ICT Governance in the Context of Smart Cities: A Study in Brazilian Municipalities

ICT resources are essential to support, manage, and innovate cities services to citizens, especially in reference to smart cities context. From this perspective, ICT governance is fundamental to guarantee a return on investments and effectiveness in cities' administration. Based on the Brazilian cities best ranked in the Connected Smart Cities index, this work analyzed ICT governance practices in those cities. The results identified a lack of governance practices in most cities, a lack of active ICT governance transparency, and non-compliance with Brazilian access information law; thus, a set of lessons learned is structured for cities. Future studies can establish a good practice catalog and guidance as a baseline for an ICT open governance approach.

Carbon-Responsive Computing: Changing the Nexus between Energy and Computing

While extensive research has gone into demand response techniques in data centers, the energy consumed in edge computing systems and in network data transmission remains a significant part of the computing industry’s carbon footprint. The industry also has not fully leveraged the parallel trend of decentralized renewable energy generation, which creates new areas of opportunity for innovation in combined energy and computing systems. Through an interdisciplinary sociotechnical discussion of current energy, computer science and social studies of science and technology (STS) literature, we argue that a more comprehensive set of carbon response techniques needs to be developed that span the continuum of data centers, from the back-end cloud to the network edge. Such techniques need to address the combined needs of decentralized energy and computing systems, alongside the social power dynamics those combinations entail. We call this more comprehensive range “carbon-responsive computing,” and underscore that this continuum constitutes the beginnings of an interconnected infrastructure, elements of which are data-intensive and require the integration of social science disciplines to adequately address problems of inequality, governance, transparency, and definitions of “necessary” tasks in a climate crisis.

Growth Sectors in Morocco and Investment Potential: A Quantitative Analysis

During the 1990s Morocco implemented a series of major institutional and economic reforms that made the country politically stable and helped it to withstand the destabilizing effects of the Arab Spring. Political reforms resulted in the adoption of a new constitution in 2011, was followed by initiatives to improve justice, public administration, the fight against corruption, and to strengthen governance, transparency, and ethics in public life. The country also embarked on a regionalization of public policies and decentralization of administration to ensure an integrated and durable regional development. This reform momentum was further emphasized by the King of Morocco when in his 2019 throne speech he stressed that “… the stake is thus to rebuild a strong and competitive economy, by encouraging the private initiative, while launching new productive investment plans and by creating new job opportunities…” During two last decades Morocco recorded relatively solid economic and social results due to significant public investments and structural reforms aiming to: (i) stabilize the macroeconomic framework by reducing domestic and external vulnerabilities, in particular through the gradual suppression of subsidies for energy products and some foodstuffs; (ii) improve the framework of management of public finance through the adoption of a new Organic Law of Finance in 2015; and (iii) support the diversification and the competitiveness of the national economy. Morocco also reinforced its sectorial policies through plans for sector development aiming at enhancing the economic growth potential and the creation of jobs, including in the manufacturing sectors with significant added value in sectors such as the automotive, aeronautics and pharmaceutical products. The Moroccan economy has demonstrated an appreciable resilience in the face of an international context characterized by a succession of crises. The rate of growth of real GDP improved on average annually from 3.1% during the 1990s to nearly 4.2% on average annually between 2007 and 2018, sustained by the tertiary sector’s dynamism which posted an increase in its value added of 4.2%, contributing of 2.1 points in the GDP (Figure 1). The secondary sector also showed a similar tendency with a 3.3% increase in added value, carrying with it 0.9 percentage points contribution in economic growth, while the primary sector added value grew by 4.4% for a contribution to the growth of the GDP of 0.6 point (DEPF, 2019).

Corruption Prevention through Community Organizing:

Engaging citizens through a community-based organisation is not a newphenomenon. Research around the world has shown that citizenengagement is one of the most significant ways of combating corruption and promoting good governance. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) is undertaking similar types of activities through the Committee of Concerned Citizens (CCCs) and Youth Engagement and Support (YES) Groups. The question is, how much difference is it making in society vis-à-vis preventing corruption? Considering TIB as a case study drawing in-depth interviews, participation observation and document analysis, this paper has found that both CCCs and YES activities are dominated by coercive and mimetic isomorphism to prevent corruption. Second, TIB has managed to create awareness through engaging citizens, the whole process as a ‘tortoise movement.' This suggests that the movement against the corruption of these groups is prolonged and time-consuming, and more importantly, it does not make ‘direct impact’ on service delivery. Third, it also suggests that donor-driven ‘isomorphic’ approach may prove to be less effective, considering the societal context of Bangladesh. Finally, this paper also identified some loopholes that are mainly linked with the ‘tortoise movement.

Training and resources of e-records readiness at the Federal Ministry of finance in Nigeria

Purpose e-records have become an important tool through which a government is held accountable for good governance, transparency and delivery of services to citizens. Therefore, this study aims to assess availability of training and resources in a records management environment, as a way of determining e-records readiness at the Federal Ministry of Finance, Nigeria (FMFN). Design/methodology/approach Questionnaires and observation were used for data collection. Purposive and stratified sampling techniques were used. Quantitative data from the 250 usable questionnaires retrieved was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), while qualitative data was analyzed manually. Findings The study findings revealed that FMFN has a records management unit with other resources such as a movable and lockable file cabinet, files, file holders, registers and computers. There is low budget allocation for records management activities. Training for records managers is infrequent. However, an orientation program for new staff exists. Employees prefer the following mode of training: seminars and workshops, internships and consultant-run training. In terms of kinds of training need, study participants noted that they require training on computer applications, e-records management and change management role of record management. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to employees of the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) in Abuja. As a result, the findings may not be generalized to other ministries in Nigeria. Practical implications It is hoped that the study would benefit the public sectors that are desirous to opt for e-records management and provide benchmarks for policymakers, particularly on how to maintain proper e-records readiness status through training and resources. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to be conducted at FMFN on e-records readiness, more specifically on resources and training.

Implementation of Good Governance in Komodo National Park Management: A Case Study

This study examines the implementation of good governance at the Komodo National Park to provide a specific, in-depth, complex, and explorative understanding of it. The research methodology used was a descriptive interpretive Yin case study approach. Data were obtained through observation, interviews, and documentation. The results revealed that the Komodo National Park applies the principles of good governance, transparency, accountability, responsibility, independence, and fairness. Study findings also contribute benefits, ideas, and studies, which provide reference for and contribution to the management and stakeholders in conducting governance roles, especially for National Park management. Keywords: good governance, management, national park

IMPLEMENTATION OF GOOD GOVERNANCE TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF VILLAGE GOVERNMENTS

Law No. 6 of 2014 concerning villages is the starting point for villages to manage their government independently. However, in the management of government, many villages are still weak in implementing good governance, so that it has an impact on their performance. This study specifically wants to examine the role of good governance in improving the performance of village governments. This study examines the principles of good governance, transparency, accountability, community participation and fairness towards village government performance. The population of this research is the village government in the Meranti Islands Regency. The sampling technique used was area sampling, so that a total sample size of 31 villages was obtained in Tebing Tinggi, Tebing Tinggi Barat and Rangsang Barat, Meranti Islands Regency. Data was collected through a survey by distributing questionnaires to respondents consisting of the village head, village secretary, head of financial affairs and head of general affairs. The analytical method used in this study is multiple regression analysis with the help of SPSS version 23.0. The results showed that transparency, accountability, community participation and justice had a positive effect on the performance of the village government. This indicates that increased transparency, accountability, community participation and justice will improve the performance of village government in Meranti Regency. The research supports the stewardship theory that the village government will act to fulfill the interests of the village community.

Based on AHP to Discuss Critical Factors in Open Government Data

The expansion of the government has the role definition and administrative category become more complicated. Meanwhile, the government controls the capacity and power to collect huge domestic national data, whose quantity and quality possessed by the government far exceed those controlled by private enterprises, organizations, and individuals. Along with the boom of digital technology and Internet, the emerging brand-new service depends on huge open government data. The questionnaire for this study is randomly distributed to the mass society in southern Taiwan to understand the weights of factors in the mass society. Total 300 copies of questionnaire are distributed, and 271 valid copies are retrieved, with the retrieval rate 90%. The research results reveal that political and social is mostly emphasized among dimensions in Hierarchy, followed by technical and economic and top five indicators, among 15, are ordered public license, single entry, governance transparency, data resolution, and data reuse. According to the results, discussion and suggestions are proposed, expecting to help the government further legislates for simplifying the openness process, reduce costs or commercial data use, and promote domestic competitiveness.