments are not neutral but loosely and closely related arenas with competing rationalities. Essential is the mutual recognition of core values and the interdependency between them (win-win). Interdependency can only be recognized, if actors focus on the nature of the problem and not on the allocation of competences and costs and benefits. Trust and external pressure are favouring cooperation. Moreover, it is important to anticipate on a changing political agenda. Project management methods are not obsolete, but they operate well in a stabilized environment.
Victor Bekkers
E-Government Systems in Developing Countries: Stakeholders and Conflict
Abstract
With the widespread deployment of e-government systems in developing countries, and also their high failure rates, it is important to understand the complex processes that underlie successful implementations of large-scale information systems. MIS theory has explicated the nature of conflict in the design of information systems and the reasons why systems are resisted by stakeholders. In this context, it is important to have a nuanced reading of stakeholders in the e-government systems domain to understand the origin of conflict and resistance to such systems. This paper develops a framework for stakeholder groups and uses this to analyze conflict and resistance in four case examples of implemented e-government systems in India.
Rahul De’

Performance

Intelligent Measuring and Improving Model for Customer Satisfaction Level in e-Government
Abstract
E-government is defined as an application of IT to government services and it is a global phenomenon and public servants around the world are adopting novel ways to leverage IT to better serve their constituents. In this paper, we proposed a g-CSI model that has two major contributions to overcome the weakness of the existing CSI models that not suitable for the e-government. First, the g-CSI model that measures customer satisfaction for government should have a difference in that for private sectors, and the e-government operates on the Internet environment. We suggest the g-CSI model for e-government suitable to the Internet environment. Next, using a feature weighting and a feature positioning, we can extract the improvement points to enhance the level of customer satisfaction.
Tae Hyun Kim, Kwang Hyuk Im, Sang Chan Park
Accountability of Electronic Cross-Agency Service-Delivery Processes
Abstract
Due to the fragmented nature of governments, governmental services are delivered by cross-agency service-delivery processes. Accountability for these cross-agency service-delivery processes is especially challenging, as it is unclear who is accountable for the whole cross-agency process. Unclear accountability relationships lead to untransparent processes. In this paper, we investigate literature on accountability, derive a framework for accountability of cross-agency service-delivery processes, and propose several initial mechanisms and guidelines for ensuring accountability of these processes.
Jeffrey Gortmaker, Marijn Janssen, René W. Wagenaar
Citizen Relationship Management and E-Government
Abstract
Recent policy initiatives have advocated a Citizen Relationship Management (CzRM) strategy in conjunction with e-government to respond to the challenges facing public agencies. CzRM promises higher service quality at lower costs. CzRM was originally a private sector business strategy, part of the “entrepreneurial” paradigm that was applied to the public sector in the mid-1990s. This paper deals with four concerns: the assertion that transformation of citizens into customers has damaging effects on democratic governance and public administration; the existence of digital divides; accountability-issues; and the role of consultants as intermediaries. Finally, the change in citizens’ wants and views about government may be caused by more fundamental changes happening in the American society. Despite the mentioned concerns, CzRM is feasible, but it should occur with an awareness of the raison d’être of the public sector, and that government has a role in securing both the quality and equality of government services.
Bettina Larsen, Michael Milakovich
DSS in a Local Government Context – How to Support Decisions Nobody Wants to Make?
Abstract
This paper reports and analyses a case where a Decision Support System (DSS) was used in a local government for the purpose of arriving at a decision on a complicated and politically infected issue the City Council despite years of effort had failed to sort out. It was assumed that a strict and open method would make the grounds for the decision clearer, and that people would accept a clearly motivated decision even though they personally preferred another solution. The project was also intended as a test of new methods for potential adoption into normal practices. The analysis shows mixed understanding of, and mixed belief in, the method. While generally happy with the project work, also this time the Council failed to make a decision as constituency concerns eventually overruled the rationality of the arguments in the decision making council. The case raises issues of both the potential for DSS in a political context and the nature of political decision making. In particular we conclude that DSS use has to be carefully crafted but swiftly executed, and more than a one-off effort as a change process is involved.
Åke Grönlund
Monitoring and Updating Regulations and Policies for Government Services
Abstract
One of the challenges citizens and businesses face in interacting with governments for entitled services or compliance services is to find the right set of regulations and rules that are applicable for them. Very often the regulations and policies that determine the applicability of specific services are implemented and provided by separate government agencies, thus scattered in different Web sites and documents and are hard to be identified. In addition, the regulatory rules and government policies change often, making it harder to maintain the applicable services. In this paper, we present an integrated policy ontology of distributed regulatory rules and policies to support the discovery of applicable regulations and services. We present an ontology-guided annotation and extraction of policy rules from Web source documents. To support the dynamic changes in regulatory and policy rules, we developed a method of automatic updating the policy ontology by monitoring the source text documents. We describe a prototype eligibility verification system that verifies eligibility for various welfare government services. The eligibility rules and policies are extracted from different government websites to enrich the policy ontology. The eligibility rules and policies are monitored, and automatically updated, should any changes occur.
Soon Ae Chun, Edwin Portscher, James Geller
Service Take-Up and Impacts of E-Government in Austria
Abstract
Austria has made a great leap forward with e-government into the top group in Europe over the past three years. The paper examines how far the usage of services keeps pace and what kinds of impacts are observable. It finds that in Austria the take-up of services among enterprises has made enormous progress to one of the highest in the EU. Usage growth is strongest in advanced, transaction-related services, although there is still much potential to raise the usage among citizens in a socially balanced way. Impacts are identified in quantitative as well as qualitative terms: they include cost savings, increased efficiency and accelerated processing times of case handlings (exemplified among others by win-win situations in the finance and foreign trade sector), improved service and information quality, but also some adaptation problems and reorganization needs.
Georg Aichholzer
Evaluation of a Risk-Modelling Tool at the Business Case of eService Projects – Results from a Workshop in the UK
Abstract
It is accepted that public administrations may benefit from eGovernment initiatives. Unfortunately, for various reasons recent reports show that eService projects fail on a grand scale. Potentially speaking, proper risk-modelling techniques could be employed to assist in this situation. A current doctorate research programme looks at the relevance of a risk-modelling tool engaged at the pre-proposal phase of eGovernment projects in the UK. This article describes a research strategy that is found on scenario-guided focus group workshops that aims to supply the doctorate’s questions with adequate answers. One such workshop recently took place in the UK, where eGovernment practitioners working at the Edinburgh City Council participated. The paper presents the fruitful results from that workshop, which were about the relevance of a risk-modelling tool at the business case stage of a potential eService project for the local government. It is hoped that this research document may contribute and assist parties involved in the development and research of eServices for the government.
Adrianos Evangelidis
Achieving Administrative Transparency Through Information Systems: A Case Study in the Seoul Metropolitan Government
Abstract
Information systems have been mostly used to enhance the efficiency of administrative procedures in the local government sector as well as the central government sector. Information systems also help to improve transparency of civil affairs. The OPEN (Online Procedures Enhancement from civil application) system in the Seoul metropolitan government of South Korea has helped to achieve transparency in the civil administration by preventing unnecessary delays and unjust handling of civil affairs on the part of civil servants. The focus of this study is an administrative informatization at the level of the local government, not at the level of the central government. This paper, therefore, examines the success factors of the OPEN system, i.e., the powerful leadership of the city government, the development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and citizens’ attitudes. In addition, this paper analyzes some barriers to the development of the OPEN system and its existing problems.
Seongcheol Kim, Keunhee Cho

Strategy

eGovernment and Structural Reform on Bornholm: A Case Study
Abstract
In Denmark a major eGovernment project is on its way. By January 2007 a structural reform of government will reorganize all counties and municipalities. More than 1 million employees will be affected, and all public IT systems will have to change. In 2003 a kind of pilot study for this upcoming structural reform including both eGovernment and organisational change was undertaken. Five municipalities and a county on the Island of Bornholm merged. In this paper I report from an in-depth interview study of the merging process. My analysis focuses on organizational change and the implications for eGovernment. I conclude by identifying three main hindrances. Finally the implications and learning for the upcoming structural reform is discussed.
Jan Pries-Heje
When Technology Meets the Mind: A Comparative Study of the Technology Acceptance Model
Abstract
Issues related to technology, including diffusion, acceptance, adoption, and adaptation, have been the focus of research for different disciplines including Information Systems (IS), System Dynamics, Psychology, and Management Science. Of all research conducted and models developed to study technology related issues, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) stands out as most prominent, particularly in the field of IS. However, technology acceptance research has been relatively limited in its application to the public sector. Therefore, there is a concurrent need to develop and gain empirical support for models of technology acceptance within the public sector, and to examine technology acceptance and utilization issues among public employees to improve the success of IS implementation in this arena. In this paper we present a more comprehensive, yet parsimonious model of technology acceptance and suggest testing it both in public and private sectors to help understand the similarities and differences (if any) between the two sectors.
Lucy Dadayan, Enrico Ferro
E-Government Practice: What One Country Could Learn from Other
Abstract
E-government changed the way government thinks and functions. All over the world, government tried to get the benefits of e-government. Some of the efforts were successful and some failed. The paper made a comparative study between policy and practice of e-government in Bangladesh and India. The paper identified the causes of success in India and failure in Bangladesh. At the end, suggestion has been provided, so that Bangladesh could learn from the experience of India.
Mohammad Shakil Akther, Takshi Onishi, Tetsuo Kidokoro
Measuring the Performance of Digital Divide Strategies: The Balanced Scorecard Approach
Abstract
Although the digital divide issues have attracted global attentions, literature surveys still show no significant progress towards evaluating effectiveness of the digital divide strategies and projects for bridging the gaps. The objective of this paper is to improve the performance measurement method for digital divide strategies by adapting the balanced scorecard approach. A structured framework is presented to integrate the balanced scorecard perspectives and digital divide dimensions for guiding the development of effective performance measurement indicators and an associated dictionary. Also provided are examples of using the indicators in some government agencies to demonstrate the flexibility and usefulness of the adapted balanced scorecard approach.
Chien-Chih Yu, Hsing-I Wang
Policy and Practice in Standards Selection for E-Government Interoperability Frameworks
Abstract
Interoperability has been identified as a major issue to be addressed by every e-government agency. An interoperability framework aims to provide the basic standards that every department which is relevant for the e-government strategy implementation should adopt. Criteria for selection and inclusion of standards in an interoperability framework are crucial, since they influence the utility that the framework delivers to the e-government agencies. This paper identifies and compares the policies of the main e-government agencies in the definition of these criteria and it checks the policies against the practice that they exhibit in the actual interoperability frameworks.
Luis Guijarro
SIGES-PERE: A Collaborative GIS for Radiological Disaster Management
Abstract
We present a collaborative-application to the National Center of Disaster Prevention in Mexico (CENAPRED), which is focused on helping in the decision making process during the radiological disasters, related to “Laguna Verde” nuclear plant. This application coordinates the activities of External Plan of Radiological Emergency (PERE) that has been generated for this purpose. In addition, the application is based on a Geographical Information System (GIS) into a collaborative architecture to support the interaction from several entities, which work with special training groups in a virtual reality environment. The architecture consists of a collaboration model and it generates a schema of components to find out the independence and standardization of the system so that it can be implemented in any GIS-platform.
Rolando Quintero, Marco Torres, Miguel Moreno, Giovanni Guzmán
Feasibility Study for a Legal Knowledge System in the County of Herford
Abstract
In this paper we present a feasibility study we conducted in a German county in order to assess the potential of a legal knowledge system in the domain of family law. The goals of this project were to describe the actual work processes, to propose optimized processes if needed and to develop a prototype. Our study was based on interviews, on two test cases submitted to clerks and on an online questionnaire. We identified potential problems both in terms of productivity and quality of administrative decisions and demonstrated that it is possible to optimize work processes using a knowledge management solution consisting of a legal rule-based system and a knowledge-sharing component.
Olivier Glassey, Thomas F. Gordon
A Quality Inspection Method to Evaluate E-Government Sites
Abstract
Electronic government allows a broad range of citizens to access governamental information and services, as well as to participate in the government decision-making process. On the other hand, it imposes a higher challenge on a web designer to avoid digital exclusion. Before proposing guidelines to design e-gov sites, it is important to have objective methods to evaluate their quality. Traditional inspection methods do not cover the specificities of e-gov sites. This work proposes an extension of Nielsen’s heuristic evaluating method, applied to the information, services and citizens’ participation categories. Broad accessibility, interoperability, security and privacy, information truth and precision, service agility, and transparency are added. The g-Quality method was instrumental as an objective evaluation form. It was applied to 127 Brazilian e-gov sites. The extended method found more problems, resulting in more negative ratings than the Nielsen’s original method. The Brazilian public sites quality level was determined by using the g-Quality method, producing positive results.
Ana Cristina Bicharra Garcia, Cristiano Maciel, Fernando Bicharra Pinto

Knowledge

Organisational Changes, Skills and the Role of Leadership Required by eGovernment
Abstract
This paper is based on a research project presently carried out by the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA). The Ministry for Public Service in Luxembourg has requested EIPA to conduct a report on “Organisational Changes, Skills and the Role of Leadership required by eGovernment” to provide a basis for discussions during the EU Presidency of Luxembourg in the eGovernment working group of the European Public Administration Network (EPAN) in the first half of 2005. The report should provide some input for the recommendations to be agreed upon by the Director-Generals responsible for public administration in the EU by the end of 2005. The report will be finalised in June 2005.
Christine Leitner, Matthias Kreuzeder
PA’s Boundaries and the Organizational Knowledge Processes
Abstract
Some researchers propose a wide variety of technological tools that can improve the management of a specific knowledge. However, often those prescriptions are based only on the characteristics and on (promised) potentialities of the technological solutions. This paper is written on the premise that “[s]o as information technology tunnels deeper and deeper into everyday life, it’s time to think not simply in terms of the next quadrillion packets or the next megaflop of processing power, but to look instead to things that lie beyond information”[3]. Our contribution analyses the main characteristics of the knowledge management strategy in the PA. Moreover the paper proposes the social practical perspective as interpretative framework for future researches.
Francesco Bolici
Providing Pan-European E-Government Services with the Use of Semantic Web Services Technologies: A Generic Process Model
Abstract
In this paper, we present our experience of using the Governance Enterprise Architecture (GEA) for designing Pan-European eGovernment Services (PEGS) implemented by Semantic Web Service (SWS) technologies. GEA consists of a set of models and serves as a top-level generic Enterprise Architecture for the overall governance domain. Here we use one of the GEA models (the generic process model for service execution) as a blueprint, and instantiate it in the specific business (cross-boarder new company establishment) and technology setting (SWS). Although based on a specific business case, the paper generalizes and focuses on the case-independent, core aspects of PEGS provision with SWS to present a reusable model. For presenting the model, we employ a use case-based, narrative description.
Vassilios Peristeras, Konstantinos Tarabanis
A Proposal for a Semantic-Driven eGovernment Service Architecture
Abstract
Governments from all over the world are currently developing solutions and initiatives for the provision of solutions in the field of eGovernment. This leads to a heterogeneity problem that makes it necessary to provide interoperability mechanisms. This paper proposes an overall approach to overcome the current drawbacks of electronic communication among different PAs. In addition, new services are included to improve the eventual performance of this kind of systems. Web semantic technologies are used and some domain-specific profiles are proposed.
Luis Álvarez Sabucedo, Luis Anido Rifón
Knowledge Engineering Suite: A Tool to Create Ontologies for Automatic Knowledge Representation in Knowledge-Based Systems
Abstract
This paper is focused on the process of systematic knowledge acquisition to be used in knowledge-based systems. The result is a computational structure that can be used inside the organization (Intranet) as well as outside (Internet). This structure is the Knowledge Engineering Suite, an ontological engineering tool to support the construction of ontologies in a collaborative environment and is based on observations from the Semantic Web, UNL (Universal Networking Language) and WordNet. We use both a knowledge representation technique called DCKR to organize knowledge, and psychoanalytic studies, focused mainly on Lacan and his language theory to develop a methodology called Mind Engineering to improve the synchronicity between knowledge engineers and specialists on a particular domain.
Tania Cristina D’Agostini Bueno, Hugo Cesar Hoeschl, Andre Bortolon, Eduardo Mattos, Cristina Souza Santos
Guided Interactive Information Access for E-Citizens
Abstract
Governments, especially local ones, are using the web to provide a number of services that are mainly informative and aim at improving the quality of life of citizens and at promoting the local community “abroad”. These services include among others, job placement services, tourist information (hotels, restaurants, etc.), yellow pages to promote local industries and activities, and are supplied in addition to institutional services such as law, regulations and opportunities information bases. We argue that traditional methods commonly used by administrations to implement these services do not really work, and propose a new access paradigm based on conceptual manipulation. This paradigm is applied to a job placement example.
Giovanni Maria Sacco

Technology

The Opportunities and Barriers of User Profiling in the Public Sector
Abstract
Like the private sector, the public sector makes more and more use of user profiling to personalize the electronic services that are being offered to citizens. User profiling offers great opportunities to make communication more effective and efficient, to infer and predict citizens’ behavior and to even influence behavior. However, some drawbacks must be considered. Important differences between the private and public sector hinder the full employment of user profiling for governments and some general user profiling obstacles, such as access, trust, control and privacy have to be overcome to make fruitful use of user profiling.
Willem Pieterson, Wolfgang Ebbers, Jan van Dijk
Personalized Access to Multi-version Norm Texts in an eGovernment Scenario
Abstract
In this paper, we present some results of an ongoing research involving the design and implementation, in an eGovernment scenario, of a multi-version repository of norm texts supporting efficient and personalized access. In particular we defined a multi-version XML data model supporting both temporal versioning –essential in normative systems– and semantic versioning. Semantic versioning is based on the applicability of different norm parts to different classes of citizens and allows users to retrieve personalized norm versions only containing provisions which are applicable to their personal case. We describe the organization and present preliminary performance figures of a prototype system we developed.
Fabio Grandi, Federica Mandreoli, Riccardo Martoglia, Enrico Ronchetti, Maria Rita Scalas, Paolo Tiberio
An Infrastructural Approach to Secure Interoperability of Electronic IDs: The Bridging Backbone
Abstract
In this paper we propose a solution to secure interoperability between electronic ID management infrastructures enabling the provision of cross-border eServices to mobile citizens. Our proposal considers an interoperability architecture based on a federation of national infrastructures and follows a cooperation based approach which is fully compatible with and respectful of organizational and technical independence of existing national systems.
Franco Arcieri, Andrea Dimitri, Fabio Fioravanti, Enrico Nardelli, Katia Pallucca, Alberto Postiglione, Maurizio Talamo
A Distributed Network Architecture for Robust Internet Voting Systems
Abstract
Web-based Internet voting services cannot be provided in a reliable manner where a publicly visible website forms the basis of interacting with voters and collecting votes, as the service cannot resist a distributed denial of service attack. The problem is a profound one for all interactive web services, however, an Internet voting session is a well defined and quite simple interaction and an interactive service similar to web-based voting is proposed. This architecture uses a P2P web cache as the source of a Java voting applet. The applet interacts with the voter via their web browser to collect a vote. The applet then uses a common P2P file sharing network to deposit encrypted votes for collection by the electoral returning officer. The issues of how to authenticate voters and how to provide receipting in such an asynchronous system are described along with premininary .ndings using a large P2P network established for this purpose. A successful demonstration of this approach may have implications for other mission critical web services which must collect information.
Craig Burton, Shanika Karunasekera, Aaron Harwood, Duana Stanley, Ioanna Ioannou
Electronic Voting: An All-Purpose Platform
Abstract
It is generally considered that a key component of electronic government in the future will be electronic voting, as a means of facilitating the participation of citizens in elections and public debates. However, a long path has to be pursued before electronic voting, particularly if based on Internet, is accepted as a reliable system alternative to conventional methods. In this paper, we propose a new and simple platform, based on open software, which can be used primarily in small to medium sized communities, as a means to build confidence and experience for future larger elections. We try to provide adequate answers to multiple requirements, such as accuracy, democracy, privacy, verifiability and mobility. This can be done by establishing a distributed system which supports the different roles of a voting system and by using cryptography techniques in the interactions between these components.
Ricardo André Costa, Mário Jorge Leitão, Isidro Vila Verde
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
Electronic Government
herausgegeben von
Maria A. Wimmer
Roland Traunmüller
Åke Grönlund
Kim V. Andersen
Copyright-Jahr
2005
Verlag
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Electronic ISBN
978-3-540-31737-1
Print ISBN
978-3-540-28466-6
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/11545156