Extending E-Government and Citizen Participation in Australia through the Internet

Author(s):  
L. Walsh

This article seeks to provide a brief overview of the current development of digital democracy in Australia, with emphasis on the use of the Internet to extend and enhance citizen participation. Use of the Internet within the definition of digital democracy proposed is categorized into three overlapping groups: (1) e-government services and administration; (2) participatory technologies; and (3) informal modes of participation.

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (38) ◽  
pp. 122-137
Author(s):  
Darko Trifunovic ◽  
Juliusz Piwowarski

This article generally contains two parts. One is a theoretical approach to dealing with the phenomenon of terrorism as well as international terrorism. Within the first part, a unique definition of the concept of security science is given, without which it is not possible to properly perceive or investigate security threats and risks within which terrorism is one of the significant threats. The second part deals with models of terrorist activities with special attention to the webspace and the significant role that terrorists attach to the increasing use of the Internet for their purposes. The theoretical part leads to the conclusion that there are five essential elements whose presence, if detected in one territory or state, indicates the existence of a mechanism that produces or creates new jihad warriors. The paper also gives a unique forecast of the degree of endangerment on the example of a territory, which gives scientists who investigate these threats a new direction of research.


Author(s):  
Rachel Baarda

Digital media is expected to promote political participation in government. Around the world, from the United States to Europe, governments have been implementing e-government (use of of the Internet to make bureaucracy more efficient) and promising e-democracy (increased political participation by citizens). Does digital media enable citizens to participate more easily in government, or can authoritarian governments interfere with citizens' ability to speak freely and obtain information? This study of digital media in Russia will show that while digital media can be used by Russian citizens to gain information and express opinions, Kremlin ownership of print media, along with censorship laws and Internet surveillance, can stifle the growth of digital democracy. Though digital media appears to hold promise for increasing citizen participation, this study will show that greater consideration needs to be given to the power of authoritarian governments to suppress civic discourse on the Internet.


2011 ◽  
pp. 371-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tan Yigitcanlar ◽  
Scott Baum

Increasingly, almost everything we do in our daily lives is being influenced by information and communications technologies (ICTs) including the Internet. The task of governance is no exception with an increasing number of national, state, and local governments utilizing ICTs to support government operations, engage citizens, and provide government services. As with other things, the process of governance is now being prefixed with an “e”. E-governance can range from simple Web sites that convey basic information to complex sites that transform the customary ways of delivering all sorts of government services. In this respect local e-government is the form of e-governance that specifically focuses on the online delivery of suitable local services by local authorities. In practice local e-government reflects four dimensions, each one dealing with the functions of government itself. The four are: (a) e-services, the electronic delivery of government information, programs, and services often over the Internet; (b) e-management, the use of information technology to improve the management of government. This might range from streamlining business processes to improving the flow of information within government departments; (c) e-democracy the use of electronic communication vehicles, such as e-mail and the Internet, to increase citizen participation in the public decision-making process; (d) e-commerce, the exchange of money for goods and services over the Internet which might include citizens paying taxes and utility bills, renewing vehicle registrations, and paying for recreation programs, or government buying office supplies and auctioning surplus equipment (Cook, LaVigne, Pagano, Dawes, & Pardo, 2002). Commensurate with the rapid increase in the process of developing e-governance tools, there has been an increased interest in benchmarking the process of local e-governance. This benchmarking, which includes the processes involved in e-governance as well as the extent of e-governance adoption or take-up is important as it allows for improved processes and enables government agencies to move towards world best practice. It is within this context that this article discusses benchmarking local e-government. It brings together a number of discussions regarding the significance of benchmarking, best practices and actions for local e-government, and key elements of a successful local e-government project.


Author(s):  
Tan Yigitcanlar ◽  
Scott Baum

Increasingly, almost everything we do in our daily lives is being influenced by information and communications technologies (ICTs) including the Internet. The task of governance is no exception with an increasing number of national, state, and local governments utilizing ICTs to support government operations, engage citizens, and provide government services. As with other things, the process of governance is now being prefixed with an “e”. E-governance can range from simple Web sites that convey basic information to complex sites that transform the customary ways of delivering all sorts of government services. In this respect local e-government is the form of e-governance that specifically focuses on the online delivery of suitable local services by local authorities. In practice local e-government reflects four dimensions, each one dealing with the functions of government itself. The four are: (a) e-services, the electronic delivery of government information, programs, and services often over the Internet; (b) e-management, the use of information technology to improve the management of government. This might range from streamlining business processes to improving the flow of information within government departments; (c) e-democracy the use of electronic communication vehicles, such as e-mail and the Internet, to increase citizen participation in the public decision-making process; (d) e-commerce, the exchange of money for goods and services over the Internet which might include citizens paying taxes and utility bills, renewing vehicle registrations, and paying for recreation programs, or government buying office supplies and auctioning surplus equipment (Cook, LaVigne, Pagano, Dawes, & Pardo, 2002). Commensurate with the rapid increase in the process of developing e-governance tools, there has been an increased interest in benchmarking the process of local e-governance. This benchmarking, which includes the processes involved in e-governance as well as the extent of e-governance adoption or take-up is important as it allows for improved processes and enables government agencies to move towards world best practice. It is within this context that this article discusses benchmarking local e-government. It brings together a number of discussions regarding the significance of benchmarking, best practices and actions for local e-government, and key elements of a successful local e-government project.


Phonology ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Gussenhoven ◽  
René Kager

If there is such a person as the average phonologist, he might have a conception of the relation between phonetics and phonology that comes close to the relation between social perceptions of crimes and a Code of Criminal Law. The Code's definition of various types of crimes and the penalty each type carries ultimately reflect, to put it crudely, the feelings of the people. Also, the Code's development will reflect social change. Criminal codes will typically incorporate the changing perceptions of the general public, and will now begin to include articles devoted to the use of the Internet, for instance. But at the end of the day, what counts in a law suit is what is in the Criminal Code, not the feelings of the people. So it is with phonology. It is easy to show that lexical forms are frequently related to functional (ergonomic) considerations, and that the way the grammar processes them into surface representations will amount to a reasonable articulatory task for the speaker, while equally the acoustic result will enable the listener to recognise these forms with reasonable ease. However, ultimately we say things the way we do because our lexical representations are the way they are, and our phonological grammar is the way it is.


2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Mosca

This article focuses on the political use of the Internet by the Italian Global Justice Movement (GJM) considering both the organizations and the individuals involved in the movement. First, a definition of the concept ‘political use of the Internet’ and its operationalization is provided. Second, light is shed on how the Internet is used politically by participants in social movements taking into account their organizational and participatory experiences. Data were gathered with quantitative and qualitative instruments during different researches: a survey of participants in a demonstration against the ‘Bolkestein’ directive and a series of interviews with representatives of different organizational sectors of the Italian GJM, complemented by a qualitative website analysis of the same organizations. While quantitative data allows for controlling relations among variables concerning the political use of the Internet by individuals, qualitative data provides more detailed information on Internet use in the everyday life of activists and organizations.


Author(s):  
Azza A Abubaker ◽  
Joan Lu

A textbook in any e-educational system is an important element that requires a closer look at its components and structure, as well as identifying the barriers that affect the level of learning. This can be achieved in different aspects such as the analysis of textual content or sentence structure which is one of the concerns of linguists. On the other hand, examining the textual content can determine the appropriateness of the education level for students. This type of assessment is part of educators' concerns and by examining and defining the factors that could affect reading a text on screen, this is usually related to the way of displaying text such as font size, colour, background colour, amount of text and the location of the text on the screen. This is a key focus of this research. In this chapter, the concern will be to define the concepts and the structure of an e- document as a starting point to investigate the usability of e-texts as it covers the following: definition of e-document; history of eBook; structure of e-textbook; contribution of e-textbook for education; comparison between reading electronic and paper book; young people and the use of the internet and computer; statistical data for using the internet in Arabic countries; designing an e-textbook.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
Wejdan Suleiman Irtaimeh

This study deals with the issue of criminal protection of privacy in the Jordanian Cybercrime Law No. 27 of 2015, as the great developments in computer technologies and the widespread use of the Internet have led to the emergence of new forms of electronic crimes related to the protection of the privacy of individuals. The study indicated that the Jordanian legislator did not include in the Jordanian Constitution or in the Cybercrime Law any definition of the right to privacy that delineates its boundaries and clarifies its features. The study concluded that the Cybercrime Law was ambiguous in some of its articles, especially those related to the protection of the right to privacy. The Jordanian legislator did not include special provisions that explicitly criminalize assault on privacy, as it included provisions for other crimes that include assault on this right, which made it lose clarity, precision and accuracy of wording. Moreover, such provisions omitted other forms of electronic crimes related to the right to privacy, which constituted a legislative deficiency. The study concludes that there is a need to amend the Cybercrime Law No. 27 of 2017 and to have explicit provisions that stipulate the criminalization of assault on privacy, as well as the need to issue a special law to protect the personal information of individuals.


Author(s):  
Rachel Baarda

Digital media is expected to promote political participation in government. Around the world, from the United States to Europe, governments have been implementing e-government (use of of the Internet to make bureaucracy more efficient) and promising e-democracy (increased political participation by citizens). Does digital media enable citizens to participate more easily in government, or can authoritarian governments interfere with citizens' ability to speak freely and obtain information? This study of digital media in Russia will show that while digital media can be used by Russian citizens to gain information and express opinions, Kremlin ownership of print media, along with censorship laws and Internet surveillance, can stifle the growth of digital democracy. Though digital media appears to hold promise for increasing citizen participation, this study will show that greater consideration needs to be given to the power of authoritarian governments to suppress civic discourse on the Internet.


2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Betsch

This paper provides a psychological perspective on the possible effect of the Internet on the decision against vaccination. The reported importance of the Internet in health decisions is still low, but rising; especially the amount of interactive use of the Internet is increasing, e.g. due to the use of social media. It is argued that the fact that individuals do not report the Internet to be an important source of information does not necessarily mean that the information obtained in their Internet searches is not influential in their decisions. Evidence is summarised here regarding the (anti-)vaccination information on the Internet, and its influence on risk perceptions and on vaccination intentions and behaviour in relation to the encoded information. The conclusion suggests that scholars should strive to explain the underlying processes and potential mediators of vaccination decisions to increase the effectiveness of health communication. In reference to a definition of evidence-based medicine, a great future challenge lies in evidence-based public health communication based on interdisciplinary research involving public health, medical research, communication science and psychology.


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