scholarly journals Visualizing changes to US federal environmental agency websites, 2016–2020

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0246450
Author(s):  
Eric Nost ◽  
Gretchen Gehrke ◽  
Grace Poudrier ◽  
Aaron Lemelin ◽  
Marcy Beck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Government Information ◽  
Public Consumption ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
Government Websites ◽  
Us Federal Government ◽  
Visualization Techniques ◽  
Environmental Agencies

Websites have become the primary means by which the US federal government communicates about its operations and presents information for public consumption. However, the alteration or removal of critical information from these sites is often entirely legal and done without the public’s awareness. Relative to paper records, websites enable governments to shape public understanding in quick, scalable, and permissible ways. During the Trump administration, website changes indicative of climate denial prompted civil society organizations to develop tools for tracking online government information sources. We in the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (EDGI) illustrate how five data visualization techniques can be used to document and analyze changes to government websites. We examine a large sample of websites of US federal environmental agencies and show that between 2016 and 2020: 1) the use of the term “climate change” decreased by an estimated 38%; 2) access to as much as 20% of the Environmental Protection Agency’s website was removed; 3) changes were made more to Cabinet agencies’ websites and to highly visible pages. In formulating ways to visualize and assess the alteration of websites, our study lays important groundwork for both systematically tracking changes and holding officials more accountable for their web practices. Our techniques enable researchers and watchdog groups alike to operate at the scale necessary to understand the breadth of impact an administration can have on the online face of government.

scholarly journals Visualizing Changes to US Federal Environmental Agency Websites, 2016-2020

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Nost ◽  
Gretchen Gehrke ◽  
Grace Poudrier ◽  
Aaron Lemelin ◽  
Marcy Beck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Government Information ◽  
Public Consumption ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
Government Websites ◽  
Us Federal Government ◽  
Visualization Techniques ◽  
Environmental Agencies

Websites have become the primary means by which the US federal government communicates about its operations and presents information for public consumption. However, the alteration or removal of critical information from these sites is often entirely legal and done without the public’s awareness. Relative to paper records, websites enable governments to shape public understanding in quick, scalable, and permissible ways. During the Trump administration, website changes indicative of climate denial prompted civil society organizations to develop tools for tracking online government information sources. We in the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (EDGI) illustrate how five data visualization techniques can be used to document and analyze changes to government websites. We examine a large sample of websites of US federal environmental agencies and show that between 2016 and 2020: 1) the use of the term “climate change” decreased by an estimated 38%; 2) access to as much as 20% of the Environmental Protection Agency’s website was removed; 3) changes were made more to Cabinet agencies’ websites and to highly visible pages. In formulating ways to visualize and assess the alteration of websites, our study lays important groundwork for both systematically tracking changes and holding officials more accountable for their web practices. Our techniques enable researchers and watchdog groups alike to operate at the scale necessary to understand the breadth of impact an administration can have on the online face of government.

American Libraries and the US Federal Government: an overview of partnerships for enhanced resource access

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 2-6
Author(s):  
Bethany Latham
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Government Information ◽  
Digital Collections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Us Federal Government ◽  
Partnership Program

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the US Government Publishing Office’s (GPO) partnership program: what it is, how the GPO defines partnership, the types of institutions that are participating and the resources these institutions are making available through partnership. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reviews the available literature and information from the US GPO on its partnership program, examines the institutions contributing to the program and what those contributions entail, surveys the resources made available through these partnerships and examines how this affects access to government information. Findings – Partnership with the US GPO provides benefits to libraries, museums, government agencies and other entities, increasing discoverability and enhancing access to digital collections of government information and other resources. Originality/value – This paper examines the parameters of the US GPO’s partnership program, why libraries and other institutions might wish to partner with the GPO and the effect these partnerships have had on enhancing access to government information resources, an area that has not been extensively covered in library literature.

How to Understand Nano Images

2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 182-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tore Birkeland ◽  
Roger Strand ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Philosophical Critique ◽  
Creative Development ◽  
Nano Scale ◽  
The Status ◽  
Cautious Interpretation ◽  
Visualization Techniques

Nanoscale objects are presented by ever more sophisticated pictures (nano images). There is a need to reflect on the status of such nano images, because the “seeing” involved is of a highly indirect kind. The aim of this paper is to complement existing philosophical critique of nano images with a scientific practitioner's perspective. First, we show some reasons to consider seeing and imaging as complex endeavours not only on the micro and nano scale, but also on the macro level. Secondly, we argue that practising scientists are not only accustomed to interpret pictures and other graphical presentations of data as being partial and simplified, but that simplification is deliberate and internal. Rather than requiring that “true” images have to be representational (Pitt 2004, Pitt 2005), the paper advocates for the fruitfulness of understanding and judging images by the amount and nature of the information they convey. Scientific literacy could be improved by creative development of visualization techniques, but also by improved public understanding of images and their correct and cautious interpretation.

scholarly journals Modelo de acessibilidade em governo eletrônico: uma análise comparativa da Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e Dissertações e do Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda Cavalcanti ◽  
Carla Beatriz Marques Felipe ◽  
Danilo Pestana de Freitas
Keyword(s):  
Digital Library ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Electronic Government ◽  
Government Information ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Systematic Observation ◽  
Methodological Procedures ◽  
Government Websites ◽  
Accessibility Guidelines ◽  
Theses And Dissertations

Web accessibility guidelines appear a possibility to extend turn more democratic the digital access for people with disabilities. The present work aims to analyze the use of the Accessibility Model in Electronic Government (e-MAG) in the construction of government websites on the digital accessibility of people with disabilities. It presents a comparative study between two sources of information, the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD) and the Portal of Periodicals of CAPES, with the standards of digital accessibility proposed by the Accessibility Model in Electronic Government. The methodological procedures are descriptive, documental and qualitative bibliographical, applying the systematic observation, from manual and automatic validators, in the analysis of the data. The results showed that the two sources of information analyzed met some accessibility principles. It observed, however, that the amount of non-application of the accessibility standards is greater than its application. It was possible to identify that the Portal of Periodicals of CAPES showed more failures in the organization and disposition of the accessible resources, in comparison to the Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, for having more elements and tools structured in its page. It is noted that digital accessibility in government information sources is far from being a widely.

scholarly journals Communicating with (Some) Canadians: Communication Rights and Government Online in Canada

2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Felczak ◽  
Richard Smith ◽  
Geoffrey Glass
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Government Information ◽  
Government Programs ◽  
Online Programs ◽  
Government Websites

Abstract: A communication rights framework is used to evaluate recent government online initiatives in Canada. Through an analysis of policy documents, government websites, user experiences, and the existing and evolving computing environment, the authors argue that government online programs fail to adequately ensure the communication rights of Canadians who use free and open source software, including Canadians who seek alternatives to proprietary software, Canadians who require low-cost computing, and Canadians who access the Internet via public libraries and community centres that use free and open source software. Existing government programs also fail to ensure the communication rights of Canadians without access to the Internet, including Canadians who do not use or plan to use the Internet. The authors identify specific problem areas in the provision of government information, services, and consultations and suggest policy recommendations that address the identified shortcomings.Résumé : Dans cet article, les auteurs utilisent une perspective fondée sur le droit à la communication pour évaluer des initiatives en ligne de la part du gouvernement canadien. Au moyen de l’analyse de documents de politique générale, de sites gouvernementaux, d’expériences d’utilisateurs et de l’environnement informatique actuel dans son évolution constante, les auteurs soutiennent que les programmes gouvernementaux en ligne ne réussissent pas à protéger de manière adéquate les droits de communication des Canadiens qui utilisent des logiciels libres gratuits, y compris ceux qui désirent une alternative aux logiciels propriétaires, ceux qui dépendent de services informatiques à bas prix et ceux qui accèdent à Internet dans les bibliothèques et centres communautaires équipés de logiciels libres gratuits. En outre, les programmes gouvernementaux actuels sont incapables de protéger les droits de communication de ces Canadiens qui n’ont pas accès à Internet, c’est-à-dire ceux qui ne l’utilisent pas présentement ainsi que ceux qui n’ont pas l’intention de l’utiliser. Les auteurs identifient des problèmes spécifiques reliés à la fourniture d’informations, de services et de consultations de la part du gouvernement et recommandent des politiques qui s’adressent aux défauts identifiés.

scholarly journals Validation of e-Government Information Delivery Attributes: The Adoption of the Focus Group Method

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (10) ◽  
pp. 1069-1095
Author(s):  
José Monteiro ◽  
Maria Bernando ◽  
Mafalda Ferreira ◽  
Tânia Rocha
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Information Delivery ◽  
Group Method ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Government Information ◽  
The Public ◽  
Emotional Aspects ◽  
Government Websites ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Focus Group Method

In democratic countries, government websites became an important channel for interaction with the public administration in the last few years. Nevertheless, several issues have an impact on the way users access to content and information. Lack of accessibility and usability or, in the broad sense, lack of concern with user needs, can still be found in many government websites. To address the problem, a previous literature review on e-government information delivery attributes was performed. Based on this review, a large set of attributes related to quality was obtained to evaluate these dimensions in the context of e-government. The purpose of this study is to better understand which of these attributes are the most valued, in the users’ perspective, for evaluating content delivered by government websites. A qualitative approach was adopted, using Focus Group interviews as a strategy to obtain data and Thematic Analysis to analyze such data. The main results highlighted the attributes related to content delivery, interaction, and emotional aspects. User Experience, accessibility, and usability were prioritized by Focus Group participants.

Social media for government information dissemination: content, characteristics and civic engagement

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gal Yavetz ◽  
Noa Aharony
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
National Study ◽  
Government Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Government Organizations ◽  
Information Strategies ◽  
Israeli Government ◽  
Government Websites ◽  
Facebook Pages

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the information distributed on social media by government ministries. In addition, this study seeks to categorize and identify the characteristics of the highest engaging government social media posts.Design/methodology/approachThis article is based on content analysis to examine the work of Israeli government ministries on Facebook. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze 6,292 posts posted over a six-month period, and a sample of 230 of the most popular posts was analyzed qualitatively.FindingsFindings indicate that government ministries primarily direct and link to internal Facebook pages, with few, if any, referrals to official government websites. In addition, the types of content that generate the highest levels of engagement are classified as operations and events or symbolic acts (e.g. greetings or condolences) and are containing visual content as photos or video clips.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on the topic in several ways. First, it presents findings from a cross-national study of government authorities and organizations that operate and serve diverse populations in a multicultural country. Second, this study presents a novel examination of information strategies by government organizations with focusing on the characteristics of links, media types, content and posting frequency.

scholarly journals Socio-economic impacts of major floods in Italy from 1951 to 2003

2006 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 223-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Lastoria ◽  
M. R. Simonetti ◽  
M. Casaioli ◽  
S. Mariani ◽  
G. Monacelli
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Flood Events ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Extreme Hydrological Events ◽  
Major Floods ◽  
Environmental Agencies

Abstract. Meteorological and hydrological monitoring and modeling, with particular regard for extreme hydrological events, represent important activities carried out by the Hydrological and Inland Waters Service of the Italian Agency for Environmental Protection and Technical Services (APAT). Recently, a study on the socio-economic effects of floods was published in the Italian Environmental Data Yearbook by APAT. It is based on processed data related to the major floods (i.e., events with at least a casualty or that have generated economic damages higher than 0.001% of the Gross Domestic Product) striking Italy between 1951 and 2003. Information was gathered from technical reports and/or databases belonging to APAT, Italian Regional Environmental Agencies (ARPAs), central and local authorities, research institutions and newspaper reports. These data are collected in tables reporting the number of flood events and of casualties and the amount of financial resources required for environmental restoration and/or for risk mitigation purposes. For year 2003, when APAT has begun a systematic monitoring of flood events in Italy, data concerning rainfall, number of persons involved, evacuation and urgent measures introduced to face the event (laws and acts) are also included. In this way, it was possible to realize a new database, in which flood events that caused the declaration of the state of emergency have been collected. Because of the difficulties in finding sufficiently reliable data for the period before the II World War, the collection of historical data started from 1951. During this period, about 50% of the flood events examined have caused at least 5 victims each, and about 10% more than 100; these data highlight the considerable social impact of flood events and suggest the importance of creating an integrated database to collect information about flood events involving all Europe. These two databases (the historical and updating archives) could be useful for taking into account the different anthropic impacts during the time, the real effectiveness of protection measures already realized and could represent a valid reference for further interventions.

scholarly journals TRANSPARANSI INFORMASI PEMERINTAH DAERAH MELALUI WEBSITE: FAKTOR POLITIK ATAU KEUANGAN?

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Sutaryo Sutaryo ◽  
Kurniasari Tri Amanu
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Complete Information ◽  
Information Delivery ◽  
Government Information ◽  
Information Transparency ◽  
Competition Level ◽  
Government Websites

<p><em>This research aims to examine the effect of political factors covering regent/mayor profile, political ideology and political competition level, and financial factors covering liquidity and regional independence on information transparency of local government in Indonesia. This study analyzes 309 Indonesian local government websites using multiple linear regression. The result shows that regent/mayor profile, political competition level and regional independence affect information transparency of local government. Meanwhile, political ideology and financial liquidity do not have significant effect. This result implies to local governments to improve their financial independence in order to encourage more complete information delivery. In addition, people should be more precise and careful on local government information, especially in a local government led by incumbent head and in low local political competition. Incumbent regional heads tend to deliver more information to defend their power while low local political competition leads to a tendency of lower information delivery.</em></p>

Open Government Success Factors in Government Websites

2013 ◽  
pp. 235-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Sandoval-Almazán
Keyword(s):  
Search Engine ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Open Government ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Final Conclusion ◽  
Government Information ◽  
Government Data ◽  
Government Websites ◽  
Conclusion Section

Open Government Websites are a different perspective for presenting government information. In the Mexican case, it is mandatory by law since 2002 to present some government data through Websites. Despite this strong impulse of transparency, there is not enough measurement for the success or the failure of this novel practice. This chapter analyses data collected from a benchmarking of three year measures of open government portals during 2007, 2009, and 2010. From this data, three success factors are identified: trust, search engine, and legal issues. The success factors for open government portals are a contribution that must be verified by further research. This chapter is organized in seven sections. In the first section is the introduction of open government and the background of the Mexican case; the second section presents a literature review about open government and success factors; the third section describes the methodology of the open government portals measurement during 2008-2010; the fourth section discusses the results of this benchmarking and identifies three success factors: trust, search engine, and legal component; the fifth section describes these three findings and provides some recommendations for practitioners; the sixth section discusses the limitations of success factors and the limitations of this kind of research; a final section of future research presents some research paths, and a final conclusion section closes the chapter with a summary of findings and discussion.

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