Virtual Social Networks as Public Sphere: Relating E-government Maturity, ICT Laws, and Corruption

Part 4: Security, Privacy, Ethics and MisinformationInternational audienceThe role of e-government in reducing corruption is an active area of research in information systems (IS). Drawing on the concept of public sphere from political science literature, we seek to explore how the diffusion of virtual social networks (VSNs) influence the relationships between e-government maturity in a country, its ICT laws and corruption. Our analyses based on publicly available archival data substantiates the (1) relationship between e-government maturity in a country and its corruption through the indirect effect of ICT laws; (2) interaction effect of VSN diffusion in a country on its e-government maturity and ICT laws; and (3) interaction effect of VSN diffusion in a country on its ICT laws and corruption. The key contribution of this research is the reestablishment of the idea of public sphere in the context of VSN diffusion, and how it affects e-government outcomes of a country

A mechanobiological model of orthodontic tooth movement.

Orthodontic tooth movement is achieved by the process of repeated alveolar bone resorption on the pressure side and new bone formation on the tension side. In order to optimize orthodontic treatment, it is important to identify and study the biological processes involved. This article presents a mechanobiological model using partial differential equations to describe cell densities, growth factor concentrations, and matrix densities occurring during orthodontic tooth movement. We hypothesize that such a model can predict tooth movement based on the mechanobiological activity of cells in the PDL. The developed model consists of nine coupled non-linear partial differential equations, and two distinct signaling pathways were modeled: the RANKL-RANK-OPG pathway regulating the communication between osteoblasts and osteoclasts and the TGF-beta pathway mediating the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into osteoblasts. The predicted concentrations and densities were qualitatively validated by comparing the results to experiments reported in the literature. In the current form, the model supports our hypothesis, as it is capable of conceptually simulating important features of the biological interactions in the alveolar bone-PDL complex during orthodontic tooth movement

E-government implementation: A bird’s eye view of issues relating to costs, opportunities, benefits and risks

NoAfter more than a decade of comprehensive research work in the area of electronic government (e-government), no attempt has yet been made to undertake a systematic literature review on the costs, opportunities, benefits and risks that influence the implementation of e-government. This is particularly significant given the various related challenges that governments have faced over the years when implementing e-government initiatives. Hence, the aim of this paper is to undertake a comprehensive analysis of relevant literature addressing these issues using a systematic review of 132 studies identified from the Scopus online database and Google Scholar together with a manual review of relevant papers from journals dedicated to electronic government research such as Electronic Government, an International Journal (EGIJ), International Journal of Electronic Government Research (IJEGR) and Transforming Government: People, Process, and Policy (TGPPP). The overall review indicated that although a large number of papers discuss costs, opportunities, benefits and risks, treatment of these issues have tended to be superficial. Moreover, there is a lack of empirical studies which can statistically evaluate the performance of these constructs in relation to the various e-government systems. Therefore, this research would help governments to better analyse the impact of costs, opportunities, benefits and risks on the success of e-government systems and its pre-adoption from an implementation perspective