A Methodology for Ontology-based Knowledge-level Inoperability among Parliaments

Most of the information systems (IS) interoperability research and practice in the e-government area has been focused on the operational level, aiming mainly at enabling the delivery of integrated electronic services involving several government agencies to citizens and enterprises based on the ‘one-stop shop’ model, and the support of co-operation among government agencies from the same or even different countries at the operational level. This paper is dealing with knowledge-level interoperability, which aims at the support of higher knowledge-intensive tasks of government, such as the formulation of legislation. In particular, it presents an ontology-based methodology for achieving knowledge-level interoperability among IS of Parliaments. It is based on the common use by Parliaments of the ontology of the ‘Issue-Based Information Systems’ (IBIS) framework for codifying the public policy related knowledge produced in the various stages of legislation formulation. Also, an application of the proposed methodology is presented for the case of the Law concerning ‘Contracts of Voluntary Cohabitation’ that has been recently passed by the Greek Parliament; its evaluation resulted in a proposal for a refinement of the above ontology that can be used for achieving a better codification of the knowledge that the main content (articles) of Laws contains

Quantum surveillance and 'shared secrets'. A biometric step too far? CEPS Liberty and Security in Europe, July 2010

It is no longer sensible to regard biometrics as having neutral socio-economic, legal and political impacts. Newer generation biometrics are fluid and include behavioural and emotional data that can be combined with other data. Therefore, a range of issues needs to be reviewed in light of the increasing privatisation of ‘security’ that escapes effective, democratic parliamentary and regulatory control and oversight at national, international and EU levels, argues Juliet Lodge, Professor and co-Director of the Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence at the University of Leeds, U

Supporting public decision making in policy deliberations: An ontological approach

This is the post-print version of the Paper. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2011 SpringerSupporting public decision making in policy deliberations has been a key objective of eParticipation which is an emerging area of eGovernment. EParticipation aims to enhance citizen involvement in public governance activities through the use of information and communication technologies. An innovative approach towards this objective is exploiting the potentials of semantic web technologies centred on conceptual knowledge models in the form of ontologies. Ontologies are generally defined as explicit human and computer shared views on the world of particular domains. In this paper, the potentials and benefits of using ontologies for policy deliberation processes are discussed. Previous work is then extended and synthesised to develop a deliberation ontology. The ontology aims to define the necessary semantics in order to structure and interrelate the stages and various activities of deliberation processes with legal information, participant stakeholders and their associated arguments. The practical implications of the proposed framework are illustrated.This work is funded by the European Commission under the 2006/1 eParticipation call

Open parliaments. Technological enactment in state legislatures

This thesis starts with a simple research question, asking why parliaments that share the same level of functions and competencies produce different results in terms of the level of development of their websites. The research is divided into three stages: comparative website analysis, quantitative analysis and case studies. Looking at 93 state Legislatures in Brazil, Spain and the United States, each of the stages of the research presents findings that contribute to the literature on e-democracy and open government. The comparative website analysis shows a varying degree of development amongst state Legislature websites. This heterogeneous level of development is contrasted with a common denominator amongst most websites: while the majority of efforts are towards the provision of Legislative information, the prospects for participation and deliberation are extremely limited. Standing out against these rather predictable results, findings also suggest that certain institutional traits such as electoral systems may influence the design of websites in terms of both their content and features. The quantitative analyses single out a number of factors that influence the differences in levels of development of Legislative websites. First of all, contrary to what has been suggested by a portion of the e-democracy literature, neither resources nor partisanship seem to matter for the development of Legislative websites. Conversely, the quantitative findings suggest that matters of institutional design (e.g. parliaments’ autonomy) and demand (e.g. Internet access, population) may play a significant role in the performance of Parliamentary websites. The case studies - the core of this research - follow an institutional approach to the process of ICT usage within public organizations, through a detailed analysis of the inner workings of three different Legislatures in Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Norte). This analysis evinces the role played by factors largely ignored by the majority of the e-democracy research until now. It shows how the different institutional arrangements ultimately shape the very configuration of websites, impacting each of them in terms of their features and contents. By reversing this interpretation, we surmise, the configuration of Legislative websites per se may provide external observers with information regarding institutional arrangements and policy-innovation cycles and processes within a Legislature. iv Finally, the comparative perspective taken sheds light on the role played by civil servants in the technological enactment process within Legislatures. All other things being equal, it is the relationships among civil servants and MPs, and the relationships between the two groups - mediated by institutional arrangements - that will ultimately affect the level of development of parliamentary websites

Research / Science / Development

As in other societal realms also in research, science, and development governments and parliaments increasingly have to legitimize their actions and want to base their future activities on informed decisions. Consequently, performance measures, benchmarking, comparative analysis, “foresight studies” are increasingly asked for. Ranking, ratings and evaluations are introduced throughout the system supposedly providing on the one hand the requested transparency and at the same time acting as stimuli to improve the performance. However, to date central questions relating to the underlying methodologies and indicators used are unanswered. These questions concern the availability and appropriateness of the data, indicator construction and methodologies on the one hand, tackle issues as how to deal with effects due to disciplinary, sectoral, regional or national differences, and concern the intended and unintended effects of the instruments used. In the contribution these issues are described and discussed in more detail. In Germany so far infrastructural deficiencies e.g. the fragmentation of research groups addressing those issues prevent adequately addressing the open research questions. Behind this background the two most important tasks identified are them the development of a decentralized data collection system enabling standard definitions and the development of a competitive research infrastructure.Science Indicators, R&D, Research Funding, Governance

ICT and Democratic Parliament in Africa: State of the Matter

Modern legislatures across the world are utilizing ICT to strengthen the hitherto weak citizens-representative interactions. For the legislative institutions of many African countries however, effective platforms for citizens-representative dialogical interaction for the purpose of making informed decisions and exercising influence on behalf of the represented are largely non-existence. The product of this is a disconnect between citizens and their representatives with its concomitant public distrust of political institutions and a decline in citizens’ loyalties and attachment to the government. This research paper draws from case analysis and literature search to examine the extent of electronic parliament implementation for re-engaging the electorate in the democratic states of Africa. Findings also reveal that despite such challenges as inadequate infrastructural facilities and capacity building in most African States, the exponential growth of ICTs in the continent, has the potential for strengthening interactive deliberation between citizens and their representatives and thus reduce citizens- representatives’ estrangement and make democratic processes more inclusive and transparent. This paper therefore argues that with effective ICT strategic planning and management and a mechanism for ICT skill training and development for all stakeholders, e-parliament presents a glimmer of hope for responsive and accountable governance in Afric

Balancing Security and Democracy: The Politics of Biometric Identification in the European Union

What are the relations between security policies and democratic debate, oversight and rights? And what is the role of expertise in shaping such policies and informing the democratic process? The inquiry that follows tries to answer such questions in the context of the European Union and taking the case of biometric identification, an area where security considerations and the possible impacts on fundamental rights and rule of law are at stake, and where expertise is crucial. Some hypotheses are explored through the case study: that 'securitisation' and 'democratisation' are in tension but some hybrid strategies can emerge, that the plurality of 'authoritative actors' influences policy frames and outcomes, and that knowledge is a key asset in defining these authoritative actors. A counter-intuitive conclusion is presented, namely that biometrics-which seems prima facie an excellent candidate for technocratic decision making, sheltered from democratic debate and accountability-is characterised by intense debate by a plurality of actors. Such pluralism is limited to those actors who have the resources-including knowledge-that allow for inclusion in policy making at EU level, but is nevertheless significant in shaping policy. Tragic events were pivotal in pushing for action on grounds of security, but the chosen instruments were in store and specific actors were capable of proposing them as a solution to security problems; in particular, the strong role of executives is a key factor in the vigorous pursuit of biometric identification. However this is not the whole story, and limited pluralism-including plurality of expertise-explains specific features of the development of biometrics in the EU, namely the central role of the metaphor of 'balancing' security and democracy, and the 'competitive cooperation' between new and more consolidated policy areas. The EU is facing another difficult challenge in the attempt of establishing itself as a new security actor and as a supranational democratic polity: important choices are involved to assure that citizens' security is pursued on the basis of rule of law, respect of fundamental rights and democratic accountability.democracy; pluralism; security/internal

EGO Ontology Model: law and regulation approach for E-Government

The Electronic Government is a new field of applications for the semantic web where ontologies are becoming an important research technology. The e-Government faces considerable challenges to achieve interoperability given the semantic differences of interpretation, complexity and width of scope. In this paper we present the initial state of an e-Government ontology model called EGO. First as a part of a project commissioned by the Spanish government that seeks strategies for the e-Government and second for an ongoing project commissioned by the Mexican government. A set of ontologies (component of EGO), are used to illustrate this paper. Brief applications of this model on an Information Retrieval and on a Semantic Peer-to-Peer within the e-Government context are show

The Lisbon Strategy: Which failure? Whose failure? And why? Egmont European Affairs Program Paper, March 2006

Pessimistic comments are crowding the medias about the failure of the Lisbon strategy. At the end of 2004, the latest Kok group's report has emphasized "the failure of the Lisbon strategy". There is now a debate about the remodeling or the rationalization of the strategy. Before taking decisions, it would be opportune to organize a reflection about the extent of the failure and its causes. Otherwise any reform runs the risk of being not adapted or even counterproductive. Different questions must be examined : what is the real competitiveness problem ? is there a real need of an EU initiative ? do the different characteristics of the approach chosen in 2000 make sense