Migrant integration services and coping with the digital divide: challenges and opportunities of the COVID-19 pandemic

Migrant Integration ◽

And Coping

In this research note, I reflect on the impacts of the shift to online service delivery for voluntary and community organisations. In particular, I report on initial findings from research being undertaken on migrant integration organisations in Quebec (Canada) and Scotland (UK). The research shows four key emerging themes: the complexities of the digital divide (including skills and access to information and communication technology, and the issue of the number of devices in a household to support multiple users); trust, communication and access to online services; the breaching of the public/private divide as practitioners provide digital services from their home; and the benefits and opportunities for digital service delivery. The research note concludes by reflecting on the long-term implications for voluntary and community sector services as they adapt to and recover from the pandemic and engage in long-term planning.

Panel on: The Creation and Distortion of Communication through Information Technology

10.28945/2733 ◽

2003 ◽

Author(s):

Mary Elizabeth Bezanson ◽

Kenneth J. Levine ◽

Susan B. Kretchmer

Keyword(s):

Information Technology ◽

Communication Technology ◽

Mass Communication ◽

Digital Age ◽

Content Filtering ◽

Public And Private ◽

Potential Harm ◽

The Public ◽

Information And Communication

Information and communication technology has opened up both challenges and opportunities for the process of communication. This is particularly true for communicating effectively and efficiently in the digital age, where unique problems of creation and distortion, especially misinformation and bias, can arise. In addition, the broad diffusion of a communication medium eventually prompts both the public and private sectors to establish mechanisms to regulate that medium under the rubric of the public interest. Sometimes this can happen through self-censorship on the part of the industry, while other times it requires the institution of governmental law and regulation. The emergence of the Internet as a mass communication system has raised questions about how this medium can function to benefit society, as well as concerns about its potential harm. Focusing on the nexus of the process of communication and the limitations and prospects of information technology, this panel explores some of the major concerns of the digital age from a legal and policy perspective. The topics to be covered through interactive discussion include: anonymous speech and cybersmearing; the nature of publication and misinformation; and Internet content filtering, freedom of speech, and intellectual property

Digital Divide Challenge

Global Information Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-939-7.ch104 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 1431-1439

Author(s):

Anastasia Papazafeiropoulou ◽

Anastasia Pouloudi

Keyword(s):

Digital Divide ◽

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

Technology Diffusion ◽

Information Technologies ◽

Communication Technologies ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Normative Perspective

Following an initial euphoria about the power of the information superhighway to provide better access to information and wealth for all, what we have experienced in reality instead is that information and communication technologies have created further inequalities at individual, business, national and international level. To ease the effects of this “digital divide,” policy makers have taken up the role of change agencies, influencing the public in using innovative information technologies. This chapter focuses on the role of these change agencies for technology diffusion and the elimination of the digital divide. It is argued that examining the interest of change agencies and the other stakeholders involved in the diffusion process from a normative perspective can help in the preparation of effective information technology diffusion policies.

Digitalization of Public Services—An Input Output Logit Analysis

Applied System Innovation ◽

10.3390/asi3040056 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 56

Author(s):

Shahzadah Nayyar Jehan ◽

Mudalige Uthpala Indeelinie Alahakoon

Keyword(s):

Service Delivery ◽

Communication Technology ◽

Public Service ◽

Relative Effectiveness ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Logit Analysis ◽

Information Communication ◽

Value Analysis ◽

The Public ◽

Information And Communication

In 2000, Sri Lanka designed an ambitious plan for the introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) in most government functions and in the public service delivery (PSD) system in the country. This process started in the early 2000s and gained momentum with several local and internationally funded initiatives. A systematic innovation concept was incorporated within the ICT regime, which ensured bottom-up learning for a smooth transformation from paper to digitized PSD systems. Towards this end, the Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) and Lanka Government Network (LGN) were established. ICT incorporation covered the operations of most government agencies and departments to improve governance and PSD. We analyzed the efficiency of the ICT regime to understand its impact on public service employee output as well as on services to the public. We collected service delivery data from both the employees and their clients using a Likert-scale questionnaire. The questionnaire enquired about the utility of the ICT regime introduced in various departments and ministries (DMs) of the Sri Lankan government. This paper analyzes the overall and relative effectiveness of the ICT regime in terms of the inputs incurred and the outcomes realized. First, we calculated the Cronbach’s alpha to test the robustness of the data. Second, we applied ordinal logistics analysis to understand the interrelations among various measures (inputs) and their impacts (outcomes). Finally, we conducted specificity, sensitivity, and predictive value analysis to assess the accuracy of the investigative model. Our findings suggest a positive correlation between the inputs and the outcomes of the ICT regime introduced to digitalize PSD. Our results further indicate that although the inputs and the outcomes are positively corelated, this correlation is not sufficiently strong, and the ICT implementation measures need further emphasis to demonstrate any significant impact on user confidence in this regime.

Digital Divide Challenge

Social and Economic Transformation in the Digital Era ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-158-2.ch004 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 47-55 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anastasia Papazafeiropoulou ◽

Athanasia Pouloudi

Keyword(s):

Digital Divide ◽

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

Technology Diffusion ◽

Information Technologies ◽

Communication Technologies ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Normative Perspective

Vengeance Culture Online

Violence and Society ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-0988-2.ch001 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 1-30

Author(s):

Shalin Hai-Jew

Keyword(s):

Popular Culture ◽

Public Sphere ◽

Real World ◽

The Public ◽

For Profit ◽

Video Sharing ◽

The Public Sphere ◽

And Behavior

Vengeance. Payback. Retribution. Just deserts. Evening up the score. Punishment. If there is an ever-replicating and recurring Internet meme, it is one of revenge. Intimate photos are shared online post-relationship and end up picked up by for-profit pornographic websites. Privy information is leaked into private (narrow-cast) or semi-public or public spaces (broadcast) with massive amplifications of messages into the public sphere. Violent attacks and beat-downs are videotaped and shared on video sharing sites. Flash or cyber mobs are brought together to clean-out stores and to exact vengeance on particular businesses. Information and Communication Technology (ICT), with its nexus of pseudo-anonymity, fast dissemination of information, long-term persistence of data, and mass reach, provides multiple affordances for the exacting of vengeance. The popular culture of anonymous hacktivism and cyber-vigilantism further contribute to the sense of the Internet as an ungoverned and extralegal place. Finally, a general imprudence has meant the easy activation of Internet mobs and individuals to harm-causing rumor-sharing and behavior against others—sparked by doubtful claims or loose storytelling. ICT has enabled the spillover of real-world antipathies and dark emotions into virtual spaces, which then slosh back into the real world. This chapter examines the research in the area of vengeance and how such very human impetuses manifest online. Further, this chapter examines the design features of various ICT platforms and socio-technical spaces that may support vengeance-based communications and actions and proposes ways to mitigate some of these dark affordances.

Knowledge Sharing at the Overstrand Municipality in Western Cape Hermanus, South Africa

Libri ◽

10.1515/libri-2018-0056 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 69 (4) ◽

pp. 325-336

Author(s):

Belinda Louise May ◽

Madeleine Fombad

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Knowledge Management ◽

Service Delivery ◽

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Western Cape ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

The Public ◽

Formal Strategy

Abstract Service delivery remains a challenge in post-apartheid South Africa, notwithstanding the proactive legislations that have been in place since the end of apartheid in 1994 to ensure that municipalities enhance the developmental path through service delivery. Given the increasing interest in prioritising knowledge sharing in municipalities, this article advocates for knowledge sharing as a tool to improve service delivery at South African municipalities. It investigates knowledge sharing at the Overstrand municipality in Cape Town, South Africa and adopts a qualitative approach, using convenient sampling and semi-structured interviews. South Africa is a multicultural country where municipalities are recovering from the inequalities and disparities of apartheid. The article identifies methods of knowledge sharing; establishes the barriers to effective knowledge sharing; and suggests ways in which knowledge sharing could be enhanced at the municipality. Data was collected from the different departments of the Overstrand municipality. The findings reveal that knowledge sharing continues to remain a challenge although participants understood and recognised its importance. A lack of trust, poor communication between senior and junior colleagues, a lack of incentives and recognition, fear of losing one’s job and the absence of a formal strategy, relevant information and communication technology make knowledge sharing challenging. The article recommends a formal knowledge management strategy; a knowledge sharing culture; the use of ICTs for knowledge management and the need for leaders to champion knowledge sharing in all the departments of the Overstrand municipality. Although there is emerging research on knowledge management in the public sector, there is a dearth of research on municipalities.

Co-Production of Digital Public Services in Austrian Public Administrations

Administrative Sciences ◽

10.3390/admsci11010022 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 22

Author(s):

Noella Edelmann ◽

Ines Mergel

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Service Delivery ◽

Public Service ◽

Public Services ◽

New Technology ◽

Digital Transformation ◽

Public Service Delivery ◽

The Public ◽

Digital Service

In the digital transformation of public administrations, objectives are no longer simply the implementation of new technology, but the involvement of all stakeholders into the process of digitalization. The Digital Roadmap of the Austrian government emphasizes the need of co-production of public services as a key element to public service delivery and, subsequently, innovation of the public sector. To understand how co-production in digital service delivery is implemented in Austria, we conducted interviews with 41 experts from public administrations in order to understand who is involved in such processes, how they are involved, and what outcomes are to be achieved.

Antiretroviral purchasing and prescription practices in Mexico: constraints, challenges and opportunities

Salud Pública de México ◽

10.21149/spm.v57s2.7606 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 57 ◽

pp. 171 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Claire Gabrielle Véronique Chaumont ◽

Sergio Bautista-Arredondo ◽

Juan José Calva ◽

Roberto Isaac Bahena-González ◽

Gerda Hitz Sánchez-Juárez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Protection ◽

World Health ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Prescription Practices ◽

Health Market ◽

International Data ◽

Reporting Mechanism

Objective. This study examines the antiretroviral (ARV) market characteristics for drugs procured and prescribed to Mexico’s Social Protection System in Health beneficiaries between 2008 and 2013, and compares them with international data. Materials and methods. Procurement information from the National Center for the Prevention and the Control of HIV/AIDS was analyzed to estimate volumes and prices of key ARV. Annual costs were compared with data from the World Health Organization’s Global Price Reporting Mechanism for similar countries. Finally, regimens reported in the ARV Drug Management, Logistics and Surveillance System database were reviewed to identify prescription trends and model ARV expenditures until 2018. Results. Results show that the first-line ARV market is concentrated among a small number of patented treatments, in which prescription is clinically adequate, but which prices are higher than those paid by similar countries. The current set of legal and structural options available to policy makers to bring prices down is extremely limited. Conclusions. Different negotiation policies were not successful to decrease ARV high prices in the public health market. The closed list approach had a good impact on prescription quality but was ineffective in reducing prices. The Coordinating Commission for Negotiating the Price of Medicines and other Health Supplies also failed to obtain adequate prices. To maximize purchase efficiency, policy makers should focus on finding long-term legal and political safeguards to counter the high prices imposed by pharmaceutical companies.

Transforming governance patterns: challenges and opportunities for voluntary sector policy capacity

Policy Analysis in Canada ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447334910.003.0015 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 318-330

Author(s):

Rachel Laforest

Keyword(s):

Service Delivery ◽

Great Promise ◽

Voluntary Organizations ◽

New Governance ◽

Policy System ◽

The Public ◽

Policy Capacity ◽

Service Delivery Systems ◽

Representation Of Interests

Governance dynamics such as contracting, partnerships, networks and privatization have transformed the policy system into complex mix of networks and providers from the public, private and voluntary sectors. This chapter examines how voluntary organizations are contributing to policy in this new governance context and whether they have the policy capacity to sustain that contribution. The integration and realignment of service delivery systems holds great promise for voluntary organizations to balance their service delivery role with the democratic role of representation (which has too often been neglected over the years). User-centred and place-based models legitimize experiential evidence recognises the importance of the representation of interests in the very design and evaluation of programs. The challenge will continue to be the lack of stable and sustainable financing sources to support the capacity of voluntary organizations.

Government technological capacity and public–private partnerships regarding digital service delivery: evidence from Chinese cities

International Review of Administrative Sciences ◽

10.1177/00208523211018849 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 002085232110188

Author(s):

Liang Ma ◽

Tom Christensen ◽

Yueping Zheng

Keyword(s):

Service Delivery ◽

Public Private Partnership ◽

Third Party ◽

Private Partnership ◽

Large Cities ◽

The Public ◽

Digital Service ◽

Technological Capacity ◽

The City ◽

Do So

Governments have increased their collaboration with the private sector regarding public service delivery, and their propensities to do so are largely shaped by their own in-house capacities. In this article, we theorize and analyze whether governments with an extremely low or extremely high technological capacity are more likely to collaborate with third-party platforms in order to jointly provide digital services. We expect there to be a U-shaped relationship between the technological capacity of those governments and their public–private partnership choices. An empirical analysis of digital service delivery across 290 prefecture-level cities in China corroborates this hypothesis. These results deepen our understanding of the competing motivations that drive the public–private partnership process. Points for practitioners Public–private collaboration has been widely adopted to promote digital service delivery. This article confirms the U-shaped relationship between government technological capacity and public–private collaboration in digital service delivery at the city level. To encourage the collaboration, it is crucial to target governments with varying capacities, which seems to be easier in large cities with high administrative rank and that are overall technologically mature and in a competitive environment technologically.