Public Participation, Social Equity, and Technology in Urban Governance

2013 ◽  
pp. 35-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Sanchez ◽  
Marc Brenman
Keyword(s):  
Technological Innovation ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Social Equity ◽  
Economic Opportunity ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Collective Interest ◽  
The Public ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Public Resources

Social equity commonly refers to fairness or impartiality, usually in terms of inputs or outcomes related to social and economic opportunity. In the case of urban planning, social equity can take the form of participation in decision-making activities, especially those that involve allocating public resources. An assumption (and hope) is that through participation, stakeholders have greater influence on outcomes that are in their collective interest. Opportunities to participate are rapidly expanding along with rapid technological innovation. Therefore, the authors argue that there is a connection among participation, equity, and technology in creating more equitable governance structures. In particular, the authors discuss how information and communications technologies can serve to reduce barriers to information exchange and thereby generate stronger bonds and quicker formation of partnerships and connections within the public realm. This chapter explores these issues through the lens of e-government, e-democracy, and the digital divide in a U.S. context.

A Case Study of Public Servants Engaged in E-Consultation in Australia

2011 ◽  
pp. 759-772
Author(s):  
Lucas Walsh
Keyword(s):  
The Internet ◽  
Local Form ◽  
Political Democracy ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Public Servants ◽  
The Public ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Elected Representatives

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.

Realigning Governance

2005 ◽  
pp. 250-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald G. Lenihan
Keyword(s):  
New Technology ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Efficiency Gains ◽  
New Era ◽  
The Public ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Major Transformation ◽  
Expected Benefits ◽  
The Right ◽  
Dot Com

In this chapter, the author acknowledges that over the last few decades, information and communications technologies (ICTs) have progressed at a remarkable pace. By the mid-1990s, the new technology had been used to engineer a major transformation of the private sector, reshaping markets and the basic building block of the modern economy: the corporation. Likewise, enthusiasts predicted that the public sector was about to go through a similar transformation. A new era in government was said to be dawning. For some, electronic- or e-government promised to transform government operations leading to major “efficiency gains” in service delivery. But e-government is proving more difficult and costly than first thought and the expected benefits have been slow to materialize. With some notable exceptions, the efficiency gains have been mixed. The boom in e-commerce was short-circuited by the dot-com bust. Is the bloom coming off the e-government rose? This chapter tries to shed more light on the pertinent issues and reflect a broader vision that e-government is about the transformation of government. A firm commitment from decision makers to think through the issues and steer the right course is critical or e-government could easily lose momentum or veer off course.

scholarly journals The Impact of COVID Pandemic Consequences on Public Demand for Competence Formation in Humanitarian Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri Vsevolodovich Maslov ◽  
◽  
Iryna Sergiivna Pypenko ◽  
Yuriy Borysovych Melnyk ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Traditional Teaching ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Situation ◽  
Public Demand

The COVID pandemic has affected all human activity, most of all education. Lockdowns obliterated traditional teaching. Student attitudes towards educational format and content have also changed. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of the pandemic consequences on public demand for competence formation in humanitarian education. Gathered through systemic written surveys (Project Tuning methodology) and interviewing the respondents (173 faculty and 322 students), participants to CIES-2020 and PPPMSF-2021 international conferences, the data were systematized, rated and analyzed using the methods of statistical analysis. Consequently, actual public demand for student competences was formulated. Top five choices by the faculty include: 1) ability to adapt to and act in new situation; 2) commitment to safety; 3) ability to search for, process and analyze information; 4) skills in the use of information and communications technologies; 5) ability to evaluate and maintain the quality of work. The student choices differ from faculty prioritizing the abilities: 1) to work autonomously; 2) to design and manage projects; 3) to adapt to and act in new situation; 4) to apply knowledge in practical situations; 5) to work in an international context. The results have shown a statistically significant difference between the public demand prior to the pandemic and after the introduction of social distancing measures. Views of faculty and students on the importance of particular competences have remained divergent, and the specific priorities are changing. One noticeable trend is prioritizing the ability to adapt to new situations by both faculty and students.

The Security Practitioners’ Perspective

2012 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Eduardo Gelbstein
Keyword(s):  
Cyber Attacks ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
Communications Technologies

This chapter reviews the assumptions on which this section of the book is based, explores the irreversible dependency of society on information and communications technologies, and sets the scene for the asymmetric nature of cyber-attacks, and lists the main the challenges facing security practitioners in the public and private sectors. These are discussed in more detail in subsequent chapters.

Administrative Flexibility and Knowledge in Policy Delivery

2013 ◽  
pp. 260-276
Author(s):  
Nick Letch
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Communications Technologies

Information and communications technologies are emerging as important drivers of reform in the public sector. This chapter explores both enabling and constraining aspects of the role that ICTs can play in transforming the development and delivery of public policy. Two issues are explored: the reduction in flexibility of decision making that frequently accompanies ICT-based initiatives, and the critical role of knowledge embedded in networks of stakeholders in policy development and delivery. A case study, which traces the knowledge embedded in networks of relationships of actors involved in developing and implementing operational policy in an Australian public sector agency, is presented to illustrate the unintended constraints on knowledge activities. A framework for analyzing socio-technical networks involved in integrating ICTs into the cycle of public policy is presented.

Realigning Governance

2011 ◽  
pp. 3389-3422
Author(s):  
Donald G. Lenihan
Keyword(s):  
New Technology ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Efficiency Gains ◽  
New Era ◽  
The Public ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Major Transformation ◽  
Expected Benefits ◽  
The Right ◽  
Dot Com

In this chapter, the author acknowledges that over the last few decades, information and communications technologies (ICTs) have progressed at a remarkable pace. By the mid-1990s, the new technology had been used to engineer a major transformation of the private sector, reshaping markets and the basic building block of the modern economy: the corporation. Likewise, enthusiasts predicted that the public sector was about to go through a similar transformation. A new era in government was said to be dawning. For some, electronic- or e-government promised to transform government operations leading to major “efficiency gains” in service delivery. But e-government is proving more difficult and costly than first thought and the expected benefits have been slow to materialize. With some notable exceptions, the efficiency gains have been mixed. The boom in e-commerce was short-circuited by the dot-com bust. Is the bloom coming off the e-government rose? This chapter tries to shed more light on the pertinent issues and reflect a broader vision that e-government is about the transformation of government. A firm commitment from decision makers to think through the issues and steer the right course is critical or e-government could easily lose momentum or veer off course.

Getting Beyond Norms

2021 ◽  
pp. 561-577
Author(s):  
Melissa Hathaway
Keyword(s):  
Standards Of Care ◽  
Critical Infrastructures ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
International Consensus ◽  
New Normal ◽  
The Public ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
State Behaviour ◽  
Policy Agendas ◽  
Test Individual

In recent years, countries have become increasingly concerned about the immediate and future threats to their critical services and infrastructures that could result from the misuse of information and communications technologies (ICTs). As such, countries have placed the development of normative standards guiding state behaviour in cyberspace at the top of their foreign policy agendas. Yet, despite broad international consensus regarding the basic principles to limit the misuse of ICTs in the digital age and to constrain state behaviour, the key tenets have been consistently violated. All evidence suggests that states are not following their own doctrines of restraint, and that each disruptive and destructive attack further destabilizes our future. States have turned a blind eye and have shirked their responsibility for curbing or halting cyberattacks originating from their own territories. Disruption or damage (or both) of critical infrastructures that provide services to the public has become customary practice—the ‘new normal’. And this intentional misuse of ICTs against critical infrastructures and services has great potential to lead to misperception, escalation, and even conflict. This chapter offers five standards of care that can be used to ‘test’ individual states’ true commitment to the international norms of behaviour. Only with a concerted and coordinated effort across the global community will it be possible to change the new normal of ‘anything goes’ and move forward to ensure the future safety and security of the Internet and Internet-based infrastructures.

The Electronic-Mediated Public Sphere and Environmental Public Participation in China

2014 ◽  
pp. 134-145
Author(s):  
Ying Xu
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Public Discussion ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Information ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
The Public Sphere

This chapter offers a critical analysis of the new pattern of public participation in the electronic-mediated public sphere. By reviewing the development of Chinese environmental activities that led to an active, electronic-mediated public discussion concerning environmental protection, the findings reveal that new Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have made the public sphere more easily seen and heard by everyone, including governmental departments in the bureaucratic system. Thus, the electronic-mediated public sphere is providing a third power that could help Non-Profit Organizations' (NPOs) development in relatively conservative societies such as China. The implications of using ICTs in the management of NPOs are also discussed.

Listening to the Ground

2012 ◽  
pp. 474-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laban Bagui ◽  
Andrew Bytheway
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Scenario Analysis ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Services ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Communications Technologies

E-Government can be seen as governing through the use of information technology, and a key component of e-Government is e-Participation, the use of information and communications technologies to engage citizens more closely in government processes. Public participation is achieved by a range of means, any or all of which might benefit from the use of technology in order to reduce costs and improve effectiveness. In South Africa, the public has a generally poor opinion of government services, even though Web and mobile technologies are being used. That sentiment sometimes ensues in social tensions. In this chapter, a review of literature, opinions of informed experts, and a scenario analysis develop indications and a model for e-Participation maturing with e-readiness improving.

ROLE OF LIBRARIANS IN TEACHING INFORMATION LITERACY IN ZIMBABWEAN AND SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Mousaion ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tinashe Mugwisi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Information Skills ◽  
The University

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) and the Internet have to a large extent influenced the way information is made available, published and accessed. More information is being produced too frequently and information users now require certain skills to sift through this multitude in order to identify what is appropriate for their purposes. Computer and information skills have become a necessity for all academic programmes. As libraries subscribe to databases and other peer-reviewed content (print and electronic), it is important that users are also made aware of such sources and their importance. The purpose of this study was to examine the teaching of information literacy (IL) in universities in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and the role played by librarians in creating information literate graduates. This was done by examining whether such IL programmes were prioritised, their content and how frequently they were reviewed. An electronic questionnaire was distributed to 12 university libraries in Zimbabwe and 21 in South Africa. A total of 25 questionnaires were returned. The findings revealed that IL was being taught in universities library and non-library staff, was compulsory and contributed to the term mark in some institutions. The study also revealed that 44 per cent of the total respondents indicated that the libraries were collaborating with departments and faculty in implementing IL programmes in universities. The study recommends that IL should be an integral part of the university programmes in order to promote the use of databases and to guide students on ethical issues of information use.

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