E-government and the electronic transformation of modes of rule: The Case of partnerships

This paper critically examines some aspects of the discursive and material transformation of government as a result the deployment of the internet and new information technologies. Particular attention is given to the constitution of partnerships and network forms of governing. The paper illustrates the dynamics of egovernment through two case studies of e-government projects in Australia’s social security/welfare system

Models of governance in long-term disability care and support: A framework for assessing and reforming social policy

Abstract Over the last three decades, the financing and provision of care and support services for disabled adults has undergone profound and ongoing change in advanced welfare states. Despite national variations in contemporary care and support systems, common characteristics of the ‘mixed economy of care’ are its complexity, diversity and inequality of outcomes. Different policy and service delivery models for the delivery of care and support services have been developed, implemented and promoted as ways in which to enhance the governance of these services. In helping to advance research and evaluation into these varied policy and service delivery models, this paper outlines four distinct ideal type models of governance of care and support: uncoordinated; case manager coordinated; dwelling coordinated and user coordinated. In presenting each governance model, their relative strengths and weaknesses are articulated. Each governance model is further illustrated by empirical case studies drawn from research conducted in Australia with adults with an acquired disability. Such models provide a conceptual, analytical and methodological tool for critically thinking about and engaging with policy debate and research into this domain

Informal third-party actors in street-level welfare decisions : A case study of Pakistan social assistance

Research on street-level bureaucracy has tended to focus on individual and organisational factors that influence street-level practice. To date, empirical research has insufficiently explored the contribution of wider socio-cultural factors in street-level decision making. Drawing on data from a qualitative study of social assistance in Pakistan, this article examines how cultural patronage practices of sifarish intersect with street-level social welfare operations. Results highlight the importance of sifarish in informing decision-making processes and in enabling access to social assistance. In this manner, people providing sifarish (called sifarishie) operate as informal third-party actors. The findings challenge the dominant view of street-level operation that the decision making at street level is solely guided by individual and organisational factors

Social policy on the Web: the online institutional structure of social policy domains in the UK

Our traditional image of government is often of the Parliament or of bricks and mortar government service delivery offices, such as NHS hospitals or Benefits Agency sites. However, in an online world, government is increasingly seen and experienced through the internet. Moreover, in the online world, government websites can be readily connected into hyperlink networks. What do the online 'footprints' of social policy domains look like? And how do these online social policy networks relate to equivalent offline networks? This paper examines these questions in relation to three policy domains in the United Kingdom, namely: foreign affairs, health and education. It draws on large-scale web crawls and sophisticated web-metrics and Social Network Analysis techniques to map and compare the shapes of these different policy domains. It explores the shape, nature and make-up of these various online networks and the participants in them, including the relevant contribution of non-government and commercial websites. It considers whether or not online networks may reflect or contribute to social policy networks, or government ambitions of 'joined-up' service delivery, and whether jurisdictional boundaries are evident in the online world. In examining these topics, this paper seeks to provide an empirical and conceptual contribution to understanding 21 government and service delivery

Submission to the Review of the Identity-matching Services Bill 2018 in relation to face-matching services

Based on author's expert knowledge, this publication addresses the privacy and digital ethical considerations regarding the Australian government's proposed facial-matching system

Networks of communities and communities of networks in online government

Over the past decade the World Wide Web has become a core platform for the electronic operation of government. Yet the shape and nature of government presence on the Web and the online community in which it resides remains poorly understood and relatively under-theorised. This paper analyses large-scale web crawling data that map the hyperlink network structure between government websites and the broader Web ecology in the UK. In particular, it reports the ‘communities’ of websites within a hyperlink network of over 19,000 websites and over 135,000 hyperlinks derived from 75 key UK government seed sites at national, regional (i.e. Scotland and Wales) and local government levels. These website communities were derived by utilising Infomap, a state-of-the-art community detection algorithm that operate on the principle that flows of information in complex networks reveals community structure. Identifying and analysing online communities in which government websites reside provides insights in how hyperlink communities are arranged, that is, their emergent organizing principal and the importance of government in these online communities. It is hypothesized that online ‘communities’ can occur around different policy topics (such as health, education or policing), or along institutional or jurisdictional boundaries (such as England, Scotland and Wales). Using this novel approach this paper demonstrates that communities emerge on both axes, and that social media and government portals are some of the most significant communities based on information flows. This research provides foundational knowledge about the role of government websites in the World Wide Web, the emergent online associations, and the changing dynamic of state information in the twenty-first century. It points to strategies for developing government Web presence in networks that matter

Networks of Communities and Communities of Networks in Online Government

Over the past decade the World Wide Web has become a core platform for the electronic operation of government. Yet the shape and nature of government presence on the Web and the online community in which it resides remains poorly understood and under-theorised. This paper analyses large-scale web crawling data that map the hyperlink network structure between government websites and the broader Web ecology in the UK. In particular, it reports the ‘communities’ of websites within a hyperlink network of over 19,000 websites and over 135,000 hyperlinks derived from 75 key UK government seed sites at national, regional (i.e. Scotland and Wales) and local government levels. Website communities were derived by utilising Infomap, a state-of-the-art community detection algorithm that operates on the principle that flows of information in complex networks reveals community structure. Identifying and analysing online communities in which government websites reside provides insights in how hyperlink communities are arranged, that is, their emergent organizing principal and the importance of government in these online communities. It is hypothesized that online ‘communities’ can occur around different policy topics (such as health, education or policing), or along institutional or jurisdictional boundaries (such as England, Scotland and Wales). Using this novel approach this paper demonstrates that communities emerge on both axes, and that social media and government portals are some of the most significant communities based on information flows. This research provides foundational knowledge about the role of government websites in the World Wide Web, the emergent online associations, and the changing dynamic of state information in the twenty-first century. It points to strategies for developing government Web presence in networks that matter