scholarly journals Will e-Governance and e-Democracy Lead to e-Empowerment? Gendering the Cyber State

1969 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen McNutt

The onslaught of information and communications technologies (ICTs), theburgeoning popularity of the Internet, and the ideology behind the new information economy has coalesced into a force that is fundamentally reshaping the contours of the Canadian political landscape. This reorganization of the state will profoundly impact women’s opportunities to participate in and alter conventional notions of citizenship. The establishment of electronic or e-government and the implications behind the development of the cyberstate promise to revolutionize Canadian governance and our traditional understandings of democracy. While there is the political possibility of shaping the emerging cyberstate as a vehicle of empowerment for women and marginalized others, there is also the prospect that Internet-facilitated government will exacerbate inequalities and impair women’s citizenship status.

Author(s):  
Ben Epstein

Chapter 4 explains the concept of political choice, the second and most important phase of the political communication cycle (PCC). The political choice phase is the process in which political actors choose if and when to incorporate new information and communications technologies (ICTs) into their communication strategies. This chapter details the process that political actors or organizations go through when determining whether to innovate and helps to identify characteristics of those parties that are more likely to innovate earlier than others, known as innovativeness. Political choice is the behavioral component of the political communication cycle. These innovation decisions are the primary determinants regarding if and how ICT innovations are used to change political communication activity. Therefore, political choice is the most important phase of the PCC, differentiating political communication change from social and societal communication change more broadly.


Author(s):  
AMÉLIE KUHRT

Fergus Millar has been a pioneer among Graeco-Roman historians in appreciating the huge importance of Near Eastern societies and cultures within the ancient world. A continuous interest within this field has been the evolution of Judah/Judaea, cradle of two of the great world religions. The difficulties inherent in the sources for studying its history have provoked intense debates, which show no sign of abating. When did the Judaean state come definitively into being? What were the forces that shaped the political landscape within which its unique traditions began to crystallise? A significant element in the development of Israelite historiography was Judah's encounter with the Assyrian Empire. This chapter argues that a crucial stage in the emergence of the state of Judah was also closely linked to contact with Assyria. It focuses on a famous episode in Judah's history, which may, when set into the wider historical and archaeological context of Near Eastern history, yield some possible answers.


2013 ◽  
pp. 60-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Canongia ◽  
Raphael Mandarino

This chapter introduces the theme of cybersecurity, its importance in the actual scenario, and the challenges of the new Information Society, whose critical development factors are the technological revolution and innovation. The revolution that the information and communications technologies (ICTs) has already brought to modern society is, without doubt, more than visible and concrete, but the great challenge facing us is to harmonize two dimensions, the first relating to the culture of sharing, socialization, and transparency, and the second relating to the issues of security, confidentiality, and privacy. It gives a broad overview in tabular form of the national cybersecurity strategies of the developed countries, United States and United Kingdom, as well as describing a study case, Brazil, is taking its first steps on the path towards cybersecurity. The chapter ends by proposing a model, the key elements for formulating a Brazilian cybersecurity strategy.


Author(s):  
Claudia Canongia ◽  
Raphael Mandarino

This chapter introduces the theme of cybersecurity, its importance in the actual scenario, and the challenges of the new Information Society, whose critical development factors are the technological revolution and innovation. The revolution that the information and communications technologies (ICTs) has already brought to modern society is, without doubt, more than visible and concrete, but the great challenge facing us is to harmonize two dimensions, the first relating to the culture of sharing, socialization, and transparency, and the second relating to the issues of security, confidentiality, and privacy. It gives a broad overview in tabular form of the national cybersecurity strategies of the developed countries, United States and United Kingdom, as well as describing a study case, Brazil, is taking its first steps on the path towards cybersecurity. The chapter ends by proposing a model, the key elements for formulating a Brazilian cybersecurity strategy.


2011 ◽  
pp. 759-772
Author(s):  
Lucas Walsh

This article examines some of the challenges faced by local government during the development and implementation of a relatively new area of e-democratic innovation in Australia: e-consultation. E-consultation is seen as a valuable way through which a two-way relationship can be developed and enhanced between citizens and elected representatives. It involves the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs), such as the Internet, to extend and/or enhance political democracy through access to information, and to facilitate participation in democratic communities, processes, and institutions. Drawing on a case study of the Darebin eForum in Victoria, Australia, this article focuses on the role of public servants as moderators of this local form of e-consultation. The discussion has three parts: online policy consultation is defined within the context of e-democracy; some of the ways that e-consultation challenges the roles of the public service, elected representatives, and citizens are outlined; and the author then argues for an e-consultation strategy that is situated within a continuum of citizen engagement that is ongoing, deliberative, educative, and inclusive.


Author(s):  
Wendy Faulkner ◽  
Merete Lie

Strategies of Inclusion Gender and the Information Society (SIGIS) was a European study exploring initiatives to include more women in the information society.1 This article summarises its main conclusions. The work started from the premise that overall more women than men are excluded from the information society, both as users and as designers of new information and communications technologies (ICTs). Our literature review (Sørensen & Stewart, 2002) confirmed that there is still a gender gap in terms of ownership of some ICT products and, to a lesser extent, in terms of access and use. Gender cuts across other dynamics in the digital divide—income, occupation and age being generally more significant than gender—with other factors (e.g., ethnic minorities, lone parent families) also intervening. Although the trend with respect to the use of ICT products is one of a closing gender gap, it is clear that diffusion alone is not sufficient to close the gap all together; inclusion efforts are still warranted in this area. By contrast, the literature review revealed a persistent and sizeable gender gap within computer specialisms and professions designing ICTs. The proportion of women entering computer science and engineering courses in most countries is static or in decline, in spite of sustained inclusion efforts. So, the overall picture across Europe is a contradictory one: optimistic with respect to what we call women and ICT (users), and pessimistic with respect to women in ICT (professionals).


2009 ◽  
pp. 134-152
Author(s):  
Chin-fu Hung

China has vigorously implemented ICTs to foster ongoing informatization accompanying industrialization as a crucial pillar to drive its future economic development. The institutional and legal reforms involved were initiated and put into practice in order to meet the increasing demand for technological convergence and the negotiations for the expected entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Chinese government has nevertheless long been torn by the ambivalence brought about by the Internet. It regards the Internet as an engine to drive economic growth on the one hand, and as a subversive challenge to undermine the ruling Communist Party on the other hand. As soon as ICTs were introduced and Web sites mushroomed, the Party was so determined to harness the new medium to assure the Internet’s economic and scientific benefits. As a consequence, controls other than stifling ICTs would be critical for the CCP’s agenda to achieve the century-long modernization process and in the meantime, consolidate its power.


2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haya Ajjan ◽  
Stefanie Beninger ◽  
Rania Mostafa ◽  
Victoria L. Crittenden

Cyberfeminism is a woman-centered perspective that advocates women’s use of new information and communications technologies for empowerment. This paper explores the role of information technologies, in particular the role of social media, in empowering women entrepreneurship in emerging economies via increased social capital and improved self-efficacy. A conceptual model is offered and propositions are explicated.


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