The European Administrative Space and E-Government Policies

2009 ◽  
pp. 71-85
Author(s):  
Francesco Amoretti ◽  
Fortunato Musella

The challenge of convergence has become a core issue in the European agenda, as the existence of widely accepted administrative standards represents one of the most important preconditions to promote sociopolitical development and to reinforce the single Market. Indeed many initiatives have been launched by European institutions to ensure uniformity in terms of administrative action and structures, and several communications by the European Commission have considered the impact of new technologies in creating systems of integrated and interoperable administration in the Old Continent. In this chapter it will be investigated the role of communication and information technologies in the formation of an European administrative space, the process for which administrations become more similar and close to a common European model. The contribution will consider ICTs as a key element of Europe’s economic competitiveness agenda as well as the interconnection between e-government programs and the social dimension of development. In addition to this, in the final part of the chapter it will be also analyzed the nature and implications of the process of uniformity produced by the new digital infrastructures, a peculiar mix of attractiveness and imposition.

Author(s):  
Ramiro Rodrigues Sumar

Objective: To describe the impact from the obstacles and potentialities that technology has brought to accounting consulting. Question: How can administrative accounting consulting help a company using technologies? Methods: The study is a bibliographic review. A search was conducted with the descriptors: technology; innovation; accounting; accounting on Spell’s data platform (Scientific Periodicals Electronic Library) in June 2021. The search resulted in 10 articles. Results: the results brought as obstacles: The increasing technological advance, adapt to the use of these new technologies, Centrality of the role of the accountant in traditional models, Lack of software knowledge,Lack of specialized workforce, malfunction of the connection, Skilled labor. And as potentialities: Use of different digital technologies, Agility and time gain, Convenience, inseparable relationship between technology and consultative accounting promoting agile and quality support to its various users, Customer satisfaction, Speed and flexibility and Cost reduction. Conclusions: It is understood that Information Technologies positively influence the exercise of consultative accounting, although in addition to the advantages has its disadvantages. It is worth mentioning that the technologies enable the control of accounting information for the entry and exit of materials and inputs, as well as their origin and final destination, avoiding unnecessary losses, including deviations, agility, flexibility and security.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoran Minovski ◽  
Bojan Malchev ◽  
Todor Tocev

The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact and benefits of the latest information technologies on Accounting Information Systems (AIS). Taking into account the numerous papers related to new technologies and their application in the accounting profession within Industry 4.0, and conducted survey about perception of practitioners in Republic of North Macedonia, this paper summarizes the characteristics and key benefits of some of the new technologies for the functioning of AIS in the digital age. First of all, the evolution of AIS is elaborated, based on theoretical and empirical analysis of the accounting process from the appearance of the first AIS up to nowadays’ services and techniques available for supporting the accounting function. The first technology to be elaborated is Big Data and its potential to change the business landscape, especially in the field of automating operation processes, customer engagements, and predictive decision-making process. Secondly, the Blockchain Technology as an example of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), which adoption brings new possibilities in eliminating or redefining the role of entities external to the company. Cloud Computing i.e. Cloud Accounting is the third technology which is elaborated in this paper through the services it offers on the cloud, especially the way AIS process, store and backup the sensitive and confidential data. Last but not least, Artificial Intelligence (AI), a technology that could change the professional services, the need, and opportunities that are provided for a solution to the current accounting issues. In summary, taking into account the relevant literature and the perception of the respondents-practitioners, increased use of these technologies is necessary because their application reduces costs; increases transparency and confidence in information; flexibility, i.e. no time and space restrictions on their use, etc., which is especially useful in the current state of Pandemic, caused by the virus COVID-19.


Author(s):  
Roger D. Magarey ◽  
Christina M. Trexler

AbstractSocial epidemics or behaviorally based non-communicable diseases are becoming an increasingly important problem in developed countries including the United States. It is the aim of our paper to propose a previously understudied aspect of the spread of social epidemics, the role of information in both causing and mitigating social epidemics. In this paper, we ask, can information be harmful, contagious, and a causal factor in social epidemics? In the spread of biological epidemics, the causal agents are biological pathogens such as bacteria or viruses. We propose that in the spread of social epidemics, one of the causal agents is harmful information, which is increasing exponentially in the age of the internet. We ground our idea in the concept of the meme and define the concept of an infopathogen as harmful information that can spread or intensify a social epidemic. Second, we ask, what are the best tools to understand the role of information in the spread of social epidemics? The epidemiological triad that includes a host, agents (and vectors), and the environment is extended into a quad by including information agents. The quad includes the role of information technologies as vectors and the impact of the social environment. The “life cycles” of pathogens in biological epidemics and infopathogens in social epidemics are compared, along with mitigations suggested by the epidemiological quad. Challenges to the theory of infopathogens, including the complexities associated with the spread of memes and the role of behavior in the spread of epidemics are discussed. Implications of the theory including the classification of harmfulness, the freedom of speech, and the treatment of infected individuals are also considered. We believe the application of the epidemiological quad provides insights into social epidemics and potential mitigations. Finally, we stress that infopathogens are only part of social epidemic development; susceptible hosts, a favorable environment, and availability of physical agents are all also required.


Author(s):  
Syrine Ben Romdhane ◽  

This paper discusses and analyzes how Information Technologies destabilize the banking sector and induce irrevocable changes in the sector that lead to new entrants, innovation and, above all, disintermediation. Our objective is to analyze the relationship between the financial market, IT and financial intermediation, in order to detect the impact of the automation of the financial market on the traditional intermediation activity of banks. Based on a descriptive analysis of the Tunisian banking sector, and over the 1998-2018 periods, we have shown that the disintermediation of Tunisian banks is the consequence of the automation of the financial market. The more the financial market invests in IT, the more banks are Disinter mediated. In Tunisia, IT is a driving force behind the disintermediation of banks. In any case, recent developments confirm the fact that rather than asserting that traditional banking is dead, the above analysis advocates a renewal of the banking economy. The role of banks is not about to diminish. The era of direct finance and new technologies has not so much created disintermediation but rather a new sharing of roles in the financial sphere.


1974 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald L. Kanter

Dr. Kanter presents a summary of his research assessing the role of OTC advertising in Influencing drug usage. His work represents the only systematic study of the impact of commercial advertising on drug usage. He stresses that advertising in itself does not directly lead to drug misuse but should be considered as part of a host of factors in the social environment and in the media environment that have significant influence in determining people's behavior. He also urged that the existing pharmaceutical advertising codes, which are often violated, be reviewed and strengthened.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonatan Almagor ◽  
Stefano Picascia

AbstractA contact-tracing strategy has been deemed necessary to contain the spread of COVID-19 following the relaxation of lockdown measures. Using an agent-based model, we explore one of the technology-based strategies proposed, a contact-tracing smartphone app. The model simulates the spread of COVID-19 in a population of agents on an urban scale. Agents are heterogeneous in their characteristics and are linked in a multi-layered network representing the social structure—including households, friendships, employment and schools. We explore the interplay of various adoption rates of the contact-tracing app, different levels of testing capacity, and behavioural factors to assess the impact on the epidemic. Results suggest that a contact tracing app can contribute substantially to reducing infection rates in the population when accompanied by a sufficient testing capacity or when the testing policy prioritises symptomatic cases. As user rate increases, prevalence of infection decreases. With that, when symptomatic cases are not prioritised for testing, a high rate of app users can generate an extensive increase in the demand for testing, which, if not met with adequate supply, may render the app counterproductive. This points to the crucial role of an efficient testing policy and the necessity to upscale testing capacity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nando Sigona ◽  
Jotaro Kato ◽  
Irina Kuznetsova

AbstractThe article examines the migration infrastructures and pathways through which migrants move into, through and out of irregular status in Japan and the UK and how these infrastructures uniquely shape their migrant experiences of irregularity at key stages of their migration projects.Our analysis brings together two bodies of migration scholarship, namely critical work on the social and legal production of illegality and the impact of legal violence on the lives of immigrants with precarious legal status, and on the role of migration infrastructures in shaping mobility pathways.Drawing upon in-depth qualitative interviews with irregular and precarious migrants in Japan and the UK collected over a ten-year period, this article develops a three-pronged analysis of the infrastructures of irregularity, focusing on infrastructures of entry, settlement and exit, casting a comparative light on the mechanisms that produce precarious and expendable migrant lives in relation to access to labour and labour conditions, access and quality of housing and law enforcement, and how migrants adapt, cope, resist or eventually are overpowered by them.


Author(s):  
V.B. Belov

The article examines the results of the last Bundestag elections. They marked the end of the Angela Merkel era and reflected the continuation of difficult party-political and socio-economic processes in the informal leader of the European Union. The main attention of the research focuses on the peculiarities of the election campaign of the leading parties and of the search for ways of further development of Germany in the face of urgent economic and political challenges. These challenges include the impact of the coronavirus crisis, the impact of the energy and digital transition to a climate-neutral economy, and the complex international situation. Based on original sources, the author analyzes the causes of the SPD victory and the CDU/CSU bloc defeat, the results of the negotiations of the Social Democrats with the Greens and Liberals, the content of the coalition agreement from the point of view of the prospects for the development of domestic and foreign policy and the economy of Russia's main partner in the west of the Eurasian continent. The conclusion is made about the absence of breakthrough ideas, the consistent continuation of the course started by the previous government for a carbon-free economy and the strengthening of the role of Germany in Europe and the world. For this course, conflicts and problems in achieving the set goals will be immanent due to the compromising nature of the coalition agreements.


2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 184-196
Author(s):  
Maja Dorota Wojciechowska

PurposeSocial capital, understood as intangible community values available through a network of connections, is a factor in the development of societies and improving quality of life. It helps to remove economic inequalities and prevent poverty and social exclusion, stimulate social and regional development, civic attitudes and social engagement and build a civic society as well as local and regional identity. Many of these tasks may be implemented by libraries, which, apart from providing access to information, may also offer a number of services associated with social needs. The purpose of this paper is to present the roles and functions that libraries may serve in local communities in terms of assistance, integration and development based on classical social capital theories.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews the classical concepts of social capital in the context of libraries. It analyses the findings of Pierre-Félix Bourdieu, James Coleman, Francis Fukuyama, Robert Putnam, Nan Lin, Ronald Stuart Burt, Wayne Baker and Alejandro Portes. Based on their respective concepts, the paper analyses the role of the contemporary library in the social life of local communities. In particular, it focuses on the possible new functions that public libraries may serve.FindingsA critical review of the concept of social capital revealed certain dependencies between libraries and their neighbourhoods. With new services that respond to the actual social needs, libraries may serve as a keystone, namely they may integrate, animate and engage local communities. This, however, requires a certain approach to be adopted by the personnel and governing authorities as well as infrastructure and tangible resources.Originality/valueThe social engagement of libraries is usually described from the practical perspective (reports on the services provided) or in the context of research on the impact of respective projects on specific groups of users (research reports). A broader approach, based on original social theories, is rarely encountered. The paper draws on classical concepts of social capital and is a contribution to the discussion on possible uses of those concepts based on an analysis of the role of libraries in social life and in strengthening the social capital of local communities.


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