Achieving Useful Government Accountability and Transparency Websites

2015 ◽  
pp. 26-48
Author(s):  
Deborah S. Carstens ◽  
Stephen Kies ◽  
Randy Stockman
Keyword(s):  
State Government ◽  
Government Spending ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Government Accountability ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Websites ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Performance

With the transition from government to e-government, greater transparency in government accountability has occurred. However, state government budgets and performance reports are voluminous and difficult to understand by the average citizen. There is a need for government Websites to promote public trust while providing understandable, meaningful, and usable government accountability information. The public needs to have access to information that links the outcome of government spending so that government can be accountable for their spending. There are three fundamental functions for government: accountability, budgeting, and policy-making. The chapter discusses literature specifically relating to government accountability resulting in a checklist being developed to provide a mechanism for evaluation of government Websites from a technical and usability perspective. Therefore, it is not only important for a Website to have the government accountability information but to also display it in a useful and meaningful format understandable by citizens accessing the Website.

Achieving Useful Government Accountability and Transparency Websites

2014 ◽  
pp. 19-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah S. Carstens ◽  
Stephen Kies ◽  
Randy Stockman
Keyword(s):  
State Government ◽  
Government Spending ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Government Accountability ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Websites ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Performance

With the transition from government to e-government, greater transparency in government accountability has occurred. However, state government budgets and performance reports are voluminous and difficult to understand by the average citizen. There is a need for government Websites to promote public trust while providing understandable, meaningful, and usable government accountability information. The public needs to have access to information that links the outcome of government spending so that government can be accountable for their spending. There are three fundamental functions for government: accountability, budgeting, and policy-making. The chapter discusses literature specifically relating to government accountability resulting in a checklist being developed to provide a mechanism for evaluation of government Websites from a technical and usability perspective. Therefore, it is not only important for a Website to have the government accountability information but to also display it in a useful and meaningful format understandable by citizens accessing the Website.

scholarly journals When Does the Public Get It Right? The Information Environment and the Accuracy of Economic Sentiment

2021 ◽  
pp. 001041402198975
Author(s):  
Ryan E. Carlin ◽  
Timothy Hellwig ◽  
Gregory J. Love ◽  
Cecilia Martínez-Gallardo ◽  
Matthew M. Singer
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Economic Evaluations ◽  
Government Performance ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Government Accountability ◽  
The Public ◽  
High Quality Information ◽  
The Media ◽  
Latin American Countries

Public evaluations of the economy are key for understanding how citizens develop policy opinions and monitor government performance. But what drives economic evaluations? In this article, we argue the context in which information about the economy is distributed shapes economic perceptions. In high-quality information environments—where policies are transparent, the media is free, and political opposition is robust—mass perceptions closely track economic conditions. In contrast, compromised information environments provide openings for political manipulation, leading perceptions to deviate from business cycle fluctuations. We test our argument with unique data from eight Latin American countries. Results show restrictions on access to information distort the public’s view of economic performance. The ability of voters to sanction governments is stronger when democratic institutions and the media protect citizens’ access to independent, unbiased information. Our findings highlight the importance of accurate evaluations of the economy for government accountability and democratic responsiveness.

scholarly journals Work Ethics, Values, Attitudes and Performance In The Nigerian Public Service: Issues, Challenges and The Way Forward

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 157
Author(s):  
Bernard Oladosu Omisore ◽  
Oyende Adeleke A.
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Unethical Conduct ◽  
Work Ethics ◽  
The Public ◽  
Service Oriented ◽  
Training Motivation ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Performance

Performance of the Nigerian public service has been a major concern to policy makers and researchers alike. This is because despite all measures put in place to arrest the ugly trend, it seems, it has defied all approaches towards tackling the problem of inefficiency and capacity collapse. Work ethics, attitudes and values can be influenced by the organization, through interventions like training, motivation and coaching, etc. However, they cannot be changed forcibly because they are intrinsic. It is, therefore, of fundamental importance that public functionaries act justly and fairly to all, not only paying lip service to ethical conduct but also ensuring that these are manifestly and undoubtedly seen to be done. This paper discusses the challenges of work ethics, values, attitudes and performance in the Nigerian public service. The major causes of unethical conduct in the public service were identified and the institutional mechanisms established by the government to curb these unethical behaviours were examined. This paper adopted content analysis as a method of data gathering and analysis. It suggested viable options for effective and efficient service-oriented public service. 

Discursive Democracy and New Labour: Five Ways in Which Decision-Makers Manage Citizen Agendas in Public Participation Initiatives

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Williams
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
New Labour ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Labour Policy ◽  
The Government

New Labour's conceptualisation of public participation in local government creates a tension in public participation practice. Government legislation and guidance require local authorities to develop and provide citizen-centred services, engage the public in policy-making and respond to the public's views. Seen in this light, New Labour policy draws from radical democratic discourse. However, local authority staff are also expected to act in accordance with the direction set by their line managers, the Council and the government and to inform, engage and persuade the public of the benefit of their authority's policies. In this respect, New Labour policy draws from the discursive model of civil society, conceptualising public participation as a method for engendering civil ownership of the formal structures of representative democracy. Tension is likely to arise when the ideas, opinions and values of the local authority differ from those expressed by the participating public. This paper uses a local ‘public participation’ initiative to investigate how the tension is managed in practice. The study shows how decision-makers dealt with the tension by using participatory initiatives to supply information, understand the views of the public and encourage public support around pre-existing organisational agendas. Problems occurred when citizens introduced new agendas by breaking or manipulating the rules of participation. Decision-makers responded by using a number of distinctive methods for managing citizens’ agendas, some of which were accompanied by strategies for minimising the injury done to citizens’ motivations for further participation. The paper concludes that New Labour policy fails to deal with the tensions between the radical and discursive models of participation and in the final analysis draws mainly from the discursive model of participation. Furthermore, whilst New Labour policy promotes dialogue between the public and local authority, it does not empower local authority staff to achieve the goal of citizen-centred policy-making.

scholarly journals Kepercayaan Publik (Public Trust) Terhadap E-Government : Studi Kasus Penggunaan E-Mobile BPJS Kesehatan Di Kota Makassar

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Sitti Mirsa Sirajuddin ◽  
A . Atrianingsi
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
National Health Insurance ◽  
National Health ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government ◽  
Quantitative Descriptive ◽  
High Level

The general objective of the study was to analyze the level of public trust (citizen trust) of e-government based health insurance services, namely the e-mobile National Health Insurance (JKN) BPJS in Makassar City.The design of this research is a quantitative descriptive type. The population in this study were people who used the National Health Insurance (JKN) e-mobile application with 167 respondents. Data collection was carried out using a questionnaire instrument. Data analysis uses multiple linear regression.The results showed that first there was a high level of public trust in JKN e-mobile applications. This means that the application gives satisfaction to the community and is considered beneficial for them. Secondly, the level of public trust is high in the government, where the public considers the government to be serious in providing health insurance services.Tujuan umum penelitian adalah untuk menganalisis tingkat kepercayaan publik (citizen trust) terhadap pelayanan jaminan kesehatan berbasis e-government yaitu e-mobile Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN) BPJS Kesehatan di Kota Makassar. Desain penelitian ini adalah kuantitatif tipe deskriptif. Populasi dalam penelitian ini adalah masyarakat yang menggunakan aplikasi e-mobile Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN) dengan jumlah responden sebanyak 383 orang. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan menggunakan instrument kuesioner. Analisis data menggunakan regresi linear berganda. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa, pertama terdapat tingkat kepercayaan tinggi masyarakat terhadap aplikasi e-mobile JKN. Hal ini berarti aplikasi memberi kepuasan kepada masyarakat dan dianggap bermanfaat bagi mereka. Kedua tingkat kepercayaan publik tinggi terhadap pemerintah tinggi, dimana masyarakat menilai pemerintah serius dalam memberikan pelayanan jaminan kesehatan.

scholarly journals Mechanisms of corporate governance and performance: analysis of public companies listed in BM&FBovespa

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 1161-1184
Author(s):  
Josimar Pires Da Silva ◽  
Mariana Pereira Bonfim ◽  
Rafael Martins Noriller ◽  
Carlos Vicente Berner
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Performance Analysis ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Public Companies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Corporate Governance Mechanisms ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Future Reference

AbstractThe objective of this research is to verify the level of relationship between the mechanisms of corporate governance and the performance of the companies of the public subsector, listed on BM&FBovespa. The research was based on the financial statements from 2010 to 2014, obtained on the BM&FBovespa website, resulting in a sample of 63 companies with 315 observations. In order to calculate the performance proxy of the company, the ROA was used, and for the calculation of the proxies of the corporate governance mechanisms were used for the quality of the audit, the concentration of ownership in common shares and preferred shares, participation in the levels of governance of BM&FBovespa, number of shares held by the government and number of directors in the Board, adapted from the Mollah and Zaman (2015) survey. Convergence with national and international research, the findings of the study showed that such variables as quality of profit, concentration of ownership in preferred shares, participation in governance levels and size of the Board are positively related to the performance of the company; already a concentration of ownership in common shares and number of shares held by the government are negatively related to performance. For future reference, it is recommended to expand other sectors of the market as well as to use other mechanisms of corporate governance, presented in the literature.Keywords: Corporate Governance. Performance. Public Subsector.Mecanismos de governança corporativa e desempenho: análise das companhias do subsetor de utilidade pública listadas na BM&FBovespa Resumo O objetivo da pesquisa foi o de verificar o nível de relação entre os mecanismos de governança corporativa e o desempenho das empresas do subsetor de utilidade pública, listadas na BM&FBovespa. A pesquisa teve como base os dados das demonstrações financeiras de 2010 a 2014, obtidas no sítio eletrônico da BM&FBovespa, resultando assim, em uma amostra de 63 empresas, com 315 observações. Para o cálculo da proxy de desempenho da empresa foi utilizado o ROA, e para o cálculo das proxies dos mecanismos de governança corporativa foram utilizadas a qualidade da auditoria, concentração de propriedade em ações ordinárias e em ações preferenciais, participação nos níveis de governança da BM&FBovespa, número de ações mantidas pelo governo e número de diretores no Conselho, adaptado da pesquisa de Mollah e Zaman (2015). Convergente com pesquisas nacionais e internacionais, os achados desse estudo evidenciaram que as variáveis qualidade do lucro, concentração de propriedade em ações preferenciais, participação nos níveis de governança e tamanho do Conselho são positivamente relacionados com o desempenho da empresa; já a concentração de propriedade em ações ordinárias e o número de ações mantidas pelo governo são negativamente relacionadas com o desempenho. Para pesquisas futuras, recomenda-se ampliar a outros setores do mercado bem como utilizar outros mecanismos de governança corporativa, presentes na literatura.Palavras-chave: Governança Corporativa. Desempenho. Utilidade Pública.

E-Government Transparency and Citizen Engagement Increasing Accountability

2015 ◽  
pp. 189-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah S. Carstens ◽  
Stephen Kies ◽  
Randy Stockman
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Citizen Engagement ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Government Accountability ◽  
Government Transparency ◽  
Increasing Trend ◽  
Government Websites

The chapter focus is on accountability and transparency through E-Government. With the increasing trend of users getting online and the opportunity for ubiquitous reach, state governments have begun to utilize social media to engage, communicate and inform their citizens. Therefore, this chapter also discusses ways to better engage citizens in government accountability and transparency discussions. With the transition from government to E-Government, greater transparency in government accountability has occurred. There is a need for government Websites to promote public trust while providing understandable, meaningful and usable government accountability information securely. The recommendations and solutions discussed are centered on enhancing E-Government transparency and citizen engagement resulting in enhanced government accountability.

scholarly journals Governmental Reorganization in Illinois

1915 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 252-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Fairlie
Keyword(s):  
State Government ◽  
Executive Branch ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Ideas ◽  
The Government ◽  
Executive Agencies ◽  
Effective Supervision

In its broad outlines the state government of Illinois resembles that of most of the American States—but with the most recent tendencies as yet only slightly developed. The present state constitution, adopted in 1870, illustrates the political ideas prevalent in the middle of the nineteenth century—the election of all classes of public officials, the disintegration of the executive branch of the government, and the distrust of the legislature, and the provisions of this constitution are stereotyped by an amending article under which alterations have proved almost impossible. There has, however, been an increasing development of administrative authorities, created by statute, and added one to another with almost no attempt at systematic organization. From 1909 to 1913, there were not less than 34 new state offices, boards and commissions established, and the total number of such executive agencies is now approximately 130.Under the present arrangements, there is no correlation between related offices, and little or no effective supervision; there is no budget system and no adequate accounting system. As a result the public administration is inefficient and wasteful; it fails to furnish the general assembly with satisfactory advice on legislation; and there is no clearly defined responsibility for the conduct of public affairs; appropriations and expenditures have been rapidly increasing, the appropriations in 1913 for two years amounting to nearly $38,000,000.

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