Beyond the Digital Divide

This chapter explores the interplay between society and Internet technology in the context of the developing former socialist country of Mongolia. This chapter goes beyond questions of access to the Internet and explores three factors of the global digital divide. First, this chapter explores how language factors such as non-Roman domain names and the use of the Cyrillic alphabet exacerbate the digital divide in the impoverished country of Mongolia. ICANN's initiation of international domain names is an initial development toward achieving linguistic diversity on the Internet. Second, this chapter explores how post-communist settings and foreign investment and aid dependency afflict Internet development. A rapid economic growth in Mongolia has increased access to mobile phones, computers, and the Internet; however, the influx of foreign capital poured into the mining, construction, and telecommunication sectors frequently comes in non-concessional terms raising concerns over the public debt in Mongolia.

Articulating Wider Smartphone Emerging Security Issues in the Case of M-Government in Turkey

For the last several years, mobile devices and platform security threats, including wireless networking technology, have been top security issues. A departure has occurred from automatic anti-virus software based on traditional PC defense: risk management (authentication and encryption), compliance, and disaster recovery following polymorphic viruses and malware as the primary activities within many organizations and government services alike. This chapter covers research in Turkey as a reflection of the current market – e-government started officially in 2008. This situation in an emerging country presents the current situation and resistances encountered while engaging with mobile and e-government interfaces. The authors contend that research is needed to understand more precisely security threats and most of all potential solutions for sustainable future intention to use m-government services. Finally, beyond m-government initiatives' success or failure, the mechanisms related to public administration mobile technical capacity building and security issues are discussed.

Design of a Triple Helix Strategy for Developing Nations Based on E-Government and Entrepreneurship

The arrival of Rafael Correa in Ecuador is leading to a structural transformation of the Ecuadorian economy and society with the arrival of e-Government and the introduction of the digital economy in the country. The objective of this chapter is to design a strategy based on entrepreneurship, e-Government, and higher education for creating a digital society in Ecuador (the triple helix strategy). To achieve it, the authors analyse the Ecuadorian's National Plan for Good Living 2013-2017 linked to higher education reforms and the influence of the European-based e-Government policies in Ecuador. The authors finish with some perspectives and the foreseeable impact of a digital society in this developing nation.

Realizing E-Government

There is a growing recognition among scholars, practitioners, and elected officials that e-government success is not a deterministic outcome of entrepreneurial design or exacting implementation. In fact, constructing cost-efficient and policy effective e-government platforms has proved to be much more challenging than originally expected. In many instances, failed e-government experiments have led to significant financial losses and to increased dissatisfaction levels among citizenry. These latter experiences have nuanced the need for a much more thorough understanding and appreciation for the difficulties faced within the conceptualization and application of e-government platforms in successfully achieving the expected administrative and democratic outcomes. This chapter, by tracing the evolution of e-government both as a concept and as an administrative trend within the transformation of governance, delineates the main challenges in achieving the core goals and the democratic scope of e-governance. It is argued that in e-governance, success is a function of three fundamental vectors – security, functionality, and transformation.

Comparing E-Government Research in Developed vs. Emerging Economies

Many countries have implemented changes in public sector management models based on the strategic and intensive use of new information and communication technologies. However, most research has focused on developed countries, with the area of emerging economies being neglected. This chapter offers a framework to help public administrators and researchers evaluate the field of e-Government research in emerging economies, identifying research gaps and possibilities for improvement in the context of e-government research in developing countries. The findings reveal the existence of various research gaps and highlight areas that should be addressed in future research, especially in developing countries. Indeed, the research approach to e-government remains immature, focusing on particular cases or dimensions, while little has been done to produce theories or models to clarify and explain the political processes of e-government.

Developing a Citizen-Centric eGovernment Model for Developing Countries

This chapter presents an enhanced eGovernment stage model based on citizens' participation for improvements in the delivery of governmental services by putting citizens' insights and their requirements in the context of e-government development and the potential use of a multi-channel delivery of services for regional governments in developing countries. The model proposed is based on research done in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. This research identified missing elements in traditional eGovernment models that would prove essential for implementation in developing countries. These models usually propose five stages of development spanning from emergence to integration. The proposal here considers most of the limitations in two stages, namely initial and an enhancement stage with the advantage of decreasing the uncertainty of e-government implementation in the public sector by recognising the consequence of the institutional readiness, adoption processes, the needs of ICT tools, and the factors that influence the implementation process.

Understanding ICT

This chapter focuses on how e-Governance empowers women, specifically poor rural women. ICT for Development emerged as a new area of work in the mid-1990s at a time when the potential of new technologies was starting to be better understood. In poor countries, particularly rural women in Bangladesh, access to ICTs is still a faraway reality for the vast majority of these women as they are further removed from the information age, as they are unaware of the demonstrated benefit from ICTs to address ground-level development challenges. The barriers they face pose greater problems for the poor rural women, who are more likely to be illiterate, not know English, and lack opportunities for training in computer skills. Access to ICT can enable women to gain a stronger voice in their government and at the global level. ICT also offers women flexibility in time and space and can be of particular value to women who face social isolation, especially the women in the rural areas in Bangladesh. To represent the use of ICT, this chapter focuses on the use of “Mobile Phone” by the rural women of Bangladesh and how the use of mobile phones have helped in empowering rural poor women in Bangladesh.

Not Just Videogames

The aim of this chapter is to discuss how the emerging process of gamification can impact the production of public services. Gamification is a relatively recent phenomenon that relates, in broad terms, to the introduction to game elements in non-game contexts. After reviewing the concept, design principles and techniques, and effects of gamification, the chapter discusses the extent to which gamification may affect the production and delivery of public services. The conclusions discuss the possible role of gamification in reshaping the identity and role of citizens and their relationship with public authorities.

Medicare and Medicaid Services Online

Government initiatives in the United States have been passed in an effort to increase citizen usage of e-government programs. One such service is the availability of online health insurance information. However, not all demographic groups have been equally able to access these services, primarily the poor and rural American. As more legislation is passed, including the advancement of broadband services to remote areas, infrastructure barriers are being removed, opening access to Medicare and Medicaid websites for these vulnerable groups. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze factors predicting the impact of recent government actions on citizen access to health insurance information online. This topic is explored using multivariate regression analysis and individual level data from the Internet and American Life Project. The findings suggest that healthcare needs and quality of Internet access may be playing a more important role in health insurance information services than other factors.

ICTs and Their Impact on Women's Roles and Evolution within Developing Societies

The Internet is definitely the most complex and dynamic technical and cultural phenomenon that humanity ever experienced. Nevertheless, despite its positive impact on the Western world, Web 2.0 has yet to prove its power in the undeveloped regions of the globe, where the Internet Era is still at its dawn. In developing countries, the barriers that women face, such as poverty or social imbalances, establish significant challenges that hinder connectivity and access to modern technologies. In this context, the chapter discusses the evolution of gender speech in relation to new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The authors determine whether the declarations and plans for action that were issued subsequent to the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing enhanced the establishment of gendered policies on ICTs, particularly in the undeveloped regions of the world, and whether, in this way, they empower women, contribute to combating women's poverty, and promote gender equality.