Middle Level Education Aims for Equity and Inclusion, but Do Our School Websites Meet ADA Compliance?

An often-overlooked component of a middle school website is the necessity for that website to be accessible to those with disabilities, while following the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Workforce Rehabilitation Act. In support of the belief that support the belief that inclusive education and respect for diversity should be integrated throughout the school, this study investigated the accessibility of middle school websites in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio by selecting a random sample of 150 schools and analyzing their homepages using WAVE (Web Accessibility Versatile Evaluator), which reports accessibility violations by annotating a copy of the page that was evaluated and presenting embedded icons and indicators to disclose breaches with ADA. Out of 150 districts, 54% had errors that need immediate attention and all 150 schools had alerts of likely violations that ranged from alt-text omissions and empty or confusing links to issues with color contrast and keyboard-only navigation. The article proceeds to give practical suggestions for eliminating many of the errors, even for those shareholders with less than sophisticated technological expertise

Evaluation of E-Government Implementation: The Case of State Government Websites in Nigeria

This study evaluated the extent to which current status of e-government implementation in Nigeria conforms to the national IT policy strategy. The study is based on content analysis of the official websites of the thirty six states and the federal capital territory of the country. It focuses on the content, functional and construction features of the websites. It was found that, out of the thirty six states, only twenty-three (64 percent) had websites and mostly provide textual information; few provide downloadable digital documents and functional online interactions. We recommend that, in addition to the National IT policy, Nigerian government needs to have an established guideline for its e-government implementation and NITDA needs to be more proactive in its duty of monitoring IT policy implementation. The site designers should acknowledge the importance of government websites as the main channels for information dissemination, for facilitating citizens’ interaction with government and for transforming government operations. Thus, the websites must be more than static notice boards but be function-oriented, dynamic and interactive

Assessment of Web Content Accessibility Levels in Spanish Official Online Education Environments

Diversity-based designing, or the goal of ensuring that web-based information is accessible to as many diverse users as possible, has received growing international acceptance in recent years, with many countries introducing legislation to enforce it. This paper analyses web content accessibility levels in Spanish education portals according to the international guidelines established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Additionally, it suggests the calculation of an inaccessibility rate as a tool for measuring the degree of non-compliance with WAI Guidelines 2.0 as well as illustrating the significant gap that separates people with disabilities from digital education environments (with a 7.77% average). A total of twenty-one educational web portals with two different web depth levels (42 sampling units) were assessed for this purpose using the automated analysis tool Web Accessibility Test 2.0 (TAW, for its initials in Spanish). The present study reveals a general trend towards non-compliance with the technical accessibility recommendations issued by the W3C-WAI group (97.62% of the websites examined present mistakes in Level A conformance). Furthermore, despite the increasingly high number of legal and regulatory measures about accessibility, their practical application still remains unsatisfactory. A greater level of involvement must be assumed in order to raise awareness and enhance training efforts towards accessibility in the context of collective Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), since this represents not only a necessity but also an ethical, social, political and legal commitment to be assumed by society

A Study on the Effects of E-Service Quality of Nagarik App on User Satisfaction

학위논문(석사) -- 서울대학교대학원 : 행정대학원 글로벌행정전공, 2023. 2. 최태현.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out which construct of e-service quality of 'Nagarik App' has the greater effect on user satisfaction and examine the users satisfaction level in regards to e-service quality in Nepal. E-service quality was measured by; efficiency, system availability, privacy, fulfillment, responsiveness, and contact as independent variables. Satisfaction was examined as pleasurable experience and continuance intention of use of 'Nagarik App' as prescribed by expectation confirmation theory. Design/Methodology/Approach: Quantitative approach was employed to collect the required data. Nepali citizens who are using 'Nagarik App' are considered as the population. A Google-based online survey questionnaire, with filtering question only to collect data from the app user, was administered to collect data. 432 valid responses were analyzed with SAS software. Factor analysis, descriptive analysis, correlation, t-test, and multiple linear regression were performed to test the proposed hypothesis. Findings: With the results of principle component analysis, all the question items well represent the corresponding constructs together except for efficiency and system availability measures. Cronbach alpha (contact =0.902, privacy =0.897, responsiveness = 0.858, efficiency =0.838, fulfillment =0.849, system availability =0.840, and satisfaction =0.888) suggested the internal consistency of the items and they represent the constructs well. As the adjusted R square (0.628) suggested, predictors in the regression model showed 62.80% of fitness to explain user satisfaction. Out of the six independent variables, efficiency (0.241), privacy (0.141), fulfillment (0.328), and contact (0.255) exhibited positive and statistically significant relation (p<0.01) with user satisfaction. On the other hand, responsiveness (-0.038) displayed statistically insignificant negative relationship while system availability (0.045) has a positive but statistically insignificant relationship with user satisfaction. Standardized coefficient estimates suggested that fulfillment (0.323) has relatively the strongest effect on user satisfaction followed by contact (0.295), efficiency (0.210), and privacy (0.155). Responsiveness (-0.042), on the other hand, has the negative and the weakest effect on user satisfaction followed by system availability (0.054). Among the four control variables, both age (-0.099, p <0.01) and gender (0.117, p<0.1) showed negative relationships with user satisfaction. Education and platform of use did not show any statistically significant relationship with user satisfaction. In sum, four out of six hypotheses were confirmed by the data. Research Implications: four out of six constructs of e-service quality showed positive and statistically significant relationships with user satisfaction having fulfillment the strongest effect on the dependent variable. Users perceptions and level of satisfaction are just above the neutral point. Findings suggest that old-age users and female users are less satisfied. Government has to pay more attention to expanding the services making them easier and user-friendly along with special enabling factors for women and users from old age to bring them into the mainstream of e-governance.목적: 본 연구의 목적은 '나가릭 앱'의 E-서비스 품질 중 어떤 구성이 사용자 만족도에 더 큰 영향을 미치는지 알아보고 네팔의 E-서비스 품질과 관련하여 사용자 만족도를 분석하는 것이다. E-서비스 품질은 효율성, 시스템 가용성, 개인 정보 보호, 이행, 대응성 및 접촉을 독립적인 변수로 측정했다. 만족도는 기대 확인 이론에 따라 '나가릭 앱'을 사용하는 즐거운 경험과 지속적인 의도를 가지고 분석되었다. 설계/방법/접근법: 필요한 데이터를 수집하기 위해 정량적 접근법을 사용하였다. '나가릭 앱'을 사용하는 네팔 시민들이 인구로 고려된다. 구글 기반 온라인 설문지는 앱 사용자로부터 데이터를 수집하기 위해 질문을 필터링하는 것으로 관리되었다. SAS 소프트웨어를 사용하여 432개의 유효한 응답을 분석했습니다. 제안된 가설을 검증하기 위해 요인분석, 기술분석, 상관관계, t-검정, 다중선형회귀를 수행하였다. 결과: 주요 구성요소 분석 결과를 통해 효율성 및 시스템 가용성 측정을 제외한 모든 질문 항목이 해당 구성요소를 함께 잘 나타낸다. Cronbach alpha(접촉 = 0.902, 프라이버시 = 0.897, 응답도 = 0.858, 효율성 = 0.838, 충족도 = 0.849, 시스템 가용성 = 0.840, 만족도 = 0.888)는 항목의 내부 일관성을 제시하였으며 구성을 잘 나타낸다. 수정된 R제곱(0.628)이 시사하는 바와 같이 회귀모형의 예측자들은 사용자 만족도를 설명하기 위한 적합도가 62.80%로 나타났다. 6개의 독립변수 중 효율성(0.241), 프라이버시(0.141), 성취도(0.328), 접촉(0.255)은 이용자 만족도와 통계적으로 유의한 관계(p<0.01)를 나타내었다. 반면, 응답도(-0.038)은 통계적으로 유의하지 않은 부정적 관계를 보인 반면, 시스템 가용성(0.045)은 사용자 만족도와 긍정적이지만 통계적으로 유의하지 않은 관계를 보였다. 표준화된 계수 추정치는 충족도(0.323)가 사용자 만족도에 상대적으로 가장 큰 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났으며, 연락(0.295), 효율성(0.210), 프라이버시(0.155) 순으로 나타났다. 반면 응답도(-0.042)는 시스템 가용성(0.054) 다음으로 사용자 만족에 부정적이고 가장 약한 영향을 미쳤다. 4개의 대조군 변수 중 연령(-0.099, p<0.01)과 성별(0.117, p<0.1) 모두 사용자 만족도에 부정적인 관계를 보였다. 교육과 이용 플랫폼은 통계적으로 유의미한 이용자 만족도와의 관계를 보이지 않았다. 종합해보면 6개 가설 중 4개 가설이 자료로 확인됐다. 연구의 시사점: E-서비스 품질의 구성요소 6개 중 4개는 종속변수에 있어 가장 큰 영향을 미치는 사용자 만족도와 통계적으로 유의한 관계를 보였다. 사용자의 인식과 만족도는 중립점 바로 위에 있다. 조사 결과는 노년층 사용자와 여성 사용자의 만족도가 낮다는 것을 시사한다. 정부는 여성과 노년층 사용자들이 전자 거버넌스의 주류로 진입할 수 있도록 하는 특별한 활성화 요소와 함께 더 쉽고 사용자 친화적인 서비스를 확대하는 데 더 많은 관심을 기울여야 한다.Chapter 1: Introduction and purpose of the research 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Nagarik App 2 1.3 How does 'Nagarik App' work 3 1.5 Scope of the study 7 1.6 Research question 7 1.7 Purpose and importance of the study 8 Chapter 2: Theoretical background and Literature review 10 2.1 Theoretical Background 10 2.1.1 Defining Satisfaction 10 2.1.2 Factors contributing to affect user satisfaction 13 2.2 Defining e-governance and e-service quality 15 2.2.1 E-government 15 2.2.2 E-government development stages 18 2.2.3 Nepal and E-government 23 2.2.4 Challenges in E-government service in Nepal 27 2.2.5 E-Service quality 30 2.2.6 Previous studies 34 2.2.7 Critical review 36 2.2.8 Research gap 37 Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology 39 3.1 Research Design 39 3.2 Analytical framework 39 3.3 Research Model 39 3.4 Research Hypothesis 41 3.4.1 Conceptualization and Operationalization 46 3.5 Construct and measures 48 3.6 Sampling and Data Collection method 49 3.6.1 Population 49 3.6.2 Sampling frame and size 50 3.6.3 Survey instrument 50 3.6.4 Data collection 51 3.6.5 Data Analysis Method 51 Chapter 4: Presentation, Analysis, and Discussion of Results 53 4.1 Descriptive statistics 53 4.1.1 Descriptive statistics of survey respondents 53 4.1.2 Reliability and validity of the survey instrument 56 4.1.3 Descriptive statistics of independent variables 56 4.1.4 Demographic comparison of efficiency 57 4.1.5 Demographic comparison of system availability 59 4.1.6 Demographic comparison of privacy 60 4.1.7 Demographic comparison of fulfillment 62 4.1.8 Demographic comparison of responsiveness 65 4.1.9 Demographic comparison of Contact 67 4.1.10 Descriptive statistics for dependent variable; satisfaction 69 4.1.11 Demographic comparison of the dependent variable; Satisfaction 69 4.1.12 Reliability and Construct validity of the survey Instruments 72 4.1.13 Correlations between variables of the study 73 4.1.14 Pearson's correlation coefficients test 74 4.2 Hypotheses testing 76 4.3 Multiple Linear Regression Analysis 77 4.3.1 Hypothesis 1 79 4.3.2 Hypothesis 2 79 4.3.3 Hypothesis 3 79 4.3.4 Hypothesis 4 80 4.3.5 Hypothesis 5 80 4.3.6 Hypothesis 6 80 4.4 Summary of the Major findings 84 4.4.1 Efficiency and user satisfaction 86 4.4.2 System availability and user satisfaction 87 4.4.3 Privacy and user satisfaction 88 4.4.4 Fulfillment and user satisfaction 88 4.4.5 Responsiveness and user satisfaction 89 4.4.6 Contact and user satisfaction 90 4.4.7 Control variables and user satisfaction 91 Chapter 5: Conclusion, Recommendations and Limitations 93 5.1 Conclusion 93 5.2 Policy Recommendations to the Government of Nepal 95 5.3 Recommendations for future studies 97 5.4 Limitations of the Current study 98 Bibliography 100 Annexure 1: Survey instrument (questionnaire) 111 Abstract in Korean 116 Acknowledgements 118석

Open budget data: mapping the landscape

This report offers analysis of the emerging issue of open budget data, which has begun to gain traction amongst advocates and practitioners of financial transparency. Issues and initiatives associated with the emerging issue of open budget data are charted in different forms of digital media. The objective is to enable practitioners – in particular civil society organisations, intergovernmental organisations, governments, multilaterals and funders – to navigate this developing field and to identify trends, gaps and opportunities for supporting it. How public money is collected and distributed is one of the most pressing political questions of our time, influencing the health, well-being and prospects of billions of people. Decisions about fiscal policy affect everyone - determining everything from the resourcing of essential public services, to the capacity of public institutions to take action on global challenges such as poverty, inequality or climate change. Digital technologies have the potential to transform the way that information about public money is organised, circulated and utilised in society, which in turn could shape the character of public debate, democratic engagement, governmental accountability and public participation in decision-making about public funds. Data could play a vital role in tackling the democratic deficit in fiscal policy and in supporting better outcomes for citizens

The Acceptance of Using Information Technology for Disaster Risk Management: A Systematic Review

The numbers of natural disaster events are continuously affecting human and the world economics. For coping with disaster, several sectors try to develop the frameworks, systems, technologies and so on. However, there are little researches focusing on the usage behavior of Information Technology (IT) for disaster risk management (DRM). Therefore, this study investigates the affecting factors on the intention to use IT for mitigating disaster’s impacts. This study conducted a systematic review with the academic researches during 2011-2018. Two important factors from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and others are used in describing individual behavior. In order to investigate the potential factors, the technology platforms are divided into nine types. According to the findings, computer software such as GIS applications are frequently used for simulation and spatial data analysis. Social media is preferred among the first choices during disaster events in order to communicate about situations and damages. Finally, we found five major potential factors which are Perceived Usefulness (PU), Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), information accessibility, social influence, and disaster knowledge. Among them, the most essential one of using IT for disaster management is PU, while PEOU and information accessibility are more important in the web platforms

Análisis de variables e indicadores para medir las fases de desarrollo del e-gobierno

El desarrollo del gobierno en línea (e-gobierno) es una de las estrategías que han utilizado los diferentes gobiernos para mejorar los servicios que prestan y acercarse a los ciudadanos. Para guíar su proceso de implementación utilizan modelos de desarrollo de e-gobierno. Para el caso colombiano el gobierno utiliza un modelo de cinco fases. En ese sentido, el propósito de este artículo es presentar el analisis de variables e indicadores propuestos en la literatura científica en el periodo de 2004 a 2014 para medir las fases de desarrollo del e-gobierno. Para identificar los documentos a analizar se realizó una revisión sistemática de literatura. Posteriormente las variables e indicadores fueron clasificadas y analizadas por fase. Los resultados evidencian que la mayoría de indicadores se orientan a la evaluación de la fase de transformación en línea. Estos pueden ser un punto de partida para la propuesta de sistemas de evaluación de e-gobierno.The development of online government (e-government) is one of the strategies used from different governments to improve their services and closer to citizens. To guide the implementation process, the governments use different egovernment development model. In Colombia the government uses a five-stage model. In that sense, the purpose of this article is to present the analysis of variables and indicators published in the scientific literature in the period of 2004-2014 to measure the phases of development of e-government. To identify the documents to analyze a systematic literature review was conducted. Subsequently the variables and indicators were classified and analyzed by phase. The results show that most indicators are aimed at evaluation of phase transformation online. These can become a starting point for building measurement systems of e-government

Revisión sistemática de la literatura científica sobre los procesos de medición de e-gobierno

La investigación tiene como propósito presentar una síntesis de los procesos de medición de e-Gobierno publicados en la literatura científica en el periodo 2004 -2014. Específicamente, la investigación se enfocó en identificar las variables e indicadores de evaluación propuestos en la literatura científica para medir la e-Gobierno. En la pasantía se realizaron los siguientes objetivos: Construir un marco conceptual que permita explicar qué es Gobierno en Línea y sus características más importantes, planear la revisión sistemática, estableciendo las preguntas de investigación, el alcance de la revisión y los criterios a considerar para la selección y clasificación de los documentos, buscar los documentos en las bases de datos seleccionadas utilizando para ello una ecuación de búsqueda depurada, seleccionar los documentos a ser analizados a través de una evaluación de calidad de los mismos y realizar el análisis de los documentos seleccionados y presentar una síntesis de los resultados obtenidos, gracias a la ejecución y consecución de los objetivos anteriores, se logró identificar cuatro dimensiones y 16 aspectos importantes para la evaluación de e-Gobierno, teniendo como resultados mediciones de variables e indicadores: en transición en línea el 13,09%, en demográfico (edad, sexo, ciudad, entre otros) teniendo el 12,83%, estándares en línea el 10,86% y en información el 9,95%

A scoping review on laboratory surveillance in the WHO Southeast Asia Region: Past, present and the future

Background The South-East Asia (SEA) region bears a significant proportion of the world’s communicable disease burden. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has further affected the situation. A well-established laboratory-based surveillance (LBS) can reduce the burden of infectious diseases. In light of this, the review collated the existing literature on LBS system in the region and the modifications adopted by the surveillance systems during the pandemic. Methodology We followed the guidelines for scoping review as prescribed by Arskey and O’Malley. We comprehensively searched three databases (PubMed, Scopus and CINAHL) and supplemented it with grey literature search. The screening of the articles was conducted at the title and abstract followed by full-text screening. This was followed by data extraction using a pre-tested data extraction tool by two independent reviewers. The results were presented narratively. Results Including 75 relevant articles and documents, we compiled a list of surveillance systems. A shift from paper to dual (paper and electronic) modalities was identified across the countries. This largely low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) area face challenges in reporting, resources, and collaboration-related issues. While some countries have well-established National Reference Laboratories; others have more private than public-owned laboratories. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, modifications to the existing laboratory capacities to enable real-time surveillance was identified. Laboratory capacity complemented with genomic surveillance can indubitably aid in disease detection and control. Limitations due to inaccessible government portals, and language barriers are acknowledged. This review identified a comprehensive list of surveillance systems in the region, challenges faced in using these surveillance systems and inform the decision makers about the benefits of integrating fragmented surveillance systems. Conclusion Regionally and nationally integrated genomic and laboratory surveillance systems justify capital investments, as their payoffs rationalise such costs owing to economies of scale over time. Further, as data flows are harmonized and standardized, algorithm- and computing-based pattern recognition methods allow for targeted and accurate disease prediction when integrated with, potentially, climate and weather systems data. Trained human resources are a sine qua non to optimize such investments, but in the medium to long run, such investments will buttress initiatives in other arenas at the regional level