El papel de las instituciones en el desarrollo del gobierno electrónico en América Latina: algunas reflexiones

In recent years, numerous published benchmarks have agreed on their perceptions regarding the slow development of e-Government in Latin America. In this fashion, and despite of the fact that, in general, these countries have been moving positions, some delay can still be seen with respect to other geographical areas. This reality is not a result of inactivity in the region regarding the implementation of projects of this nature. Numerous initiatives have been undertaken but only some of them can be classified as major achievements. What is then conditioning the successful implementation of e-Government initiatives in the region? This article aims to explore and propose some hypotheses on this issue.En los últimos años, los numerosos benchmarks publicados han coincidido en sus percepciones acerca del lento desarrollo del gobierno electrónico en América Latina. Así, a pesar de que, en su conjunto, los países han ido avanzando posiciones, todavía es posible observar cierto rezago con respecto a otras zonas geográficas. Esta realidad no es consecuencia de inactividad en la región por lo que respecta a la puesta en marcha de proyectos de estas características. Numerosas iniciativas han sido llevadas a cabo pero sólo algunas de ellas pueden ser calificadas como importantes logros. ¿Qué está condicionando, entonces, la implantación exitosa de las iniciativas de gobierno electrónico en la región? Este artículo tiene como objetivo explorar y plantear algunas hipótesis sobre esta cuestión

Introduction to Smart Cities, Smart Government, and Smart Governance Minitrack

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What do citizens communicate about during crises? Analyzing twitter use during the 2011 UK riots

Abstract The use of social media during crises has been explored in a variety of natural and man-made crisis situations. Yet, most of these studies have focused exclusively on the communication strategies and messages sent by crisis responders. Surprisingly little research has been done on how crisis publics (i.e., those people interested in or affected by the crisis) use social media during such events. Our article addresses this gap in the context of citizens' Twitter use during the 2011 riots in the UK. Focusing on communications with and about police forces in two cities, we analyzed 5984 citizen tweets collected during the event for content and sentiment. Comparing the two cases, our findings suggest that citizens' Twitter communication follows a general logic of concerns, but can also be influenced very easily by single, non-crisis related events such as perceived missteps in a police force's Twitter communication. Our study provides insights into citizens' concerns and communication patterns during crises adding to our knowledge about the dynamics of citizens' use of social media in such times. It further highlights the fragmentation in Twitter audiences especially in later stages of the crisis. These observations can be utilized by police forces to help determine the appropriate organizational responses that facilitate coping across various stages of crisis events. In addition, they illustrate limitations in current theoretical understandings of crisis response strategies, adding the requirement for adaptivity, flexibility and ambiguity in organizational responses to address the observed plurivocality of crisis audiences

Understanding the Role of Social, Technology, and Physical Infrastructures in Smart Communities: The Case of Rural Areas in the US

Smartness is a concept that frames a great variety of initiatives, particularly in the urban context. Smart cities are expected to be more resilient, more sustainable, and have highly engaged citizens, among many other expected outcomes. Given the focus on urban settings, many examples of smartness take for granted that the physical and technological infrastructures exist and are available to the majority of residents. For instance, Internet access, a reliable transportation system, or electrical power are rarely questioned or considered as a problem to be solved before becoming smart. In addition, formal education and technical skills are also expected as part of the social infrastructure of a city. However, when smartness goes beyond the urban settings, the availability and combination of these different infrastructures also differ. Based on a study of a rural community in the US, this paper begins to fill a gap in what is known about smartness in rural communities by analyzing how the physical, technology and social infrastructures in rural areas are different from urban settings, but still generate unique opportunities for building smart communities. Our results indicate that the unique conditions of rural communities create atypical strengths for becoming smarter

Perspectives on the police profession: an international investigation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to clarify the diversity of professional perspectives on police culture in an international context. Design/methodology/approach – In a first step the authors developed a standardized instrument of 45 occupational features for comparative analysis of police professional views. This set was inductively created from 3,441 descriptors of the police profession from a highly diverse sample of 166 police officers across eight European countries. Using this standardized instrument, Q-methodological interviews with another 100 police officers in six European countries were conducted. Findings – The authors identified five perspectives on the police profession suggesting disparities in officers’ outlooks and understanding of their occupation. Yet, the findings also outline considerable overlaps in specific features considered important or unimportant across perspectives. Research limitations/implications – The study emphasizes that police culture needs to be described beyond the logic of distinct dimensions in well-established typologies. Considering specific features of the police profession determines which aspects police officers agree on across organizational and national contexts and which aspects are unique. Practical implications – The feature-based approach provides concrete pointers for the planning and implementation of (inter)national and inter-organizational collaborations as well as organizational change. Originality/value – This study suggests an alternative approach to investigate police culture. It further offers a new perspective on police culture that transcends context-specific boundaries

In search of the silver‐lining: Police officers' attributions and responses to stakeholder critique

Tensions between police organizations and (community) stakeholders have taken center stage in recent years, with an escalation in protests and divisive rhetoric observed in many countries. Using attribution theory, this study examines how police officers interpret negative stakeholder feedback and how these interpretations shape their behavioral responses. Qualitative analysis based on 148 interviews with European police officers shows that officers make six different attributions about the causes of stakeholder critique, and that these have direct implications for their behavioral responses. In particular, these different attribution patterns are found to play a critical and hitherto unrecognized role in shaping police-stakeholder relations and organizational learning among police forces

Knowledge sharing practices and issues in policing contexts: a systematic review of the literature.

The effective sharing of knowledge both within and between police organizations is arguably becoming increasingly vital for success and has driven research in a disparate range of fields. This paper therefore presents the results of an integrative systematic literature review of research into knowledge sharing within and between police organizations across Europe. The 39 papers analysed were drawn from English-language studies published between 2000 and 2013, complemented by additional searches for non-English language papers in nine European countries. Analyses showed that past research has focused on intra-organizational knowledge sharing, with a particular spotlight on criminal intelligence and technology. Barriers / enablers of knowledge sharing were grouped into knowledge management strategy/legislation, technology, culture and loss of knowledge themes. Research recommendations include exploring the role of leadership and examination of police knowledge sharing across regional, institutional and international boundaries. Practical recommendations include having procedural clarity in systems, policies for sharing knowledge and developing the relevant knowledge, skills and motivation of police personnel through appropriate training. Keyword : knowledge sharing, information, systematic literature review, polic