FACE TO FACE BETWEEN A PUBLIC AND A PRIVATE CIO IN ITALY

The wide use of technology and the high technology innovation have arisen strategic opportunities from ICT investments. To support the strategic role of technology different ICT governance practices and frameworks have been designed. This paper makes a comparison between two case studies. The principal source of evidence has been the interview. It has been structured to evaluate the ICT governance maturity level of an organization through the answers given by its principal decision makers. The first interviewees have been two CIOs. They came respectively from a public and a private Italian organization. The surprising conclusion is that different motivations have shown the same barriers against ICT governance for both the organizations. In this paper, after some considerations on the research background, method and purpose, we make a comparison between the two CIOs points of view. Then we give our first findings and their motivations. They represent a starting point for a future analytical generalization

National governments doing business on-line : an Australian look at current practice and future hazards

Governments around the world are taking advantage of the numerous benefits offered by the World Wide Web in order to provide client services to citizens. Australia has been a leader in this trend. The literature in this area focuses primarily on the pragmatic issues such as governmental accountability and transparency, interactivity, policy making, security and privacy, quality and costs. Along with the positive accounts of eGovernment development, however, some concerns are emerging in the literature. This paper examines such issues with particular reference to national governments. Although Australia can be proud of its position as a leader in bringing government business to the Web, it must also be cognisant of the concerns about eGovernment that are being more widely identified.<br /

Local E-Government in Norway: Current Status and Emerging Issues

Recent studies indicate that e-government initiatives have not held their promise of improving government services. The majority of efforts to benchmark e-government have had central government as the unit of analysis. This study employs the MeGAP-3 (The Municipal E-Government Assessmen Project) assessment tool to assess the status of municipal e-government in the Agder region in southern Norway, an area with high Internet penetration and mature information and communication technology (ICT) use. MeGAP-3 proved effective in providing a relative positioning of these Norwegian municipalities, but we argue that country specific assessment indicators are needed to complement the tool and enable cross-country comparisons by relative scores. Surprisingly, the results show that the sophistication of local government web sites was fairly low. A series of qualitative interviews were conducted to explore the factors that shape the development of municipal egovernment. The evidence suggests that the dominant stakeholder in development is the bureaucratic administration rather than citizens or politicians. This group has a strong focus on internal efficiency and cost reduction. The majority of respondents report cost reduction as the major driver behind egovernment development. However we also identified a more citizen-centric approach that stresses the need for improving access and service quality for citizens. The study outlines a number of areas where further research will be needed to fully understand the development of e-government in Norway

Primjena faktorske analize u istraživanju korištenja informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija: primjer europskih zemalja

Razvoj i implementacija informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija značajno utječe na odvijanje poslovanja, ali i svakodnevnih aktivnosti pojedinaca. Upravo zemlje u kojima se u velikoj mjeri koriste informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije, konkurentnije su te ekonomski i društveno prednjače u odnosu na zemlje u kojima se informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije ne primjenjuju u tolikoj mjeri. Korištenje informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija predstavlja jedan od glavnih pokazatelja gospodarskog razvoja zemalja. Postoji veliki broj pokazatelja kojima je moguće mjeriti korištenje informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija. Namjera istraživanja prikazanog u ovome radu je istražiti je li moguće sažeti veliki broj pokazatelja korištenja informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija na manji broj grupa korištenjem faktorske analize. Predmet istraživanja su brojni pokazatelji o korištenju informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija koji su sadržani u statističkoj bazi Europske komisije – Eurostat u odjeljku Informacijsko društvo. Na prikupljenim podacima provedena je faktorska analiza kako bi se od većeg broja izvornih varijabli izlučio manji broj faktora kojima se može zbirno opisati korištenje informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija. Provedeno istraživanje rezultiralo je s tri izlučena faktora, koji se odnose na aktivnosti pojedinaca na Internetu, aktivnosti tvrtki u području uvoza i izvoza visokih tehnologija i elektroničkog poslovanja tvrtki

Primjena faktorske analize u istraživanju korištenja informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija: primjer europskih zemalja

Razvoj i implementacija informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija značajno utječe na odvijanje poslovanja, ali i svakodnevnih aktivnosti pojedinaca. Upravo zemlje u kojima se u velikoj mjeri koriste informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije, konkurentnije su te ekonomski i društveno prednjače u odnosu na zemlje u kojima se informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije ne primjenjuju u tolikoj mjeri. Korištenje informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija predstavlja jedan od glavnih pokazatelja gospodarskog razvoja zemalja. Postoji veliki broj pokazatelja kojima je moguće mjeriti korištenje informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija. Namjera istraživanja prikazanog u ovome radu je istražiti je li moguće sažeti veliki broj pokazatelja korištenja informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija na manji broj grupa korištenjem faktorske analize. Predmet istraživanja su brojni pokazatelji o korištenju informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija koji su sadržani u statističkoj bazi Europske komisije – Eurostat u odjeljku Informacijsko društvo. Na prikupljenim podacima provedena je faktorska analiza kako bi se od većeg broja izvornih varijabli izlučio manji broj faktora kojima se može zbirno opisati korištenje informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija. Provedeno istraživanje rezultiralo je s tri izlučena faktora, koji se odnose na aktivnosti pojedinaca na Internetu, aktivnosti tvrtki u području uvoza i izvoza visokih tehnologija i elektroničkog poslovanja tvrtki

Information society and the state: the Greek version of the information society paradigm

The concept of the 'information society' has been systematically deployed to denote a new techno-socio-economic paradigm with information and communication technologies (ICTs) at the centre, which entails significant economic and social transformations and bears implications for governance and potential for development and quality of life. Departing from the deterministic view of information society as a set of uniform societal arrangements, the thesis examines its national variations, as they emerge from the interaction between ICTs and relevant policies with pre-existing social, political and economic realities. Drawing on a conceptual framework based on political economy and historical sociology, it proposes that the unfolding of any national information society is a contested process feeding on the historically formed relationship between the state and the national economy and society. This relationship is expected to inflect international policies and processes in quite idiosyncratic ways, leading to differentiated national information society trajectories, while the state is instrumental in articulating international policy directions with national societal arrangements. Identifying an empirical gap in the examination and analysis in semi-peripheral and middle-income countries, the thesis seeks to address evolving characteristics and dimensions of the 'Greek case' of information society, stressing the dialectic between European policy and the national socio-cultural, political and economic idiosyncrasies, the role of the Greek state, as well as the weaknesses encountered in the process. The emphasis is on the period 1998-2008, which includes the first comprehensive strategy and provides the opportunity to analyse preliminary results of the policies adopted. The empirical material includes relevant policy documents, quantitative indicators, personal observations, as well as a set of elite interviews with policymakers, ICT industry representatives and other actors involved in information society policies and processes

Democratic legitimacy? : the online consultations of the European Commission

The central research puzzle of this thesis relates to new opportunities for political organisations due to technological change and non-electoral forms of creating democratic legitimacy. In particular, the thesis asks if new Information and communication technologies can address democratic legitimacy issues of the European Union. Without doubt, the European Union already has mechanisms for creating democratic legitimacy. However, does political participation based on new information and communication technologies offer an avenue for enhancing democratic legitimacy besides elections for the European Parliament and indirect democratic legitimacy provided by national governments in the European Council and the Council of Ministers? If we accept the assumption that technology offers new opportunities for the development of democratic legitimacy providing institutions then what are these new opportunities for the European Union? The methods used for this thesis are based on a qualitative case study design. The first case study is an online consultations for the directive on 'Harmonisation of legislation on industrial products', the second consultation is for the 'Community Action Plan on the Protection and Welfare of Animals 2006- 2010'. The main phenomenon, around which the research is built, is the input legitimacy potential of the Commission's online consultation regime. The unit of analysis are two online consultations of the Commission. The thesis uses three hypotheses to examine the input legitimacy potential dealing with accessibility of the participation arena, the meaningful transformation of inputs and participation patterns of participants. The gathered original data comes from four primary sources, semi-structured interviews with Commission officials directly related to case studies, semi structured interviews with consultation participants, interviews with so-called case study outsiders and a document analysis concerning the EU's communication strategies in connection with participation in policy-making. The key finding of this study is that the input legitimacy potential of the Commission's online consultation in its current form is negligible. Input legitimacy is not a prime concern, either for the citizens or for the Commission. There is no culture of inclusive participation aimed at individual citizens from within the Commission.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Community regeneration : The information society in deprived areas of South Yorkshire.

The proliferation of the information society over the last twenty years has made access to, and engagement with, information and communications technologies (ICT) and the Internet increasingly important aspects of social inclusion in contemporary society. Similarly, the ability to be able to use ICT effectively has been described as the indispensable grammar of modern life. Because of this there is a growing concern between those who have access and can use ICT the Internet and those who don't - referred to as the digital divide. This has resulted in a plethora of local, national and international policies aimed at getting people online and connected to the Internet being set in motion over the last couple of decades. These policies aim to bridge the 'digital divide' by focussing on increasing access to ICT for those living in deprived areas, areas already viewed as suffering from high levels of poverty and social exclusion. South Yorkshire, with many of its villages and urban areas built specifically for the coal industry had suffered from terminal decline with the closure of many of its pits over the last forty years. The decline of manufacturing has resulted in an array of economic and social problems burgeoning within many of its communities, to the point where the South Yorkshire region was granted Objective 1 funding from the European Union. The research explores whether or not ICT and the Internet can become the expected solution to so many diverse and interrelated problems facing the people and places of South Yorkshire - particularly with regard to the social and economic regeneration of deprived areas. The research was undertaken in two phases in 2003 and 2013 at Grimethorpe which in 2003 was considered one of the most deprived wards in Europe. In 2013, due to continued regeneration efforts, Grimethorpe's social and economic fortunes have improved greatly. Both phases of the research utilised a case study design and qualitative methodology to explore how local residents were accessing and using ICT and the Internet. In the first phase three community technology centres to be found within Grimethorpe were examined, two publicly funded and one from the third sector funded by Objective 1 South Yorkshire. These were explored in relation to ICT policy outcomes of both funding bodies which focussed on how the centres could help local digitally excluded people overcome the digital divide; build the social capital within deprived areas and also up-skill the local workforce to be able to participate in the wider knowledge economy of South Yorkshire. Findings from the first stage highlighted how people from Grimethorpe were not using the community technology centres due to a number of socio-economic barriers relating to low-levels of education, poverty, lack of observable employment and also in the form of resistance by residents of Grimethorpe themselves. The second phase of the research returned to Grimethorpe a decade later in order to investigate how the rapid changes of technology in the intervening years were being experienced by several families in the community. Here similar barriers to those found in phase one were discovered along with how family members are becoming central to helping other members overcome the digital divide. The research concludes that in order to help people overcome the digital divide they need to have a suitable reason to access and use ICT and the Internet, something often made aware to them by someone they trust